Class VIII

The classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

When a girl who's never longed for adventure is hit with a curse that begins to transform her into a demon, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life, but along the way is forced to confront her true power within.

Young Francie Nolan, having inherited both her father's romantic and her mother's practical nature, struggles to survive and thrive growing up in the slums of Brooklyn in the early twentieth century.

Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn't always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation--following her mother's announcement that she's getting married--Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. 

Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, this is an epic fantasy about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom.

In this Printz Award Winning graphic novel set in summer of 1995, almost-fifteen-year-old Almudena is sent to live with her estranged Spanish-speaking father, and together they renovate a brownstone and build a relationship while Almudena navigates the Latin American side of her heritage for the first time.

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl.

Eragon (Inheritance Cycle 1-4) 

by Christopher Paolini

Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy–until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save–or destroy–the Empire.

Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually low IQ, he has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that researchers hope will increase his intelligence-a procedure that has already been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon.

If you liked Great Expectations, try…

Hard Times

by Charles Dickens

A gripping and revealing exploration of Victorian society, set in a polluted town in Northern England with smoke-filled factories and soulless workers.

Set in the 1930s, seventeen-year-old Cassandra, living in a crumbling English castle with her family, wants to become a writer but is distracted by her wealthy and adventurous neighbors and the prospect of an unexpected romance of her own.

Set between New Jersey and Seoul, this coming-of-age story follows the author as she goes to South Korea, where she realizes something that changes her perspective on her family, her heritage, and herself.

The reminiscences of a New York lawyer, Jim Burden, about his boyhood in Nebraska, particularly a young Bohemian girl named Antonia Shimerda.

An eye-opening portrait of the artist as a young black man in the Midwest.

If you liked Great Expectations, try…

Oliver Twist

by Charles Dickens

In nineteenth-century England, a young orphan boy lives in the squalid surroundings of a workhouse until he runs away and is captured by a gang of thieves, and is finally reunited with his long-lost family.

In a near-future society that claims to be rid of all monstrous people, a creature emerges from a painting seventeen-year-old Jam's mother created, a hunter from another world seeking a real-life monster.

Jane is incredibly plain. After princely Peter is kidnapped by a mermaid, Jane must venture to the world underwater to rescue him. But the depths of the ocean hold beautiful mysteries and dangerous creatures.

Raised in isolation, Tarisai yearns for the closeness she could have as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11, but her mother, The Lady, has magically compelled Tarisai to kill the Crown Prince.

The second Mrs. de Winter narrates the haunting events surrounding her marriage to Maxim de Winter and her growing obsession with his first wife, the beautiful, now dead Rebecca.

Hana Khan's family-run halal restaurant is on its last legs. So when a flashy competitor gets ready to open nearby, bringing their inevitable closure even closer, she turns to her anonymously-hosted podcast, and her lively and long-lasting relationship with one of her listeners, for advice.

Forced to become trained killers in a disease-free world where people can only die if eliminated by professional "gleaners," Citra and Rowan reluctantly train under a master reaper. First in a trilogy.

At his wits’ end, Zacharias Wythe, Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers, encounters Prunella Gentlewoman, a woman with immense power, which sets him on a path that will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…

Mary Russell, an intelligent young woman, becomes the apprentice of Sherlock Holmes.

An anthology of ten stories by young adult authors about surprising and unusual collections.

British writer Hector Hugh Munro, a.k.a. Saki, whose witty works satirized Edwardian society and culture, led him to be known as a master of the short story.

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure.

Seventeen-year-old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father... until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him.

It's hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tíên, he doesn't even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he's going through? Is there a way to tell them he's gay?

Favorite poems of the editors that include both classics and surprises. 

As the day dawns on the 50th annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail.

The last weeks of the Trojan War find the women sick of tending the wounded, men tired of fighting, and bored gods and goddesses trying to find ways to stir things up.

In a series of moments spanning two years, seventeen-year-old Neon navigates the progression of his relationship with Aria, culminating in a case of the jitters as the two intend to take the next big step in their relationship.

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. And as a pretty, she'll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world–and it isn't very pretty.

A collection of sixteen stories introduces a host of strange, wondrous beings that have never existed anywhere but in the imagination, with stories from Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, and E. Nesbit.

If you liked Great Expectations, try…

Wives and Daughters 

by Elizabeth Gaskell

Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, this narrative traces the development of two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford.

A dramatic account of the 1875 attempt to steal the 16th president's body.

March, books 1-3 

by John Lewis

A graphic novel trilogy based on the life of civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis.

In this debut memoir, author Bess Kalb’s recently deceased grandmother Bobby is speaking to Bess once more, in a voice as passionate as it ever was in life.

The memoir of a restaurant critic of the New York Times—with recipes--of a life spent as a restaurant owner, chef, and food critic, from California to New York City.

With recipes ranging from Biang Biang Mian (Hand-Pulled Noodles) to Steak Tacos with Charred Corn Salsa, Arepas to Congee, French Fries and Cheeseburger Sliders to Apple-Cider Donuts, this book features helpful sidebars to ensure that teens can learn more about why a recipe works, and how to take their recipes to the next level.

South Side of Chicago native McGhee explores the toll racial injustice past and present takes on the life of every American in this accessible, abridged (but no less intellectual) volume.

Omar and his younger brother live in a refugee camp, and when an opportunity for Omar to get an education comes along, he must decide between going to school or caring for his nonverbal brother.

Almost every treat can be made in under one hour, in one bowl, and with no fancy ingredients or equipment--leaving you with less time in the kitchen and more time for snacking!