Middle School SummerBook Clubs 2023

Please note that titles, authors, and book club dates are indicated below by each facilitator's name.  For a book club to run, there must be a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 15 students. A book club will not run if there is insufficient enrollment.   Please note, if a book club reaches capacity, you will not be able to select it on the Google registration form. 

At the bottom of this page, there is a Google Form to register for Summer Book Clubs

DATES OF BOOK CLUB: 7/3, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24 at 7:00 pm 

GRADE LEVELS: Grades 6-8

*** RESOURCES:  Students may purchase through various options, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc. 

Book Summary: Chaya Lindner is a teenager living in Nazi-occupied Poland. Simply being Jewish places her in danger of being killed or sent to the camps. After her little sister is taken away, her younger brother disappears, and her parents all but give up hope, Chaya is determined to make a difference. Using forged papers and her fair features, Chaya becomes a courier and travels between the Jewish ghettos of Poland, smuggling food, papers, and even people. Soon Chaya joins a resistance cell that runs raids on the Nazis' supplies. But after a mission goes terribly wrong, Chaya's network shatters. 

This book club will be offered virtually.

DATES OF BOOK CLUB: Monday, Wednesday & Thursday July 3,5,7 and July 10,12,13 4:00PM-5:00PM 

GRADE LEVELS: Grades 7-8

*** RESOURCES: Students can obtain a copy from MTPL or may purchase a copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Book Summary: An African American preteen finds his world upended when his father, a retired professional football player, displays symptoms of traumatic brain injury. Twelve-year-old Zachariah “ZJ” Johnson Jr. loves his dad but wonders who he would be if his dad was not a famous athlete. 

This book club will be offered virtually.

DATES OF BOOK CLUB: Wednesdays + Fridays: July 12 + 14 10:00-10:45, July 19 + 21 10:00-10:45, July 26 + 28 10:00-10:45, August 2 + 4 10:00-10:45 

GRADE LEVELS: Grades: 6-8

*** RESOURCES: Students can obtain a hard copy through the MTPL or may purchase a copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Book Summary: There are twelve kids in the seventh grade at Fawn Creek Middle School. They've been together all their lives. And in this small factory town where everyone knows everything about everyone, that's not necessarily a great thing. There are thirteen desks in the seventh-grade classroom. That's because Renni Dean's father got a promotion, and the family moved to Grand Saintlodge, the nearest big town. Renni's desk is empty, but Renni still knows their secrets; is still pulling their strings. When Orchid Mason arrives and slips gracefully into Renni's chair, the other seventh graders don't know what to think. Orchid, who was born in New York City but just moved to Fawn Creek from Paris, seems to float. Her dress skims the floor. She's wearing a flower behind her ear. Fawn Creek Middle might be small, but it has its tightly knit groups, the self-proclaimed God Squad, the jocks, the outsiders, just like anyplace else. Who will claim Orchid Mason? Who will save Orchid Mason? Or will Orchid Mason save them? 

This book club will be offered virtually.

DATES OF BOOK CLUB:  

GRADE LEVELS: Grades 6-9

*** RESOURCES: Students can obtain a copy through the MTPL or may purchase a copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Book Summary: According to commonsensemedia.org, "GHOST is Castle Cranshaw's new nickname -- he gave it to himself and it sticks when he challenges a track team's best sprinter to a race. Running is as easy for him as breathing, probably because he's been doing it all his life. An emerging track star with a past, Ghost has to figure out why he runs -- is it toward what his life could be or away from his past? Luckily, he has new friends on the team, his coach, and even his mom to help him figure it all out." 

This book club will be offered virtually.

DATES OF BOOK CLUB: July 6, 10, 12, 18, 20, 24 : 9-10am

GRADE LEVELS:  Grade 6 into 7

*** RESOURCES:  Students can obtain a copy through the MTPL or may purchase a copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Book Summary: A 2019 Parents' Choice Award Gold Medal Winner

Five years.

That's how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, criss-crossing the nation. It's also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash. Coyote hasn’t been home in all that time, but when she learns that the park in her old neighborhood is being demolished―the very same park where she, her mom, and her sisters buried a treasured memory box―she devises an elaborate plan to get her dad to drive 3,600 miles back to Washington state in four days...without him realizing it. Along the way, they'll pick up a strange crew of misfit travelers. Lester has a lady love to meet. Salvador and his mom are looking to start over. Val needs a safe place to be herself. And then there's Gladys... Over the course of thousands of miles, Coyote will learn that going home can sometimes be the hardest journey of all...but that with friends by her side, she just might be able to turn her “once upon a time” into a “happily ever after.” 

This book club will be offered virtually.

DATES OF BOOK CLUB: Mondays & Wednesdays: July 10, July 12, July 17, July 19, July 24 12:00- 1:00 p.m. 

GRADE LEVELS:  Grades 6-8

*** RESOURCES: Students may obtain a copy from  MTPL or purchase it through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc. 

Book Summary:  In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted, and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help - as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family, and to be truly himself. 

This book club will be offered virtually.

DATES OF BOOK CLUB:  Wednesdays 9:00 - 10:00   7/12, 7/19, 7/26, 8/2, 8/9 & 8/16 

GRADE LEVELS:  Grades 5-6

*** RESOURCES: The student must obtain a copy of the book. Remember to check the MTPL for a copy.

Book Summary: Due to a mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to a special school for gifted and talented students, after pulling a major prank at middle school. A funny and touching underdog story is a lovable and goofy adventure with robot fights, middle-school dances, experiments, and pranks! 

This book club will be offered virtually.

DATES OF BOOK CLUB: 

GRADE LEVELS:  Grades 6-8

*** RESOURCES:   Students can obtain a copy through the MTPL or may purchase a copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Book Summary: The nation of Panem is divided into 12 districts, ruled from the Capitol. As punishment for a failed revolt, each district is forced to select two tributes, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18, to fight to the death in the annual Hunger Games until there is only one survivor. 

This book club will be offered virtually.

DATES OF BOOK CLUB:  Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00-1:00 PM 7/6, 7/11, 7/13, 7/18, 7/20, 7/25. 

GRADE LEVELS:  Grades 6-8

*** RESOURCES:   Students can obtain a copy through the MTPL or may purchase a copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Book Summary:  Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.

But then Lina is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything Lina knew about her mother, her father—and even herself. 

This book club will be offered virtually.