Newton Free Library: Tween Booklists: Middle School Gift List 2014

Welcome to the Middle School Gift List 2014

Printable version.of list.

We've linked each title to the physical book format. Search by title in our catalog to find additional formats. If you'd like to look at additional available formats, please look next to call number and correlate with the following legend: P= Playaway, EB = E-Book, EA = E-Audiobook, R = Reluctant Reader

Adventure/Mystery

Buzz Kill by Fantaskey, Beth
Call Number: TEEN FANTASKEY, B.
Seventeen-year-old Millie joins forces with her classmate, gorgeous but mysterious Chase Colton, to try to uncover who murdered head football coach "Hollerin' Hank" Killdare--and why.
Furious Jones and the Assassin's Secret by Kehoe, Tim
Call Number: TWEEN KEHOE, T.
Upon witnessing his famous spy-novelist father's murder just seven months after his mother's death, twelve-year-old Furious, now an orphan, seeks clues in his father's latest novel to stop the murderer before he or she strikes again.
Greenglass House by Milford, Kate
Call Number: TWEEN MILFORD, K.
At Greenglass House, a smuggler's inn, twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son, plans to spend his winter holidays relaxing but soon guests are arriving with strange stories about the house sending Milo and a friend on an adventure.
The Boundless by Oppel, Kenneth
Call Number: TWEEN OPPEL, K.
Aboard "The Boundless," the greatest train ever built, on its maiden voyage across Canada, teenaged Will enlists the aid of a traveling circus to save the train from villains.
The Blood Guard by Roy, Carter
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Thirteen-year-old Ronan Truelove finds his life turned upside down when he learns that his mother is a member of an ancient order called the Blood Guard, and it is now up to him and his companions to escape the Bend Sinister.
Loot by Watson, Jude
Call Number: TWEEN WATSON, J.
When Alfie McQuinn, the notorious jewel thief, is killed on a job, his last words to his son, March, are to "find jewels" and this instruction leads the boy to Jules, the twin sister he never knew he had--and the perfect partner to carry on the family business.

Historical Fiction

Stay Where You Are and Then Leave by Boyne, John
Call Number: TWEEN BOYNE, J.
Four years after Alfie Summerfield's father left London to become a soldier in World War I he has not returned but Alfie, now nine, is shining shoes at King's Cross Station when he happens to learn that his father is at a nearby hospital being treated for shell shock.
The Children of the King by Hartnett, Sonya
Call Number: J FIC HARTNETT, S.
Cecily and Jeremy have been sent to live with their Uncle Peregrine in the English countryside, safe from the war, along with a young refugee named May. But when Cecily and May find two mysterious boys hiding in the ruins of a nearby castle, an extraordinary adventure begins.
Willow by Hegamin, Tonya Cherie
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
In 1848 Willow, a fifteen-year-old educated slave girl girl faces an inconceivable choice--between bondage and freedom, family and love.
The Paper Cowboy by Levine, Kristin
Call Number: TWEEN LEVINE, K.
In a small town near Chicago in 1953, twelve-year-old Tommy faces escalating problems at home, among his Catholic school friends, and with the threat of a communist living nearby, but taking over his hospitalized sister's paper route introduces him to neighbors who he comes to rely on for help.
Zane and the Hurricane by Philbrick, Rodman
Call Number: TWEEN PHILBRICK, R.
A twelve-year-old boy and his dog become trapped in New Orleans during the horrors of Hurricane Katrina
Revolution by Wiles, Deborah
Call Number: TWEEN WILES, D.
It's 1964 in Greenwood, Mississippi, and Sunny's town is being invaded by people from up north who are coming to help people register to vote. Her personal life isn't much better, as a new stepmother, brother, and sister are crowding into her life, giving her little room to breathe.

Horror & the Supernatural

The Vanishing Season by Anderson, Jodi Lynn
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
In the town of Gill Creek, someone is killing teenage girls and the town reels from the tragedy.
The Night Gardener by Auxier, Jonathan
Call Number: TWEEN AUXIER, J.
Irish orphans Molly and Kip travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be. Soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.
Into the Grey by Kiernan, Celine
Call Number: TWEEN KIERNAN, C.
When they have to move permanently into their family's summer cottage, twin brothers Pat and Dom meet a ghost--a strange boy who cries black tears and fears that a bad man is chasing him.
Dreamwood by Mackey, Heather
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
12-year-old Lucy Darrington goes on a quest to find her missing father in a remote, magical territory in the Pacific Northwest.
Jackaby by Ritter, William
Call Number: TEEN RITTER, W.
Newly arrived in 1892 New England, Abigail Rook becomes assistant to R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with the ability to see supernatural beings. Their first case: a serial murder.
In the Shadows by White, Kiersten
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Minnie and Cora, sisters living in a sleepy Maine town in the nineteenth century, are intrigued by Arthur, a mysterious boy with no past who has come to live in their mother's boarding house.

Biographies & Nonfiction

Stubby the War Dog by Bausum, Ann
Call Number: J 973.915 B32S
Adopted by Private Robert Conroy during basic training and smuggled over to France during WWI, Stubby, the stump-tailed terrier, worked behind enemy lines and gained military honors along the way.
How They Choked by Bragg, Georgia
Call Number: J 920 B73H
Read about the failures of fourteen famous achievers including Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Vincent Van Gogh, Ann Boleyn, and Amelia Earhart.
The Story of Buildings by Dillon, Patrick
Call Number: 720.9 D58S
From the Egyptian pyramids to the dramatic Pompidou Center in France, Patrick Dillon's stories of remarkable buildings--and the remarkable people who made them--celebrates the ingenuity of human creation.
How to Make a Universe with 92 Ingredients by Dingle, Adrian
Call Number: J 546 D61H
A guide to chemical elements and the periodic table that features facts, experiments, and hands-on activities
Sticky Fingers by Maletsky, Sophie
Call Number: J 745.5 M29S
The basics of creating crafts with duct tape, tips and sidebars for taking your projects to the next level, a breakdown of the best brands and supplies, and hundreds of explanatory photographs.
Guys Read: True Stories by Scieszka, Jon
Call Number: TWEEN SHORT STORIES[Guys Read]
A collection of essays, biographies, how-to guides, and more, all proving that the truth is most definitely out there.

Realistic Fiction

Never Ending by Bedford, Martyn
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Traumatized by grief and guilt after her younger brother dies during a family vacation, fifteen-year-old Shiv is sent away to an exclusive clinic that claims to "cure" people like her.
Outside In by Ellis, Sarah
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
A young girl named Lynn has an ideal life, but things are about to change when she meets a mysterious girl named Blossom, whose family lives secretly beneath a city reservoir.
Infinite Sky by Flood, C. J.
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
After her mother leaves and her brother and father grow increasingly distant, thirteen-year-old Iris finds solace and friendship in Trick, a fourteen-year-old gypsy boy.
Skink - No Surrender by Hiaasen, Carl
Call Number: TWEEN HIAASEN, C.
With the help of an eccentric ex-governor, a teenaged boy searches for his missing cousin in the Florida wilds.
Swim That Rock by Rocco, John
Call Number: TEEN ROCCO, J.
When his dad goes missing in a fishing-boat accident, fourteen-year-old Jake struggles to help save the family diner and refuses to believe he has lost his father forever.
Unfriended by Vail, Rachel
Call Number: TWEEN VAIL, R.
When thirteen-year-old Truly is invited to sit at the Popular Table, she finds herself caught in a web of lies and misunderstandings, made unescapable by the hyperconnected social media world.

Graphic Novels

Shackleton by Bertozzi, Nick
Call Number: TEEN GRAPHIC 919.89 B46S, GRAPHIC 919.89 B46S 2014
Ernest Shackleton led one of the most ambitious Antarctic expeditions ever undertaken. This is his story, and the story of the dozens of men who threw in their lot with him.
In Real Life by Doctorow, Cory
Call Number: TEEN GRAPHIC IN REAL LIFE
Anda loves Coarsegold Online, the massively-multiplayer role playing game that she spends most of her free time on. But things become a lot more complicated when she befriends a gold farmer--a poor Chinese kid who has to use his online avatar to survive in the real world.
The Dumbest Idea Ever! by Jimmy Gownley
Call Number: TWEEN GRAPHIC
Jimmy Gownley recalls his teenage years in school and how he became a cartoonist.
Cleopatra in Space #1: Target Practice by Maihack, Mike
Call Number: TWEEN GRAPHIC
Mysteriously zapped thousands of years into the future, a teenaged Cleopatra discovers that she is destined to save the galaxy.
The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel Vol. 1 & 2 by Gaiman, Neil
Call Number: TWEEN GRAPHIC GRAVEYARD BOOK
An adaptation of the Newbery Award-winning novel about the orphan Bod who wanders into a graveyard where he is taken in by a collection of ghosts.
The Shadow Hero by Yang, Gene Luen
Call Number: TEEN GRAPHIC SHADOW HERO
Aided by one of the four spirits of Chinese mythology, nineteen-year-old Hank becomes a superhero named the Green Turtle and sets out to rid Chinatown of the gangsters who have intimidated everyone for years and murdered his father.

Science Fiction

The Foundry's Edge by Baity, Cameron
Call Number: J FIC BAITY, C.
When twelve-year-old Phoebe Plumm and her father are abducted by his employer, The Foundry, and taken to a savage world of living metal that is rising up against its oppressors, Phoebe and her servant Micah fight back.
Replica by Black, Jenna
Call Number: TEEN BLACK, J.
Sixteen-year-old Nadia lives a privileged life in the Corporate States, but when her betrothed is killed and then wakes up in the replication tanks, the pair sets out to find a killer while keeping the secrets of human replication technology from the dangerous people who run their world.
Parched by Clark, Georgia
Call Number: TWEEN CLARK, G.
Feeling guilty after her mother's accidental death, sixteen-year-old Tessendra Rockwood leaves Eden to fight for survival in the drought-devastated Badlands, but when she joins the rebel group Kudzu to fight government tyranny, she is in for some big surprises.
The Inventor's Secret by Cremer, Andrea
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
In an alternate nineteenth-century America that is still a colony of Great Britain, sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow refugees' struggle to survive is interrupted by a newcomer with no memory, bearing secrets about a terrible future.
The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Kwaymullina, Ambelin
Call Number: TEEN KWAYMULINA, A.
Taking refuge among other teens who are in hiding from a government threatened by their supernatural powers, Ashala covertly practices her abilities only to be captured and interrogated about the location of her friends.
Whisper by Struyk-Bonn, Christina
Call Number: TWEEN STRUYK-BONN, C.
Whisper, a teen girl with a cleft palate, is forced to survive in a world that is hostile to those with disfigurements or disabilities.

Poetry

Caminar by Brown, Skila
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
In 1981 with the arrival of soldiers in his Guatemalan village, Carlos must flee and join a band of guerillas who head to the mountains where his grandmother lives to warn her about the soldiers.
Rhyme Schemer by K. A. Holt
Call Number: TWEEN HOLT, K.
A novel in verse about Kevin's journey from bully to being bullied, as he learns about friendship, family, and his talent for poetry.
The Sound of Letting Go by Kehoe, Stasia Ward
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
At seventeen, Daisy feels imprisoned by her brother Steven's autism and its effects, and her only escape is through her trumpet into the world of jazz; but when her parents decide to send Steven to an institution she is not ready to let him go.
Dust of Eden by Nagai, Mariko
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Thirteen-year-old Mina Tagawa and her Japanese-American family are forced by the government to leave their Seattle home and relocate to an internment camp in Idaho, where they live for three years.
A Time to Dance by Venkatraman, Padma
Call Number: TWEEN VENKATARAMAN, P.
In India, a girl who excels at Bharatanatyam dance refuses to give up after losing a leg in an accident.

Humor

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Berry, Julie
Call Number: TWEEN BERRY, J.
Seven very proper Victorian young ladies conspire to hide a murder from the authorities at their boarding school
The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Hattemer, Kate
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
When a sleazy reality television show takes over Ethan's arts academy, he and his friends concoct an artsy plan to take it down.
The Great Greene Heist by Johnson, Varian
Call Number: TWEEN JOHNSON, V.
When it looks like Keith Sinclair may steal the election for school president, prankster Jackson Greene assembles a team to make sure Keith does not succeed.
The Chapel Wars by Leavitt, Lindsey
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Holly's grandfather leaves her his Las Vegas wedding chapel in his will, along with a letter asking her to reach out to Dax, the distractingly cute young man whose grandfather owns the chapel next door.
Night of the Zombie Chickens by Mata, Julie
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Budding film director Kate Walden navigates middle school girl politics and chores on her mother's chicken farm while trying to become the next Spielberg.
Codename Zero by Rylander, Chris
Call Number: TWEEN RYLANDER, C.
When a desperate man asks thirteen-year-old Carson Fender to deliver a mysterious package for him, the middle schooler discovers there's something going on in his sleepy North Dakota hometown he had never expected--something involving the CIA.

Fantasy

Bloodwitch by Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia
Call Number: TEEN ATWATER-RHODES, A.
Raised by vampires, a shapeshifter learns that he may be a bloodwitch who possesses rare and destructive magic that the leader of the powerful Midnight empire seeks to control.
The Iron Trial by Black, Holly
Call Number: TWEEN BLACK, H.
Warned away from magic all of his life, Callum endeavors to fail the trials that would admit him to the Magisterium only to be drawn into its ranks against his will and forced to confront dark elements from his past.
A Creature of Moonlight by Hahn, Rebecca
Call Number: TWEEN HAHN, R.
Marni, a young flower seller, must choose between claiming her birthright as princess of a realm whose king wants her dead, and a life with the father she has never known--a wild dragon.
The Castle Behind Thorns by Haskell, Merrie
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
When Sand, a blacksmith's apprentice, wakes up in a broken castle, he must find a way to put it back together.
The Kiss of Deception by Pearson, Mary E.
Call Number: TEEN PEARSON, M.
After running away from her wedding, Princess Lia is settling into life in a distant village when two strangers arrive--one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her.
The Forbidden Library by Wexler, Django
Call Number: J FIC WEXLER, D.
When her father is lost at sea, Alice has to leave home to live with an "uncle" whose rural Pennsylvania estate includes a massive and mysterious library that holds much more than books.

Challenging Reads for Eighth Grade

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Anderson, Laurie Halse
Call Number: TEEN ANDERSON, L.
Hayley Kincaid and her father move back to their hometown to try a 'normal' life, but the horrors he saw in the war threaten to destroy their lives.
Zac and Mia by Betts, A. J.
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
In the real world, Zac wouldn't--couldn't--be friends with Mia, who has questionable taste in music. In the hospital different rules apply, and a knock on the wall leads to a note and then a friendship neither of them sees coming.
The Taking by Derting, Kimberly
Call Number: MYSTERY DERTING, K.
After waking up behind a dumpster with no memory of how she got there, Sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew returns home to find that she has been missing for five years.
Loud Awake and Lost by Griffin, Adele
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Eight months after a debilitating car accident leaves her with brain trauma and a back injury, amnesiac teen Ember tries to piece together the six weeks of her life leading up to the accident--and determine why none of her friends or family are willing to talk about it.
Dangerous by Hale Shannon
Call Number: TEEN HALE, S.
When aspiring astronaut Maisie and the other space camp students get the opportunity to do something amazing in space, she must prove how dangerous she can be and how far she is willing to go to protect everything she has ever loved.
Conversion by Katherine Howe
Call Number: TEEN HOWE, K.
When girls start experiencing strange tics and other mysterious symptoms at Colleen's high school, her small town falls victim to rumors that lead to full-blown panic, and only Colleen connects their fate to the ill-fated Salem Village three centuries ago.
And We Stay by Hubbard, Jenny
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Sent to an Amherst, Massachusetts, boarding school after her ex-boyfriend shoots himself, seventeen-year-old Emily expresses herself through poetry as she relives their relationship, copes with her guilt, and begins to heal.
Minders by Jaffe, Michele Jaffe
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Sadie, a wealthy, success-oriented sixteen-year-old joins the prestigious Mind Corps Fellowship program as an observer in the head of Ford, a troubled, possibly murderous boy, with whom Sadie falls in love.
Torn by Massey, David
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Only eighteen when she is sent to Afghanistan, British army medic Elinor Nielson is continually at odds with her hardnosed bunkmate, Heidi Larson, but connects with a mysterious Afghan girl and local children, as well as an American lieutenant.
Free to Fall by Miller, Lauren Miller
Call Number: TEEN MILLER, L.
In a near-future world where everyone is controlled by their smartphones, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn suddenly begins listening to the voice within--which kids are taught to ignore--and discovers a terrible plot at the heart of the corporation that makes the devices.
Asylum by Roux, Madeleine
Call Number: TEEN ROUX, M.
Three teens at a summer program for gifted students uncover shocking secrets in the sanatorium-turned-dorm where they're staying--secrets that link them all to the asylum's dark past.
The Winner's Curse by Rutkoski, Marie
Call Number: TEEN RUTKOSKI, M.
An aristocratic girl who is a member of a warmongering and enslaving empire purchases a slave, an act that sets in motion a rebellion that might overthrow her world as well as her heart.
The Scar Boys by Vlahos, Len
Call Number: REQUEST FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY
Eighteen-year-old Harry Jones recounts a childhood defined by the hideous scars he hid behind, and how forming a band brought self-confidence, friendship, and his first kiss.
Afterworlds by Westerfeld, Scott
Call Number: TEEN WESTERFELD, S.
In alternating chapters, eighteen-year-old Darcy Patel navigates the New York City publishing world and Lizzie, the heroine of Darcy's novel, slips into the "Afterworld" to survive a terrorist attack and becomes a spirit guide.
Noggin by Whaley, John Corey
Call Number: TEEN WHALEY, J.
After dying at age sixteen, Travis Coates' head was removed and frozen for five years before being attached to another body, and now the old Travis and the new must find a way to coexist.