The following books are recommended for 6th-grade students.  

Sixth-grade students may also choose from the 7th grade book list.   Sixth-grade students may choose a 5th-grade book  and receive 90% of the grade.   Seventh-grade students may choose a 4th-grade book and receive 80% of the grade. Seventh-grade students may not choose a 3rd-grade without a specific IEP.

 

	Avi. Iron Thunder:  The Battle Between the Monitor and the Merrimac 620L 224 pages
	Avi True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle  AR: 5.3    Lex: 7.4
	Berg, Elizabeth.   Joy School.  660L
	Bishop, Claire.  Twenty and Ten.   630L	ÙÙÙÙÙ Thomas R  This book is alright, at the beginning it is really confusing but towards the end it is alright.   This book is good for younger people because it’s really easy and short. It is about a school in France during the holocaust who takes in twenty little Jewish kids who are being tracked by Germans. One day while the only adult is gone Germans come to the school looking for the Jewish kids who are in hiding. The Germans interrogate the French kids for info but none of them were willing to tell. I will leave you there because I don’t want to ruin it for the reader.  ÙÙÙÙÙ Darcy, tenth grade   Twenty and Ten is a story about a group of twenty school children during WWII. One day they are given the job of hiding ten Jewish children among them. Hardly understanding the risk involved, the kids continue living everyday life with their new Jewish friends. I give this book three stars because I think the characters aren’t believable. The author makes these fifth graders have grammar as a good as an English teacher. The plot of the story never takes any turns. When it comes time for the kids to hide from the Nazis, they handle the situation flawlessly and nothing goes wrong. I would recommend this book for someone who needs a quick book to read after a long one.   ÙÙÙÙÙ Michael, ninth grade   Twenty and Ten was a great book with some good suspense and a little action. These Jewish kids come to a school and they live with the rest of the kids. The original kids have to share food and beds and toys and such. The Jews end up having to hide in a cave when two nazi’s come looking for them. They have to hide there for quite some time waiting. When sister Gabriel comes back they have hope but the nazi’s were still there.
	Blume, Judy.   Tiger Eyes.   650L	ÙÙÙÙÙ Shelbie M., eighth grade  This is a great book. It is a story about a teenage girl’s family that owns a store underneath their house.  One night while her dad is working, a man comes in to rob their store, shooting and killing her dad.  The book shows what she, her younger brother and her mom deal with it and what it takes to get back on their feet after such a tragedy.  Will her mom end up selling the store and house she grew up in, because they can’t stand to be in the store any more?  Will they ever end up as a functional family again?  Or will they always dwell on there dad’s death?  You will have to read the book so you can find out.
	Bonham, Frank.   Durango Street.  640L
	Bunting, Eve.   Blackwater.  510L	ÙÙÙÙÙ Cassie   Anyone who likes action stories or a story about a boy who gets in a jam would definitely like this book.  The reader should be about 8 years or older depending on how they are matured and how much they like action books.  The book is written so you can see the view of life that a teenage boy Brodie gets through his rough time in life.  Right of the bat the book had a situation with Brodie's cousin.  After that it just kept getting juicier with lots of tragic, exciting, tense and scary emotions flying all haywire.  There are calm times that let you take a breath of reality before you jump in for more excitement which is really cool to feel the emotions change so drastically through out most of the book.
	Bunting, Eve.   Jumping the Nail.  630L	ÙÙÙÙÙ Hailey A., 8th grade    This book is one of my favorite books. It is thrilling, romantic, and you wont be able to put it down. This book is about a girl, Drew, who has to make some decisions and help out her friends through some very exhilarating choices.   ÙÙÙÙÙ Jessica, 8th Grade  It is the choice of whether to believe or to forget.  Elisa and her boyfriend Scooter plan on jumping the “nail” to show there love for each other. The “nail” is a 90-foot cliff that leads into an unknown darkness. Some say that a little drown girl is still down there in her car, which she drove off the nail. Dru and her boyfriend Mike know that the jumping will not end until someone has died.  The main character Dru is stuck between to decisions, letting people jump the “nail” or telling an adult and tattle on everybody. When Scooter and Elisa jump will it be a miracle or a tragedy, and will it take a death to end the jumping craze the kids have? ÙÙÙÙÙ Marie  Dru just got out of school and is planning to have a great summer before she goes off to college.  Her best friend Elisa is planning to jump of the “nail” with her boyfriend Scooter. The nail is actually a tall cliff outside of their town. After the jump, Elisa is paranoid and thinks there are people down in the water calling for her. Dru tries to calm her down and get her away from Scooter, who wants her to jump again. All while this is happening, Dru is having problems with herself. She can’t decide if she wants to go to college or stay with the love of her life. ÙÙÙÙÙ Michael, 10th grade        Jumping The Nail was a great book for teenager’s either boy or girl. It is about a spot where kids jump of a 90 foot cliff into the water. No one had done it since ten years ago when girl hit the rocks and got completely messed up. Dru is the main character and her and her boyfriend Mike are against it. When a crazy kid named Scooter starts the jumping back up everyone starts to do it. Dru knows the jumping won’t stop until someone is hurt or killed but she don’t know how to stop it before that.
	Carmen, Patrick.  Floors. Lex: 8.7 AR: 5.7 373 pgs	ÙÙÙÙÙ Talon, 8th Grade       In the books Floors and 3 Below the insane characters and the wacky scenes are exciting. They always kept the story going. The books are about a kid that is friends with a crazy inventor who owns an wacky hotel that all the rich people in New York City want to own, and the clerk attempts to take over the hotel. The author of the books is Patrick Carman.      The characters really animate the story. The main characters are Leo, Remi, and a little robot. Leo is the kid that is friends with Merganzer, who is the guy that owns the hotel and rarely shows himself, Remi is the doorman, and Blop is a little robot they got from an author that stays at the hotel. They go on adventures into all the rooms of the hotel, and some of them are pretty crazy.  But some of the characters are pretty crazy too. The little robot Blop knows pretty much everything, but nobody ever listens to him, because he talks too much so no one ever thinks what he has to say is important. Also there is Leo who is the main character, is really adventurous and can figure out how to work almost anything in the hotel. He is the son of the engineer that has to continuously fix things. Merganzer is a mainish character that gives Leo and Remi hints on how to solve the puzzles in some of the rooms because if they solve the puzzles then it does something that is usually in an entirely different area of the hotel.      The rooms are very strange. There are puzzles in some of the rooms, but they are very difficult to find and most of the time Merganzer has to give Leo a note saying exactly which room to go into and what to do when they get there. And most of the time he doesn’t even tell them directly what to do. He just hint at thing they night want to do that might do something else. And sometimes, he doesn’t tell them at all what to do so Blop has to explain it.
	Carmen, Patrick.  3 Below. Lex: 7.7 AR: 5.1 373 pgs	ÙÙÙÙÙ Talon, 8th Grade       The suspense is extremely intense. The cliffhanger at the end of the second book is horrible. It is just mind-crushingly devastating. The main characters are going to the place they’ve heard about all through the books called the Field of Wacky Inventions and then the book ends. Right when they get to the part the reader has been waiting for the entire time they’ve been reading. And all during the first book, the reader is intrigued at what is to happen next. Leo has to find a group of wooden colored boxes that each has something in them that helps Leo find the next box. And the last box has something important that might help Leo find Merganzer, who has mysteriously disappeared.      The books Floors and 3 Below are very intriguing, suspenseful, and fun books to read.  The characters and plot keep the book going; the story never really stops because of the non-stop action. The crazy scenes add mystery and suspense to the story. The wacky things the characters have to do are both funny and unpredictable. there really is no good way to describe it.
	Collier & Collier. The Bloody Country. 181 pgs,  780L   In English Room.	ÙÙÙÙÙ Tyler M., ninth grade The Bloody Country was an excellent book. It is about the Bucks who have a slave that’s Indian but claims he is black. The Bucks live in Pennsylvania and made a mill for their business. One day the government chops down the trees next to the bank and Ben the father tells them not to. Then the terrible flood happens and it wipes away the Bucks whole house and their mill. Then Joe Mountain the slave runs away and never comes back. Now everything is going wrong for them the government drove off their father into the woods and they have to make a decision to go back to their uncles or stay there and fight the government.
	Collier & Collier. My Brother Sam is Dead.  Newberry Honor Book 211 pgs, 770L   In English Room.	ÙÙÙÙÙ Tyler, 10th grade The Collier brothers have written some good books and My Brother Sam Is Dead is one of the good ones.  A boy named Sam ends up joining the war against the British.  His dad does not accept his will to fight so Sam runs off with his dad’s gun and joins the army.  Sam has been in the army for two years and has decided to come home because his general doesn’t know that area well and since Sam lives there he goes and shows him around.  One day (when they are there) Sam goes to the tavern that his family owns and is there talking to his little brother, when they hear something.  So Sam runs outside to see that the cattle have been stolen, so Sam runs after them.  When his little brother gets to the road he sees that two other people have taken Sam hostage and are taking him in for a cattle thief.  Sam is innocent and his family tries to convince that to the general but does he listen or does Sam get the punishment for something he hasn’t done? ÙÙÙÙÙ Fuller, 10th grade  This was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, the way this book was written it practically puts you in the action.  I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because this seemed almost like a chapter of a biography rather than just a story.  This is a story about a boy and how his brother goes and fights for “freedom” and then ends up being guilty for steeling cattle and then getting a death sentence.  However, he wasn’t the one steeling the cattle, it was two other soldiers that stole them and then made a story, which made him, guilty.  This story was a very good read, there are several times in the book that you have to just keep on reading, and its almost impossible to put the book down.  I recommend this book to just about anybody who wants a good exciting read. ÙÙÙÙÙ  Tyler, 10th grade he Coiller brothers have written some good books and My Brother Sam Is Dead is one of the good ones.  A boy named Sam ends up joining the war against the British.  His dad does not accept his will to fight so Sam runs off with his dad’s gun and joins the army.  Sam has been in the army for two years and has decided to come home because his general doesn’t know that area well and since Sam lives there he goes and shows him around.  One day (when they are there) Sam goes to the tavern that his family owns and is there talking to his little brother, when they hear something.  So Sam runs outside to see that the cattle have been stolen, so Sam runs after them.  When his little brother gets to the road he sees that two other people have taken Sam hostage and are taking him in for a cattle thief.  Sam is innocent and his family tries to convince that to the general but does he listen or does Sam get the punishment for something he hasn’t done? ÙÙÙÙÙ Darcy, ninth grade Tim Meeker is a young boy working in his father’s tavern during the Revolutionary War. His brother Sam, while away at Yale, enlists in the rebel army and then returns home to steal his father’s gun. One problem: his father is a Loyalist to the King of England and lives in Redding, a well-known Tory town. This book goes on to tell the troubles the family goes through and the lives lost as a result of the war. It explains how Tim is troubled on what side is fighting for the right reasons. I would recommend this book to someone who likes war books or anything that deals with America’s history.  ÙÙÙÙÙ Sam, junior  This book is a great book.  It has to do with not only the revolutionary war, but family issues too.  The father in the book doesn't want his son, Sam, to join the army so they always fight about it.  Tim, the narrator and the second son to the father, is stuck in the middle and has to decide to agree with his father or his brother Sam.  If you like this book, Sam recommends the Fallen Angels.  This book would be good for 6th through 10th graders.
	Collier & Collier. The Winter Hero.  152 pgs,  750L   In English Room.	ÙÙÙÙÙ Darcy, 10th grade   Justin Conkey looks up to his older brother Peter. He’s a war hero, everyone respects him, and when he stands up for what is right, people listen. On the verge of Shay’s Rebellion, Justin is eager to be a hero. He wants to go fight the government troops with his brother. Once winter comes, he finds that being a hero and fighting government troops isn’t all its hyped up to be. I gave this book four stars because it had plenty of action but also focused on the political side of the rebellion. I would recommend this to anyone who liked My Brother Sam Is Dead.  ÙÙÙÙÙ Tyler M., ninth grade This book was very good. It was about a kid named Justin who lives with his sister and her husband out in a farm. One day, the mayor of the town comes to their farm and takes the oxen away from them because they have not paid him back for supplies (it was in the starting of the book). Well they can’t make the farm with out any oxen, so Justin has to work for him for 2 shillings a day, until they have paid him back. Since Justin and his uncle are on one side of the Army and the mayor is on the other, Justin snoops around in his cabinets to find evidence of the war and what is going on
	Collins, Suzanne.  The Hunger Games. Lex: 8.1      AR: 5.3 373 pgs	ÙÙÙÙÙ AL, 6th Grade  The hunger games are good books and the best books I have read. The Hunger Games takes place in Panem. It is about 12 districts that each picks two people to fight to the death in an arena. Two teenagers (Peeta and Katiness) picked from district 12.  Katiness and Peeta both are good at their own things. Like Peeta is strong and can over a hundred pounds over his head. On the other hand, Katiness was grown up to hunt, so she is good with a bow. The two work together in the arena and come face to face with sharp throws and fast agility. These two become in love and tries to keep the other one alive, but run into a confident district 2 fighter could kill them or the Capital who made the arena could them with monsters they can create. But there can only be one winner, so the couple might be split up or not.
	Cooney, Caroline B.  The Girl Who Invented Romance. Lex: 620   176 pgs	ÙÙÙÙÙ Danielle, ninth grade       Kelly Williams does the same as every other girl, she tries to put a little bit of romance in her life.       When Kelly gets the bright idea to invent a game of romance, she thinks that it is one of the greatest things. She ends up playing her own game, and throughout each time she plays, she redoes the whole game to make it so that everyone can play it.        Kelly and her friends use this game in their every-day lives to see how well it really works. Kelly starts to play the game with a boy named Will who is in her sociology class. When she does this, Kelly realizes some things that she never had realized before about romance.       This was a book that puts out a very truthful description the way things work with teenage girls and what they think about romance. It’s a great book, and I really liked it. I recommend it to anyone who likes books with the good ending where the girl gets that guy that she really wants. ÙÙÙÙÙ Arial, ninth grade This is one of my favorite books of all time.  I liked it because the characters seemed real and I could relate.  She described how it feels to be a teenager very well.              Kelly is a teenage girl looking for romance.  All around her romance seems to be happening.  She decides to invent a board game of romance.  Later Kelly realizes that not all romance ends in happy ever after.  The book comes with the game attached to the back.
	Elliott, L. M.   Under A War-Torn Sky.   284 pgs, 640L	ÙÙÙÙÙ Shelbie Henry was in a war camp and he goes out on his 15th mission, a mission that most people at that time did not come home from. The plane that he was in crashes and everyone but he died in it. He tries to make it home and innocent people risk their lives for him whose only mission at this point is to get home alive. ÙÙÙÙÙ Jeff, eighth grade Under a War-Torn Sky features a downed pilot named Henry Forester in WWII.  Every pilot in the squadron fears their fifteenth bombing run, because hardly anyone ever returns from the big 1 5.  When his plane is shot down, he is forced to bail out.  He lands in Nazi occupied France, and has been trained to always head west.  I enjoyed this book because I am very interested in WWII, and downed pilots are not covered so much in books or movies.  However, it doesn’t just talk about the war.  In the book there are many characters that Henry meets that are just civilians.  It really grabs the reader and throws them into battle. ÙÙÙÙÙ Thomas R., eighth grade Henry starts out in an air base in Europe. The camp is getting ready for a bomb run over Germany in WWII. During the bomb run the main characters plane is shot down. Throughout the whole book he is trying to get back to Europe. Along the way he has people risking there lives to help him. Some of the people even get captured and tortured for helping him. He also gets captured by Nazis and tortured. This is a very exciting book, and keeps you on the edge of your seat, and you won’t want to stop reading it. ÙÙÙÙÙ Paul F., eighth grade Henry, the main character of this book, flies in a B-24 bomber and they are going to bomb the Nazis in WWII.  This is the fifteenth trip for this 19-year-old co-pilot. They say the fifteenth is the unluckiest trip for pilots.  He was shot down.  Now he has to find his way back to England. This book reminds me of the Underground Railroad, because people who do not like the Nazis sneak him from house to house, and if the Germans find him they will capture him.  I recommend this book for people who like adventures and action books.  ÙÙÙÙÙ Mr. Greenlee The beginning is somewhat cheesy, the ending choppy, but the bulk in between is a good tale.
	Erskine, Kathryn. Mockingbird.   Lex: 6.8	ÙÙÙÙÙ Grace, 7th grade Mockingbird is an outstanding book. It blends heartwarming moments with depressing moments to create a wonderful story. The problems that happen to characters are very relatable and relevant to many people’s lives. I would definitely recommend this book.
	Funke, Cornelia.    Thief Lord.  650L
	Horvath, Polly.   Everything on a Waffle.
	Hyde, Catharine Ryan.  Pay It Forward.  630L	ÙÙÙÙÙ Shay, ninth grade  If you want to read a book about friendship, honesty, and kindness, Pay It Forward is the book to read.  The school hired a new teacher, Mr. St. Clair he is a war veteran.  He told the class that they had to do an experiment. One of the kids, Trevor, chose to do something called pay it forward.  It is where Trevor did something good for three people and those three people do something good for three other people and it keeps going. Mr. St. Clair really liked Trevor’s his project.  Trevor ended up going to Washington to visit the White House and meeting the president.  I think that this book taught about kindness can get somewhere in live.  I really enjoyed reading this book. ÙÙÙÙÙ Emily  This book is about helping people that are in great need.  Trevor McKinney, the main character, is the person that comes up with the whole idea.  His idea was when you loan someone some money they don't pay it back they pay it forward to someone else.  In Trevor's eyes this idea after time will have helped every person without a home.
	Lancaster  Human.4
	Lenski, Lois.  Strawberry Girl.    650L
	Lest, Julius  Long Journey Home
	Myers, Walter Dean.   Scorpions.  610 L, 216 pgs	ÙÙÙÙÙ Tymon, eighth grade  Tito and Jamal  are faced with a situation that could change their lives.  A bad kid named Mack gives them a gun because he wants them in a gang called the Scorpions.  This book doesn’t have very much action in it besides a few school fights and a killing.  It’s about how Jamal deals with school and his brother in jail.  This book puts the reader in the story; I was thinking as if I were in this book.  It was a good, easy read.  It doesn’t have a ton of profanity in it, so younger kids would be able to read it also.
	O’Dell,  Scott Sarah Bishop
	Patterson, James Final Warning
	Sachar, Louis.   Holes.   660L	Sam  Holes is a good book.  The book tells about a boy named Stanley that gets sent to camp green lake for being falsely accused of stealing shoes.  At the camp they make the kids dig holes, for a wrong reason.  The book describes the story of Stanley and many stories of the kids at the camp.  Holes has many side stories.  The book supports the idea of working together and standing up to what's wrong.  Sam recommends this book for 4th through 9th graders.
	Sebold, Alice Lucky
	Sparks, Nicholas Last Song
	Sparks, Nicholas Lucky One
	Spinellli, Jerry.    Maniac Magee.  820L	ÙÙÙÙÙ Fuller         Jeffery Magee was an ordinary kid, living an ordinary life until his parents onboard a train heading out of town for the week and disaster hit.  His parents encountered a horrible train accident and are killed on impact, leaving Jeffery to fend for himself as an orphan.  That’s when he becomes known as “Maniac Magee.”  Read along to see how Young Jeffery runs away from his terrible distant family and lives on his own, on the street.  I gave this book three out of five stars because I found this plot way over used and somewhat boring.  On the other hand if your looking for a quick very easy read, give it a try.  ÙÙÙÙÙ Tyler M      Jerry Spinelli did a great job writing this book , it starts off with Maniac getting in trouble with other kids then becoming there friends at the end of the book.  The book was mainly about Maniac who does things, other people would not think of doing, such as, being a white boy going to the west end which was blacks and living with a black family.  No one ever thought of that because west was blacks and east was whites and no one ever tempted to wonder off there way to the other end. And so there was this boy who was now the one everyone was talking about and he is now famous for doing his heroic things in the east and the west end so now no matter where he goes he is welcome for doing the things that he has done.
	Spinellli, Jerry.    Stargirl.   590L	ÙÙÙÙÙ Arial, ninth grade  Mysterious, romantic, dramatic-all words to describe this wonderful book. It is about a girl who seems to be more in touch with herself and her world then the people around her can understand. The book is narby a boy named Leo, who falls under the spell Stargirl seems to put on people. The book is basted in a high school were cliques and peers have huge effects on other peoples life. Its focus is on just trying to be yourself which it portrays very well.  I enjoyed reading this book and highly recommended it. Anonymous Review author  Stargirl came to Mica High school completely different then everyone else.  She dressed differently, acted differently, and talked differently. At first, the high school liked her individualism.  Stargirl inspired many people to change and become more of individuals.  After a few months though, the students started to find Stargirl more weird than just different.  Soon the whole high school was giving her the cold shoulder.  They would talk behind her back they wouldn't look at her and wouldn't talk to anyone who was friends with her.  Leo fell in love with Stargirl the first time he saw her.  Leo loves her friendliness and begins to date her just as everyone else is turning their backs on her.  Before long, they have also turned their backs on him, and he can't take it.  Stargirl is an inspiration to everyone and no one seems to notice.  I recommend this story too teenage and middle school girls.
	Stockett, Kathryn Help, The
	Brian’s Hunt Paulsen, Gary
	Brian’s Winter Paulsen, Gary
	Wulffson Soldier X
	Holt, Kimberly Willis When Zachary Beaver Came to Town National Book Award for Young People 1999 AR:  4.5 Lex: 7.0
	Avi True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle Newbery Honor Book 1991 AR:  5.3 Lex: 7.4
	Avi Crispin: The Cross of Lead Newbery Medal 2003 AR:  5.0 Lex: 7.8
	Collier & Collier My Brother Sam is Dead Newbery Honor Book 1975 AR:  4.9 Lex: 7.7
	Konigsburg E. L. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Newbery Medal 1968 AR:  4.7 Lex: 7.0
	Farmer, Nancy Girl Named Disaster Newbery Honor Book 1997 AR:  5.1 Lex: 7.3
	Farmer, Nancy House of the Scorpion Newbery Honor Book 2003; Printz Award  Honor 2003 AR:  5.1 Lex: 6.6
	George, Jean C. My Side of the Mountain Newbery Honor Book 1960 AR:  5.2 Lex: 8.1
	Horvath, Polly Everything on a Waffle Newbery Honor Book 2002 AR: Lex:
	Katherine Paterson Bridge to Terabithia Newbery Medal 1978 AR:  4.6 Lex: 8.0
	Raskin, Ellen Westing Game Newbery Medal 1979 AR:  5.3 Lex: 7.5
	Sachar, Louis Holes Newbery Medal 1999 AR: Lex:
	Sclitz, Amy Splendors and Glooms Newbery Honor Book 2013 AR:  5.1 Lex: 6.7
	Spinellli, Jerry Maniac Magee Newbery Medal 1991 AR:  4.7 Lex: 8.2
	Virginia Sorenson Miracles on Maple Hill Newbery Medal 1957 AR:  4.9 Lex: 7.5