Sequoyalibrary Eighth Grade Reading List 2007

All titles can be found in the Young Teens Area, unless otherwise noted. Alice, I Think by Susan Juby Fifteen-year-old Alice keeps a diary as she struggles to cope with the embarrassments and trials of family, dating, school, work, small town life, and a serious case of "outcastitis." The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud [Children’s Fiction Shelves] Nathaniel, a magician's apprentice, summons up the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful magician Simon Lovelace. Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie. The Boy Who Couldn't Die by William Sleator When his best friend dies in a plane crash, sixteen-year-old Ken has a ritual performed that will make him invulnerable, but soon learns that he had good reason to be suspicious of the woman he paid to lock his soul away Clay by David Almond The developing relationship between teenager Davie and a mysterious new boy in town morphs into something darker and more sinister when Davie learns firsthand of the boy's supernatural powers. Dark Portal by Robin Jarvis While on a rescue mission, a few daring mice journey below to the sewers to an evil world populated by rats who peel mice before eating them and worship the Dark Lord. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her. East by Edith Pattou A young woman journeys to a distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel enchantment. Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury Following orders from the United States Army, several young Japanese American men train K-9 units to hunt Asians during World War II.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale On her way to marry a prince she's never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers. Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde While playing a total immersion virtual reality game of kings and intrigue, fourteen-year-old Giannine learns that demonstrators have damaged the equipment to which she is connected, and she must win the game quickly or be damaged herself. Last Shot : A Final Four Mystery by John Feinstein After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game. Mimus by Lilli Thal Tricked by the enemy, the King of Moltavia is imprisoned along with his son, Prince Florin, who must find a way save himself, his father, and his kingdom after he is forced into an apprenticeship with the court jester, Mimus. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Son Sones Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born. Revenge of the Witch: The Last Apprentice Series by Joseph Delaney Young Tom, the seventh son of a seventh son, starts work as an apprentice for the village spook, whose job is to protect ordinary folk from "ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties." Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen After his anger erupts into violence, Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld 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 catapults 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. When Shay runs away, the authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all.

Who's Your Daddy? by Lynda Sandoval Lila Moreno and her two best friends, Meryl Morgenstern are social mutants. Not because of who they are, but who their guy-repellent daddies are. Lila's dad is the chief of police; Meryl's dad is the football coach, the driver's ed instructor, and the dean of discipline at the high school; and Caressa's dad is a famous musician. Boys are too terrified and intimidated by the girls' dads to come anywhere near them. The Wish List by Eoin Colfer Meg Finn is in trouble. She's dead, but not at peace--she's in limbo, her good deeds perfectly balanced against her bad deeds; Heaven or Hell wait, a tip of the scale away. So she's back on Earth trying to tip the scale to the good by helping her last victim, and her former "partner" is also back, trying to force her to tip the scale to the bad.

OTHER EIGHTH GRADE FAVORITES Feed by M.T. Anderson Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer Giver by Lois Lowry Sabriel by Garth Nix The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen