These are books suggested by Fairfield Public Schools in Connecticut for students entering eighth grade, although they would still be appropriate and enjoyable for students entering seventh or ninth grade!
Fairfield Public Schools Summer Reading 2006 -- Grade 8
++ Avi - Nothing But the Truth: Phil attracts national attention when he is suspended for humming the National Anthem.
++ Ayer, Eleanor H. - Parallel Journeys: Explores the biographies of two people who had different experiences during the Holocaust and how they survived.
Barron, T.A.-The Lost Years of Merlin series: This series tells the story of a young Merlin beginning to come to terms with his identity and his powers.
Bruchac, Joseph- Sacajawea: Sacajawea, a Shoshoni Indian interpreter, peacemaker, and guide, and William Clark alternate in describing their experiences on the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Northwest.
++Robert Cormier- Rag and Bone Shop: An innocent twelve year old is interrogated by an expert who wants him to confess ot the murder of a young girl.
++Cooney, Caroline - Burning Up: A novel about the destructiveness of hatred, the evil of indifference, and the power of accepting love and responsibility.
Farmer, Nancy - House of the Scorpion: In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patrón, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States.
Fleischman, Paul- Whirligig: After inadvertently causing a death, a teen pays unusual repentance.
Funke, Cornelia- Inkheart: Meggie and her father have the ability to bring a book’s characters, both good and evil, to life with dire consequences.
++ Gaines, Ernest J. - A Gathering of Old Men: After a white man is killed, a dozen old Black men each claim to be the murderer.
Kadohata, Cynthia- Kira,Kira: Kate and her family face many hardships as Japanese Americans in rural Georgia. ++ Krakauer, Jon - Into the Wild: Mesmerizing, heartbreaking story of an idealistic young man who walked into the Alaskan wilderness armed only with a small rifle and a 10-pound bag of rice, and whose corpse was found 4 months later by moose hunters.
Levine, Gail Carson- Dave at Night: Dave hides during the day and experiences life at night during the Harlem Renaissance.Levitin, Sonia - The Cure: A sixteen-year-old boy living in 2407 collides with the past when he finds himself in Strasbourg in 1348 confronting the anti-Semitism that sweeps through Europe during the Black Plague.
Lisle, Janet Taylor- The Art of Keeping Cool: Robert and Elliot investigate both their family’s histories and a suspected spy in the 1940’s.
Meyer, Carolyn - White Lilacs: A young Black girl tells of the forced relocation of her family in Texas in 1921.
++ Paulsen, Gary- The Car: A teenager left on hi sown travels west in a kit car he built himself. Along the way he picks up two Vietnam veterans, who take him on an eye-opening journey.
Rinaldi, Ann - Finishing Becca: The story of social-climber Peggy Shippen's influence on Benedict Arnold's betrayal of the Patriot Forces.
Wolff, Virginia Euwer- True Believer: Living in the inner city amidst guns and poverty, fifteen-year-old LaVaughn learns from old and new friends, and inspiring mentors, that life is what you make it--an occasion to rise to.
-- Easy Reading
++ More challenging reading. May contain more mature language or subject matter. Parents, please review these with your children.
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