Reading Recommendations

1. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Sixth-grader Miranda is living an ordinary life until odd things begin to happen. Her friend is attacked, a key goes missing and then the messages start to arrive. Who are they from and how can they predict her future? Will she find out before it’s too late?

2. Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

A classic spooky ghost story. 11-year-old Ollie loves reading and uses books as an escape from the real world. Finding a ghost story, she is hooked. However, on a school outing, the story she’s reading turns into reality and a nightmare begins.

3. Holes by Louis Sachar

A captivating novel about teen Stanley Yelnats who is sent to Camp Green Lake for a crime he didn’t commit. Generations of seemingly unconnected family histories are woven into a stunning plot set in a barren desert which certainly isn’t summer camp.

4. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

A horse enjoys an idyllic existence in the countryside until he is unexpectedly sold into a completely different world of hardship in the city. A moving account from the horse’s point of view, this timeless classic inspired campaigns for improved animal welfare.

5. Space Case by Stuart Gibbs

In this gripping mystery sci-fi adventure, Dash thinks the lunar base commander has been murdered. No one believes him until he discovers a shocking secret that changes everything.

6. Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

6th-grader Melody is wheelchair-bound and unable to speak due to her cerebral palsy. But she has a secret – she’s the smartest kid in the school; if only she could find a way to let the world know. When she does, her world changes completely.

7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodson Burnett

Mary Lennox is sent to live in a strange house in the English countryside with her uncle. She discovers an overgrown garden surrounded by high walls, and, once she finds her way in, Mary is determined to bring the garden back to life in this enchanting, classic story.

8. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

In the first of a spellbinding trilogy, readers meet Will Stanton: an 11-year-old who is the last of an old order with magical powers that mean he can live forever to fight dark forces. Can he find the six signs and stop evil from taking over the world?

9. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein

When a world-famous game designer remodels the town library, Kyle is keen to be there. But the opening isn’t an event to get into, but a mystery adventure where the prize is to solve puzzles and find the secret way out once the doors have been locked. Award-winning, funny and highly imaginative.

10. Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Castle Crenshaw is always running away from his problems – whether it’s from his difficult home life, bullies, or danger. That’s until he meets Coach, an ex track star who inspires him to use his talents in new and positive ways.

1. Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

In an award-winning book, Hope finds herself helping her aunt to run a diner in rural Wisconsin – Her friendship with G.T. Stoop, the diner’s owner, develops into a coming of age story of trust and truth.

2. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

The first in the “Corfu Trilogy”, this book tells the story of Gerald Durrell’s childhood experiences with wildlife on the island of Corfu. His larger than life relatives and the colorful characters encountered make this a funny read about unconventional family life.

3. The Hate you Give by Angie Thomas

A multi-award-winning novel about Starr Carter, a teenager who has one foot in the exclusive, privileged world of her school and the other foot in the deprived neighborhood of her home. When her best friend is shot by a police officer, she is the only person who knows what really happened.

4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

A unique and genre-defying young adult novel that is set in the “Elsewhere” -- a world where angels battle mythical creatures. Karou and Akiva are drawn, as if by magic, from the opposite sides of the conflict into a love story...and perhaps the only hope for peace.

5. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

A more challenging read, this memorable book chronicles 16-year-old Pi, the only survivor of a shipwreck. His only companions in the lifeboat are a hyena, an orangutan, and a tiger.

6. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

An inspirational and motivational story, Malala’s autobiography takes her from a victim of the Taliban in 2012 to becoming the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

7. Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

A quest for a magic ring that grants the wearer huge power dominates this classic, high fantasy tale of good vs evil.

8. Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech

The prequel to Walk Two Moons, this story follows 13-year-old Mary Lou’s summer vacation – an unforgettable summer of adventure, gossip, and burgeoning romance.

9. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Facing a seemingly unbeatable and ruthless alien invader, Earth needs a military genius. Teenaged boy Ender is chosen from thousands to lead the fight, but is he being manipulated?

10. Beautiful Swimmers by William Warner

An evocative and interesting study of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay. Brilliantly written – this is a more challenging book for readers interested in science and natural history.