SUSSEX MIDDLE SCHOOL

Summer Reading List

2010

It is very important that our students continue to work on and develop their reading skills during the summer.  Many of the books on our reading list are available at the Sussex-Wantage Library and can be reserved online by accessing their website: http://www.sussexcountylibrary.org/ 

There are some titles here from last year’s list and some new ones have been added.  The new titles have been placed in italics, and an asterisk * indicates authors who have written many good books.  For additional titles, please go to James Patterson’s site, Read Kiddo Read http://tinyurl.com/lfv8je

Cabot, Meg – Moving Day

(new series: Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls)

Allie faces her world with humor and common sense by making a list of rules to live by. Each rule has a story behind it. Rule # 1: Don’t Stick a Spatula Down Your Best Friend’s Throat evolves from the terrible fight between Allie and wimpy, weepy Mary Kay. Other rules come about after Allie finds out that the family is moving across town to a creepy Victorian house (she tries her best to sabotage the plans). A prize cat, a stolen turtle, two younger brothers, and a willing coconspirator  in the form of an uncle all play a part in the antics as adventures unfold. Lively Allie is an appealing heroine who has an uncanny knack for getting into (and out of) scrapes with friends and family. The talented Cabot, popular with both teen and adult readers, will attract a new, younger audience with this novel, which will surely leave readers looking forward to future installments.

Connor, Leslie: Dead On Town Line

This captivating novel slowly unfolds through a series of short, free-verse poems, which are written from the viewpoint of a murdered girl named Cassie. The poems begin as the confused ghost of Cassie observes her own search party in the woods, where her body has been buried in a shallow grave. There, Cassie meets the ghost of a young black woman, who, along with the child she carried, was murdered many years before. The poems recount Cassie's murder at the hands of a classmate, how Cassie's body and those of other ghosts are eventually discovered, and the apprehension of Cassie's murderers. In the end, Cassie finds a way to reach out to her loved ones. Connor's poetry successfully mixes sharp, concrete images with Cassie's memorable voice and a bit of teen melodrama.

Connor, Leslie – Waiting for Normal

When her kindly stepfather leaves and takes her half sisters with him, its just Addie and her mother who remain, living hand-to-mouth in a rundown trailer that Dwight has provided for them.  He stays in touch and tires to make sure the child is okay, but Mommers’ irresponsible behavior becomes increasingly problematic.  This is a tough story of loss and of parental neglect, but Connor has created real and caring adults as well as a resilient protagonist who is ultimately able to embrace a new life.

Gephart, Donna - As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running For President!

Vanessa Rothrock’s mother is running for president and it’s ruining her life. Isn’t it enough that her enormous feet trip her up all the time, even on stage during the school spelling bee? Isn’t it enough that Reginald Trumball, love of Vanessa’s pathetic life, read her personal and private list of deficiencies to some boy she doesn’t even know?  Doesn’t Mom realize that Vanessa needs her more than the rest of the country? More importantly, doesn’t she realize that she may be in grave danger? Vanessa's receiving threatening notes at school–notes that imply some psycho has it out for her mother at the Democratic National Convention. Vanessa might be the only person who can save her. But does she have the courage to do what that requires?

Kephart, Beth - House of Dance

As in her debut YA novel Undercover (2007), Kephart offers another quiet, sensitive story about a girl who pulls together her fragmented family. Fifteen-year-old Rosie faces a lonely summer. Her best friend is out of town, and Rosie has been charged with daily visits to her grandfather, who is dying of cancer. While sorting through her grandfather’s possessions, Rosie concocts a secret plan that she hopes will “give him back the life he loved.” As part of the scheme, Rosie begins dance instruction at a neighborhood ballroom, and her growing confidence on the dance floor strengthens her sense of self.

O’Connor, Barbara – How To Steal A Dog

One day Georgina has a home, a best friend, and plenty to eat. The next, she's living in a car with her mother and brother. Carrying on as usual isn't possible: washing up in a restaurant bathroom, doing homework by flashlight, losing her friend. Mom works two jobs, but it's not enough, so impatient Georgina decides to steal a dog, hoping to collect a reward. She picks her furry victim and makes careful plans--but she doesn't count on her conscience. In stripped-down, unsentimental prose, Georgina tells her own story, her words making clear her vulnerability and heartbreak as well as her determination and pride. It's puzzling why Mom doesn't seek outside help for her desperate family, and the appearance of wise Mookie, a sort of transient deus ex machina, verges on excess. Yet in the end, this is truly Georgina's story, and to O'Connor's great credit, it's Georgina herself who figures out what's right and does it. The myriad effects of homelessness and the realistic picture of a moral quandary will surely generate discussion.

Warner, Sally - It's Only Temporary

When Skye's older brother comes home after a devastating accident, she moves from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to California to live with her grandmother and attend middle school, where she somewhat reluctantly makes new friends, learns to stand up for herself and those she cares about, and begins to craft a new relationship with her changed brother.

Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn – 42 Miles

Since her parents divorced, when she was an infant, life has been split between them: “School days in the city with Mom / weekends on the farm with Dad.” Even her names are different—Ellen with Mom; Jo with Dad. But as she turns 13, she’s determined to be JoEllen, to show her city friends that the country is not “hick,” and her farm cousin that the city holds more than “concrete and crime.” Using free verse, Zimmer shows the richness in both places, while black-and-white composite illustrations bring the bits and pieces together—from the baseball trophies in Dad’s old room to the overview of city traffic. Casual and open, both the poetry and pictures show the fun: “With Dad, one thing’s for certain; NOTHING !”.