Burr Ridge Middle School
Summer 2017
SUMMER READING
Required for 5 - 8
Where To Get
Books
Books will be available at the
BRMS summer library, Indian
Prairie Library, amazon.com,
iBooks/Kindle, Frugal Muse
and other local book stores.
Continuing this
Summer
Do not settle for ordinary! Be
extra - ordinary!!! And READ
MORE this summer. In
addition to the required novel
for each grade, each grade
also is continuing to provide
students with two additional
titles. Read one additional
novel to attain READING PLUS
status. Read two additional
books to attain READING
MASTER status.
Students entering PLUS or
MASTER status will be eligible
for a Certificate of Recognition
and to participate in an after
school book discussion and
party . By reading now and
completing all three books,
students can be ahead on the
semester one Accelerated
Reader points.
SUMMER READING
Purpose for Students:
Our District’s goal is to have all students leave 8th grade at or
above grade level in both reading and math. To reach this goal,
we all need to encourage our students to PRACTICE daily.
To emphasize the importance of reading and to enhance student’s
reading skills, all students entering grades 5, 6, 7, 8 at Burr Ridge
Middle School for the 2017-2018 school year will be
REQUIRED to read ONE book over the summer. At the start
of the school year, there will be book discussions in each grade
level and a common assessment will be administered and entered
as a part of each student’s reading grade.
1
Burr Ridge Middle School
Summer 2017
READING PLUS NOVEL
8th Grade Required
Novel
The Testing by Joelle
Charbonneau
It’s graduation day for
sixteen-year old Malencia
Vale, and the entire Five
Lakes Colony (the former
Great Lakes) is celebrating.
For - is whether she’ll be
chosen for the testing, a
united commonwealth
program that selects the best
and brightest new graduates
to become possible leaders of
the slowly revitalizing postwar civilization.
When Cia is chosen, her
father finally tells her about
his own nightmarish halfmemories of the testing.
Amed with dire warnings
(“CIA, Trust no one”), she
bravely heads off to Tosu City,
far away from friends and
family. Perhaps forever.
Danger, romance - and sheer
terror await!
SUMMER READING
Independent Study by Joelle
Charbonneau
Cia is now a freshman at the University in Tosu City with
her hometown sweetheart, Tomas - and through the
government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal
horrors of the testing, Cia remembers. Her attempts to
expose the ugly truth behind he government’s murderous
programs put her - and her loved ones - in a world of danger.
But the future of the commonwealth depends on her.
READING MASTER NOVEL
Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau
In a scarred and brutal future the united
commonwealth letters on the brink of all-out civil war. The
rebel resistance pots against a government that rules with
cruelty and cunning. Gifted student and testing survivor,
Cia Vale, vows to fight. But she can’t do it alone. This is the
change to lead that Cia has rained for - but who will follow?
Plunging though layers of danger and deception, Cia must
risk the lives of those she loves - and gamble on the loyalty
of her lethal classmates. Who can Cia trust?
2
Burr Ridge Middle School
Summer 2017
READING PLUS NOVEL
7th Grade Required
Novel
Backlash by Sarah Darer
Littman
Lara just got told off on
Facebook. She thought that
Christian liked her, that he was
finally going to ask her to his
school's homecoming dance. It's
been a long time since Lara's felt
this bad, this depressed. Bree
used to be BBFs with
overweight, depressed Lara in
middle school, but constantly
listening to Lara's problems got
to be too much. Bree's secretly
glad that Christian's pointed out
Lara's flaws to the world. Lara's
not nearly as great as everyone
thinks.
After weeks of talking online,
Lara thought she knew
Christian, so what's with this
sudden change? And where does
he get off saying horrible things
on her wall? Even worse - are
they true?
But no one realized just how far
Christian's harsh comments
would push Lara. Not even Bree.
As online life collides with real
life, the truth starts to come
together and the backlash is
even more devastating than than
anyone could have imagined.
13: Thirteen Stories that Capture the
Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen by
James Howe
No one will want to skip any of the 12 short
stories and one poem that makes up this collection. The big
Bar Mitzvah that goes suddenly, wildly out of control. A
first kiss….. A crush on a girl that end up putting the boy
she likes in the hospital. A pair of sneakers that a kid has to
have. The stories are sad, wrenching, and poignant, the
moments large and small described in these stories capture
perfectly the agony and ecstasy of being 13.
READING MASTER NOVEL
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The
court is SIZZLING. My sweat is
DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz
tonight I’m delivering," announces dreadlocked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother
Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than
basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell
his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle
grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame
Alexander (He Said, She Said 2013). Josh and Jordan must
come to grips with growing up on and off the court to
realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as
their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer
for the entire family.
SUMMER READING
3
Burr Ridge Middle School
Summer 2017
.
READING PLUS NOVEL
Hero by Mike Lupica
6th Grade Required
Novel
Wonder by RJ Palacio
August Pullman is a 10-year
old boy who likes Star Wars
and Xbox, ordinary except for
his jarring facial
abnormalities.
Homeschooled, August heads
to public school for 5th grade,
and he is not the only one
changed by the experience……
August’s internal dialogue and
interactions with students
and family ring true, and
through remarkable courage,
he comes across as a sweet,
funny boy who wants the
same things others want:
friendship, understanding,
and the freedom to be
himself.
“It is only with one’s heart
that one can see clearly.
What is essential is invisible
to the eye.”
SUMMER READING
Zach Harriman knew that his dad was
something of a hero, a man trusted by the
President to solve international crises at a
moment’s notice. Suddenly people are telling him he has
powers - people who know much more about his father
than Zach ever did. But there are the Bads, who appear
out of nowhere and attack him and his best friend. Zach
fends off grown men as though he possesses the strength
of a hundred. He senses when evil is about to strike. And
- evil is about to strike in a very bad way.
READING MASTER NOVEL
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D
Schmidt
Holling Hoodhood, a 7th grader at Camillo
Junior High, who must spend Wednesday
afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker,
doesn’t like Holling - he’s sure of it. Why else would she
make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside of
class? His father wants Holling and his sister to be on
their best behavior: the success of his business depends on
it. But, how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has
so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs,
angry rats, and a baseball hero signing autographs the very
same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights!
As fate sneaks up on him again and again, he finds
motivation in the most unexpected places and musters up
the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.
4
Burr Ridge Middle School
Summer 2017
READING PLUS NOVEL
The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
5th Grade Required
Novel
The Miraculous Journey
of Edward Tulane by RJ
Palacio
Edward Tulane, a china
rabbit, is dearly loved by a
young girl, Abilene. One day,
he is lost over the side of a
boar.
His journey leads him to an
older couple who dress him
like a girl rabbit, a hobo and
his dog, a young girl and her
brother, and finally to a doll
shop.
Along the way, Edward learns
to love the people he
encounters. He also learns
that family members can be
cruel to one another; that
hobos have family that they
love dearly and don’t want to
forget; that no matter how
much you love someone, she
may still die; and that no
matter what happens in life,
never give up on love.
SUMMER READING
Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can
be the fastest runner in the 5th grade. And he
almost is, until the new girl in school, Leslie Burke,
outpaces him. The two become fast friends and
spend most days in the woods behind Leslie’s house,
where then invent an enchanted land called
Terabithia. One morning, Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess
and tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the
strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with
his grief.
READING MASTER NOVEL
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul
Bud is fed up with the cruel treatment he has
received at a foster homes, and after being locked up
for the night in a shed with a swarm of angry hornets,
he decides to run away. His goal: find his father, jazz
musician Herman E. Calloway. Bud makes it to Grand Rapids,
where his “father” owns a club. Calloway, who is much older and
grouchier than Bud imagined, is not too thrilled to meet a boy
claiming to be his long-lost son. It is the other members of the
band that make Bud feel like he has finally arrived home. While
the grim conditions of the times and harshness of Bud’s
circumstances are authentically depicted, Curtis shines on them
an aura of hope and optimism.
5