Incoming Seventh Grade Summer Reading List 2016
Al Capone Does My Shirts, Gennifer Choldenko (600 Lexile)
ISBN-13: 9780142403709
Today I moved to a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water. I'm not the only kid who lives
here. There's my sister, Natalie, except she doesn't count. And there are twenty-three other kids who live on the island because their
dads work as guards or cook's or doctors or electricians for the prison, like my dad does. Plus, there are a ton of murderers, rapists, hit
men, con men, stickup men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars, kidnappers and maybe even an innocent man or two, though I doubt it.
The convicts we have are the kind other prisons don't want. I never knew prisons could be picky, but I guess they can. You get to
Alcatraz by being the worst of the worst. Unless you're me. I came here because my mother said I had to.
I Am Princess X, Cherie Priest (790 Lexile)
ISBN-13: 9780545620857
Best friends, big fans, a mysterious webcomic, and a long-lost girl collide in this riveting novel, perfect for fans of both Cory Doctorow
and Sarah Dessen, & illustrated throughout with comics.
Once upon a time, two best friends created a princess together. Libby drew the pictures; May wrote the tales, and their heroine,
Princess X, slayed all the dragons and scaled all the mountains their imaginations could conjure.
Once upon a few years later, Libby was in the car with her mom, driving across the Ballard Bridge on a rainy night. When the car went
over the side, Libby passed away, and Princess X died with her.
Once upon a now: May is sixteen and lonely, wandering the streets of Seattle, when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window.
Princess X?
When May looks around, she sees the Princess everywhere: Stickers. Patches. Graffiti. There's an entire underground culture, focused
around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com. The more May explores the webcomic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between
Libby's story and Princess X online. And that means that only one person could have started this phenomenon---her best friend, Libby,
who lives.
The Boy at the Top of the Mountain, John Boyne (970 Lexile)
ISBN-13:9781627790307
When Pierrot becomes an orphan, he must leave his home in Paris for a new life with his aunt Beatrix, a servant in a wealthy Austrian
household. But this is no ordinary time, for it is 1935 and the Second World War is fast approaching; and this is no ordinary house, for
this is the Berghof, the home of Adolf Hitler. Pierrot is quickly taken under Hitler's wing and thrown into an increasingly dangerous new
world: a world of terror, secrets, and betrayal from which he may never be able to escape.
***This book offers readers a disturbing perspective from inside the inner circles of Hitler.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, Jennifer Smith (1030 Lexile)
ISBN-13: 978-0316122399
Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport
and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even
met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.
A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival.
Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?
Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a
twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.
Zane & The Hurricane, Rodman Philbrick (860 Lexile )
ISBN-13: 978-0545342384
Zane Dupree is a charismatic 12-year-old boy of mixed race visiting a relative in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hits.
Unexpectedly separated from all family, Zane and his dog experience the terror of Katrina's wind, rain, and horrific flooding. Facing
death, they are rescued from an attic air vent by a kind, elderly musician and a scrappy young girl--both African American. The chaos
that ensues as storm water drowns the city, shelter and food vanish, and police contribute to a dangerous, frightening atmosphere,
creates a page-turning tale that completely engrosses the reader. Based on the facts of the worst hurricane disaster in U.S. history,
Philbrick includes the lawlessness and lack of government support during the disaster as well as the generosity and courage of those
who risked their lives and safety to help others. Here is an unforgettable novel of heroism in the face of truly challenging circumstances.
Everlost, Neal Shusterman (860 Lexile)
ISBN- 13: 9781416997498
IT BEGINS WITH AN ACCIDENT.
Nick and Allie don't survive the crash, and now their souls are stuck halfway between life and death in a sort of limbo called Everlost.
It's a magical yet dangerous place, where bands of lost souls run wild and anyone who stands in the same spot too long sinks to the
center of the Earth.
Frightened and determined, Nick and Allie aren't ready to rest in peace just yet. They want their lives back, and their search for a way
home will take them deep into the uncharted areas of Everlost. But the longer they stay, the more they forget about their pasts. And if
all memory of home is lost, they may never escape this strange, terrible world.
Truesight, David Stahler Jr. (860 Lexile)
ISBN-13: 978-0060522872
Everyone in Jacob's colony is born blind. It has always been this way. They embrace the philosophy of Truesight:. It is an exceptional
community. Everyone is happy.
As Jacob nears his thirteenth birthday, he anxiously anticipates his new role as an adult and all the changes that will bring. But as the
day approaches, a far greater change threatens Jacob's future. It all starts with a searing pain in his eyes...
Bruiser, by Neal Shusterman (820 Lexile)
ISBN-13: 9780061134104
Tennyson is not surprised, really, when his family begins to fall apart, or when his twin sister, Brontë, starts dating the misunderstood
bully, Brewster (or The Bruiser, as the entire high school calls him). Tennyson is determined to get to the bottom of The Bruiser's
reputation, even if it means gearing up for a fight. Brontë, on the other hand, thinks there's something special underneath that tough
exterior. And she's right…but neither she nor Tennyson is prepared for the truth of what lies below the surface. Told through Tennyson,
Brontë, and Bruiser's points of view, this dark, twisting novel explores friendship, family, and the sacrifices we make for the people we
love.
Cinder, Marissa Meyer (790 Lexile)
ISBN-13: 978-1250007209
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar
people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for
her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center
of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover
secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future. 448 pages
The Eye of Minds, James Dashner (790 Lexile)
ISBN- 13: 9780385741408
The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and the more hacking skills you have, the more fun it is. Why bother following the
rules when it’s so easy to break them? But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And
one gamer has been doing exactly that, with murderous results. The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker.
And they’ve been watching Michael. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid, to the back alleys and
corners of the system human eyes have never seen—and it’s possible that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.
336 pages
*Book descriptions courtesy of Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com
Name: ______________________________ LA Teacher: _______________________ Windham Middle School Summer Reading Program Grade 7 Directions: Have fun reading the book you selected! Either as you are working your way through your book, or after you finish reading it, complete the following chart as specifically as you can. You may write your responses in bullet note format, just make sure you write clearly and choose your words carefully. Title and author of book: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Describe the main conflict. Who is the narrator? What is the point of view? Describe the setting. Name and describe main character(s) Explain what you learned in the exposition. Describe the climax of the plot. Describe the events in the resolution. Summarize the plot. (8 bullet notes or fewer) Close Reading Activity Directions: The following activity needs to be completed throughout the reading of the novel. It is not acceptable to attempt to complete the chart using examples from only one part of the book. It would be a good idea to use sticky notes to mark passages while you read so that you can complete a few boxes at a time at the end of your reading sessions over the course of the novel. Using the reminders about the Notice and Note signposts on the back of this sheet and applying the questioning techniques you’ve learned, find examples from your novel to complete all boxes in the chart below. It is essential that you have at least one example of each of the six signposts. Notice & Note Passage from text Page Why is this important? Signpost #’s (Use Notice & Note questions to form your response) Contrasts & Contradictions Aha Moment When a character does something that contrasts with what you’d expect or contradicts his earlier acts or statements, STOP and ask, “What is the character doing that?” When a character realizes, understands, or finally figures something out, STOP and ask yourself, “How might this change things?” Tough Questions When a character asks herself a very difficult question, STOP and ask yourself, “What does this question make me wonder about?” Words of the Wiser When a character (probably older and wiser) takes the main character aside and offers serious advice, STOP and ask, “What’s the life lesson and how might it affect the character?” Again & Again When you notice a word, phrase or situation mentioned over and over, STOP and ask yourself, “Why does this keep happening again and again?” Memory Moment When the author interrupts the action to tell you about a memory, STOP and ask yourself, “Why might this memory be important?”