Middle School Reading List: Reading Up A Storm Choice Board by Lauren Yansick

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

yansickl — 2025-02-28 16:51:57 UTC

A thrilling modern fantasy that follows Percy Jackson, a young demigod, as he discovers his identity and embarks on a quest to prevent a war between the gods. Perfect for readers who enjoy mythology and action-packed adventures.

The One and Only Ivan

yansickl — 2025-02-28 16:51:59 UTC

Based on a true story, this Newbery Medal-winning novel tells the touching tale of Ivan, a gorilla who lives in a mall, and his friendship with a baby elephant. A beautiful story about art, friendship, and finding one's voice.

Holes

yansickl — 2025-02-28 16:52:01 UTC

A clever, multilayered story about Stanley Yelnats, who is sent to a juvenile detention camp where he must dig holes every day. A masterful blend of mystery, folklore, and friendship.

The Westing Game

yansickl — 2025-02-28 16:52:02 UTC

A brilliant mystery novel where sixteen people compete to solve the puzzling death of millionaire Sam Westing and win his fortune. Challenges readers with its intricate plot and memorable characters.

New Kid

yansickl — 2025-02-28 16:52:06 UTC

A Newbery Medal-winning graphic novel about Jordan Banks, who navigates being one of the few students of color at a prestigious private school. Addresses identity, friendship, and belonging.

Fish in a Tree

yansickl — 2025-02-28 16:52:07 UTC

An inspiring story about Ally, a girl with dyslexia who discovers her own strengths with the help of a teacher who believes in her. A powerful book about learning differences and self-discovery.

Ghost

yansickl — 2025-02-28 16:52:08 UTC

The first book in the Track series follows Castle Crenshaw (Ghost), a naturally talented runner dealing with a troubled past. A compelling story about perseverance and personal growth.

The Wild Robot

yansickl — 2025-02-28 16:52:09 UTC

A unique story about a robot named Roz who becomes stranded on an island and must learn to adapt to the natural world. Combines elements of science fiction with themes of survival and adaptation.

The Giver

yansickl — 2025-02-28 16:52:10 UTC

A thought-provoking dystopian novel about Jonas, who lives in a seemingly perfect community until he becomes the Receiver of Memory and discovers the dark truth behind his society.

Among the Hidden

yansickl — 2025-02-28 16:52:11 UTC

Set in a future where families are allowed only two children, this story follows Luke, a forbidden third child who must remain hidden. A gripping exploration of survival and justice.

The Hunger Games

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:06:30 UTC

^{In what was once North America, the Capitol of Panem maintains its hold on its 12 districts by forcing them each to select a boy and a girl, called Tributes, to compete in a nationally televised event called the Hunger Games. Every citizen must watch as the youths fight to the death until only one remains. District 12 Tribute Katniss Everdeen has little to rely on, other than her hunting skills and sharp instincts, in an arena where she must weigh survival against love.}

Illegal

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:10:30 UTC

^{His brother, Kwame, has disappeared, and Ebo knows it can only be to attempt the hazardous journey to Europe, and a better life - the same journey their sister embarked on months ago.}

^{But Ebo refuses to be left behind in Ghana. Ebo's epic quest takes him across the Sahara Desert to the dangerous streets of Tripoli, and finally out to the merciless sea. But with every step, he holds on to his hope for a new life and a reunion with his family.}

Out of My Mind

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:17:38 UTC

^{Dive into the story of Melody Brooks, a young girl with cerebral palsy who is unable to speak or move freely, but possesses a brilliant mind with a photographic memory; the novel explores her struggles to communicate her thoughts and intelligence to the world around her, as she navigates school and social interactions while fighting against the perception that her physical limitations equate to a lack of intellect.}

The Book Thief

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:21:55 UTC

^{"The Book Thief" tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany during World War II, who finds solace and strength in stealing books and learning to read, amidst the horrors of war, all narrated by the personified figure of Death.}

Salt to the Sea

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:27:00 UTC

Follow the stories of four young refugees - Joana, Emilia, Florian, and Alfred - as they desperately flee the advancing Soviet army in East Prussia during WWII. They ultimately converge on the doomed ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff, in hopes of reaching safety, all while carrying their own tragic pasts and secrets. The novel is based on the real-life maritime disaster of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, considered one of the worst maritime tragedies in history.

One Crazy Summer

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:28:59 UTC

^{"One Crazy Summer" tells the story of three sisters, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern, who travel from Brooklyn to Oakland, California in the summer of 1968 to spend time with their mother, Cecile, who abandoned them years ago; while there, they are largely left to their own devices as Cecile is deeply involved in the Black Panther movement, forcing the girls to navigate a summer of political activism and learn about their mother's complex past.}

Stranded

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:44:38 UTC

A contemporary "My Side of the Mountain," Stranded is the story of a wilderness-hungry girl from Manhattan whose journey in the Adirondack mountains becomes a nail-biting story of courage, independence, and survival.

Hatchet

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:46:28 UTC

After a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness, thirteen year old Brain must learn to survive the wilderness with the use of his only tool: a hatchet.

The 5th Wave

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:48:30 UTC

This novel tells the story of an alien invasion through the eyes of a teenage girl, Cassie Sullivan, who seeks to rescue her brother, Sammy, from the enemy.

Moon Over Manifest

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:54:52 UTC

^{Just twelve years old, Abilene feels abandoned and alone. While her father works on the railroad, she arrives with a few possessions and a list of things she wants to learn. As she steps off the train, her excitement quickly fades. The town is nothing like the vibrant place from her father’s stories. Instead, it appears dusty, worn out, and stuck in the shadows of the Great Depression. Abilene is determined to learn about her father’s past. She hopes it will bring them closer together. Settling into her new surroundings, she moves into the parsonage with kind-hearted Shady Howard. He provides her with shelter in this unfamiliar place. Despite feeling lonesome, Abilene’s curiosity drives her to explore Manifest’s hidden corners.}

The Graveyard Book

yansickl — 2025-02-28 17:59:52 UTC

The Graveyard Book follows a boy called Nobody Owens (or Bod) from two to fifteen years old. When he was only small one single event changes his life forever. Since the event he's raised within a graveyard by ghosts, hardly ever having any human company and never going into the world as we know it.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

yansickl — 2025-02-28 18:04:35 UTC

^{12-year-old Kyle Keeley, a fan of game maker Luigi Lemoncello, wins a contest to spend the night in the grand opening of Lemoncello's new, technologically advanced library. However, upon arrival, Mr. Lemoncello announces a surprise game where the first to escape the library overnight wins a special prize, forcing the children to solve complex puzzles and riddles hidden throughout the library, requiring teamwork and quick thinking to find the exit.}

The Canyon's Edge

yansickl — 2025-02-28 18:07:03 UTC

Any type of loss is difficult, but the loss of a mother and a wife is insurmountable. For Nora and her dad, exploring an Arizona canyon feels like a way to find peace after their loss. When a flash flood separates Nora from her dad, Nora must find her way through grief and isolation to survive.

Falling Short

yansickl — 2025-02-28 18:20:39 UTC

^{Best friends Isaac and Marci already know sixth grade is going to change their lives. But it won't change the difficulties they are both having at home - not without each other's help.}

^{This year, athletically gifted Isaac plans on finally keeping up with his schoolwork. Better grades will surely stop Isaac's parents from arguing all the time. Meanwhile, academically gifted Marco plans on finally winning his father's approval by earning a spot on the school's basketball team.}

^{But will their friendship and support for each other be enough to keep the two boys from falling short?}

Taking Flight

yansickl — 2025-02-28 18:23:25 UTC

Michaela DePrince was born in war-torn Sierra Leone and was orphaned at a young age. She became known as Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was tormented as a "devil child" due to a condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But at that same orphanage, Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would change the course of her life and allow her to take flight.

Troublemakers in Trousers

yansickl — 2025-02-28 18:25:23 UTC

This compilation highlights the stories of 21 women throughout history who defied societal norms by wearing men's clothing, essentially "breaking the rules" to achieve their goals in various fields, including politics, art, and sports, showcasing how clothing choices could be a powerful tool for women to challenge expectations.

All Stations! Distress!

yansickl — 2025-02-28 18:28:17 UTC

As the Titanic sank into the icy Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, the signal went out: All Stations! Distress! This gripping account dramatizes the disaster in the words of the survivors and in water-colors that portrays the chaos, desperation, and numerous individual dramas of a night remembers for the most infamous shipwreck in history.

The Great and Only Barnum

yansickl — 2025-02-28 18:29:50 UTC

Discover the true story of P.T. Barnum, the man who created the world-famous Barnum & Bailey Circus, as featured in the movie The Greatest Showman!

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World

yansickl — 2025-02-28 18:31:43 UTC

A charmingly illustrated and educational book, Women in Science highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from the ancient to the modern world.

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem

yansickl — 2025-02-28 18:36:05 UTC

Award-winning author Rosalyn Schanzer tells the true story of the victims, accused witches, scheming officials, and mass hysteria that turned a mysterious illness affecting two children into a witch hunt that took more than 20 people's lives and ruined the lives of hundreds more.

Chasing Lincoln's Killer

yansickl — 2025-02-28 18:40:57 UTC

James L. Swanson takes us on an intense 12-day manhunt for President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, and his accomplice, David Herold. The chase begins immediately after Booth shoots President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865.

Aru Shah and the End of Time

yansickl — 2025-02-28 19:06:48 UTC

The story follows 12-year-old Aru Shah who inadvertently freezes time by unleashing an ancient demon from a cursed lamp.

Gregor the Overlander

yansickl — 2025-03-03 13:21:18 UTC

When Gregor follows his little sister through a grate in the laundry room of their New York apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland beneath the city. There, humans live uneasily beside giant spiders, bats, cockroaches, and rats--but the fragile peace is about to fall apart.

Gregor wants no part of a conflict. He just wants to find his way home. But when he discovers that a prophecy foretells a role for him in the Underland's future, he realizes it might be the only way to solve the biggest mystery of his life. Little does he know his quest will change him--and the Underland--forever.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

yansickl — 2025-03-03 14:25:27 UTC

Charlotte Doyle is a properly brought up young lady who is traveling from England to rejoin her family in America. Through a series of apparently coincidental, but suspicious, events, she finds herself the lone passenger on a forbidding ship. Initially, Captain Jaggery seems to be a true gentleman and the crew a motley collection of sullen lower-class riffraff. It is only after her snobbishly misguided actions have foiled a justified mutiny and resulted in the deaths of two of the crew that she finally begins to see the truth.

Al Capone Does My Shirts

yansickl — 2025-03-03 14:30:38 UTC

Meet 12-year-old Moose Flanagan, who moves with his family to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when his father takes a job as an electrician at the prison, which houses notorious criminals like Al Capone. Moose struggles to navigate life on the island while caring for his autistic sister, Natalie, and trying to get her accepted into a special school. He often finds himself entangled with the warden's daughter, Piper, and the island's convicts, including Al Capone himself.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

yansickl — 2025-03-03 15:22:02 UTC

Karana is left stranded alone on a remote island off the coast of California after her tribe is forced to flee due to attacks from Aleut hunters. She must learn to survive on her own, facing challenges like wild animals, the harsh environment, and loneliness, eventually forming a bond with a wild dog named Rontu. Will she ever see her tribe again?

Rules

yansickl — 2025-03-17 13:10:15 UTC

There is an ongoing spring reading challenge in the middle school!

1) For each book you check out and read from the library, you earn a point.
2) Earn 2 points for reading a book from the reading list.
3) Points are kept track on a scoreboard in the library.
4) In June, the top 3 students with the most points will earn a prize!

See Mrs. Yansick for any questions.

The Maze Runner

yansickl — 2025-03-21 13:11:20 UTC

Thomas, a boy with amnesia, wakes up in a strange place called the Glade, surrounded by a giant maze and other boys, and learns they are trapped and must find a way out while evading deadly creatures.

The Raft

yansickl — 2025-03-21 13:12:28 UTC

The Raft, by S.A. Bodeen, tells the castaway story of Robie, a young woman who survives an airplane crash in the Pacific Ocean. The crash occurs as she attempts to return from a trip to visit her aunt in Honolulu.

Uglies

yansickl — 2025-03-21 13:15:51 UTC

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license - for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and atapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk like on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world - and it isn't very pretty.

Refugee

yansickl — 2025-03-21 13:21:23 UTC

JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazu Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world...

ISABEL is. Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America...

MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by voilence and destruction, and and his family begin a long trek toward Europe...

All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers. But there is always a hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.

White Bird

yansickl — 2025-03-31 12:48:51 UTC

Julian has struggled to belong ever since he was expelled from his former school for his treatment of Auggie Pullman. To transform his life, Julian's grandmother finally reveals her own story of courage. During her youth in Nazi-occupied France, a boy shelters her from mortal danger. Together, they find first love in a stunning, magical world of their own creation, while the boy's mother risks everything to keep her safe.