Star Gazette

One of the reporters for our school newspaper, The Star Gazette, has requested a list of my favorite books for middle school readers.  At first thought, I dug in and began to list books by literary genre.  No problem, right?  Wrong.  So wrong.  I am having the worst trouble editing the list.  I have so many favorites that I don't know where to begin.  Do I list my all-time favs?  Do I list recent favorites? What should I do?  I hate the idea that the only good books are new releases...I really try to introduce students to books that are what we at North Middle consider high-quality literature.  Some of the best books are the oldest!  I've even gone as far to trick my students into reading older copyrights by purchasing newly released editions.  If it looks new, they'll check it out.  One such story that has lasted the test of time is Hinton's The Outsiders.  My 8th graders, which read it during the second semester, will agree that even though this book was written in the 1960s, it's still a "great" book.  I even share some of S.E. Hinton's personal story with them to help them understand why she wrote the book.  Perhaps they'll use a positive outlet like writing to express themselves and escape their bitter reality.  (It also helps that we have a classroom set of the more popular cover of this book.) 

And although I am a current member of the Kentucky Bluegrass Award panel, I'm aware that not every great  book makes the cut.  I have fantastic reads on the shelf that I wish were part of the nominee lists each year, but with the list being limited to only 10 titles, we must make several "cuts".  Authors like Richard Peck and Jennifer L. Holm haven't made the list because there was one of two books slightly better for middle school kids that year.  I even went as far as to purchase multiple copies of Penny from Heaven  by Holm and On the Wings of Heroes by Peck because I just knew they were sure things!!  Both are fantastic works of historical fiction.  Naturally, Holm's book is more suited for girls and Peck's book for boys, but as Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, "A good reader makes the good book."  And I have found throughout the years that statement is completely accurate!  A good reader can read anything!

So after much contemplation, I've decided to create a list based on the stories themselves, regardless of copyright date.  And my fingers are crossed that the public library carries the "newest and coolest" edition of each.  :)  And so the following list of my personal favorites will be submitted to the school newspaper this week...

Realistic Fiction:
     Slob by Ellen Potter
     Call Me Hope by Gretchen Larson
     Runaway by Wendelin van Draanen
     Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings
     Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

Historical Fiction:
     Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm
     On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck
     Night Fires by George Edward Stanley
     Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen
     The Silver Cup by Constance Leeds 

Fantasy:  (This is my favorite genre!)
     The Alchemyst series by Michael Scott
     Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins
     Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
     Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
     Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
     Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
     A Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy by Libba Bray

Science Fiction:
     Gone series by Michael Grant
     The Bar Code Tattoo trilogy by Suzanne Weyn
     Maximum Ride by James Patterson
     Dark Life by Kat Falls

Mystery:
     Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
     And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
     The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

Dystopian Fiction:
     The Giver series by Lois Lowry
     Matched by Ally Condie
     The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
     Blood Red Road/Dustlands series by Moira Young

Hybrid Fiction:
     Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
     The Apothecary by Maile Meloy


Happy Reading!
RC