Seventh Grade Reading List

Fiction

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface.
YA FIC Oppel (355p)

Aria of the Sea by Dia Calhoun
In the magical kingdom of Windward, thirteen-year-old Cerinthe arrives at the Royal Dancing School, where she finds herself torn between careers and passions; she must decide between dancing and healing.
YA SF Calhoun (264p)

Blackwater by Eve Bunting
When a boy and girl are drowned in the Blackwater River, thirteen-year-old Brodie must decide whether to confess that he may have caused the accident.
YA FIC Bunting (146p)

A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazer
While fishing with his friends off Honolulu on December 7, 1941, Adam is caught in the midst of the infamous Japanese attack. Through the chaos of the subsequent days, he struggles to find his father, a naval officer who was serving on the U.S.S. Arizona when the bombs fell.
YA FIC Mazer (104p)

Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis
Deeply involved in his cold and manipulative mother's shady business dealings, 14-year-old Luther keeps a sense of humor while running the Happy Neighbor Group Home For Men, all the while dreaming of going to college and becoming a philosopher.
YA FIC Curtis (259p)

The Dark Horse by Marcus Sedgwick
Having risen to power as chief of his people, sixteen-year-old Sigurd becomes the Storn. He must lead his people as they try to resist the bloodthirsty invaders known as the Dark Horse, while struggling with a shocking discovery about his foster sister Mouse.
YA FIC Sedgewick (217p)

The Dark Materials Trilogy: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman
Join Lyra and Will (and of course their ever-present daemons) as they struggle save the universe from evil powers, utilizing all manner of mystical devices and strange acquaintances.
YA SF Pullman (339p, 426p, and 518p)

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 that peel mice before eating them and worship the Dark Lord.
YA FIC Jarvis (241p)

Dr. Franklin's Island by Ann Halam
When their plane crashes over the Pacific Ocean, three teens are stranded on a tropical island and imprisoned by a mad doctor who uses humans in horrifying experiments involving animal genes.
YA FIC Halam (245p)

Gadget by Paul Zindel
Thirteen-year-old Stephen gets caught in a web of secrecy and intrigue when his father and other scientists at Los Alamos work on a secret project to end World War II.
YA FIC Zindel (184p)

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the extravagant Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.
If you liked Lowry's The Giver, try this one!
YA SF Lowry (215p)

The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding
As Thaniel, a wych-hunter, and Cathaline, his friend and mentor, try to rid the alleys of London's Old Quarter of the terrible creatures that infest them, their lives become entwined with that of a woman who may be either mad or possessed.
YA FIC Wooding (292p)

Hidden Talents by David Lubar
When thirteen-year-old Martin arrives at an alternative school for misfits and problem students, he falls in with a group of boys with psychic powers and discovers something surprising about himself.
YA FIC Lubar (213p)

Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill.
YA FIC Kadohata (244p)

Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick
A thousand years in the future, an earthquake destroys much of the planet, and an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence back to Earth.
YA SF Philbrick (223p)

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
In 1911, Turner Buckminster hates his new home of Phippsburg, Maine, but things improve when he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from a poor, nearby island community founded by former slaves that the town fathers--and Turner's--want to change into a tourist spot.
YA FIC (219p)

Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe
A sixteen-year-old finds himself at odds with his grandfather over issues surrounding the kidnapping and murder of a fourteen-year-old African American from Chicago.
YA FIC Crowe (231p)

Oracle Betrayed by Catherine Fisher
After she is chosen to be "Bearer-of-the-god," Mirany questions the established order and sets out, along with a musician and a scribe, to find the legitimate heir of the religious leader known as the Archon.
YA SF Fisher (341p)

Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis
After her father dies, twelve-year-old Parvana is left to fend for herself, and thus decides to dress as a boy and join a group of orphans on the run, in order to find a way to locate her remaining family inside war-torn Afghanistan.
YA FIC Ellis (199p)

Prairie Whispers by Frances Arrington
Twelve-year-old Colleen is the only one who knows that her newborn baby sister died, and that Colleen put another baby in her place. Nobody has any idea, until the baby's father shows up and makes trouble for her and her family on the 1860's South Dakota prairie.
YA FIC Arrington (184p)

Say Yes by Audrey Couloumbis
Left alone following the sudden disappearance of her stepmother, Casey will resort to anything to survive, including robbery.
YA FIC Couloumbis (200p)

Storm Catchers by Tim Bowler
Wracked with guilt over his younger sister's kidnapping, Fin attempts to rescue her, in the process discovering a dark family secret.
YA FIC Bowler (200p)

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan
Jake, a budding juvenile delinquent, is sent for home schooling to the artsy and eccentric Applewhite family's Creative Academy, where he discovers talents and interests he never knew he had.
YA FIC Tolan (216p)

Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Elderly Melly and Anny Beth decide to take part in Project Turnabout, wherein they are given injections to progressively reverse their aging. They enjoy their recaptured youth immensely until they reach ages fifteen and eighteen, and realize they can't stop the process.
YA SF Haddix (223p)

Wild Man Island by Will Hobbs
After fourteen-year-old Andy slips away from his kayaking group to visit the wilderness site of his archaeologist father's death, a storm strands him on Admiralty Island, Alaska, where he struggles to survive amid the unexpected animal and human inhabitants that threaten his existence.
YA FIC Hobbs (184p)

Wish by Gail Carson Levine
When Wilma is granted her wish to be the most popular girl in her school, she thinks that her life will be instantly transformed; and her life does change, but not always in the ways she expects.
YA SF Levine (197p)

Witness by Karen Hesse
A series of poems express the views of various people in a small Vermont town, including a young black girl and a young Jewish girl, during the early 1920s as the Ku Klux Klan tries to infiltrate the town.
YA FIC Hesse (161p)

A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Enjoy these creepy, gruesome and funny retellings of your favorite fairytales by award-winning sci-fi and fantasy authors.
YA SF Wolf (165p)

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
During the recession of 1937, fifteen-year-old Mary Alice is sent to live with her feisty, larger-than-life grandmother in rural Illinois and comes to a better understanding of this fearsome woman.
YA FIC Peck (130p)

Nonfiction

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy
Describes the illness known as yellow fever and the toll it took on the city's residents, relating the epidemic to the major social and political events of the day and to 18th-century medical beliefs and practices.
JUV 614.541 M954A (165p) 2003

Anne Frank in the World, 1929-1945 by The Anne Frank House ed.
This photo-essay takes readers along as it retraces the Frank family's movements: from the Frankfurt of 1929 to the 1933 Amsterdam, through the liberation of Europe in 1945.
YA 940.5315 F851A (144p) 2001

Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl recounts his days as a child growing up in England -from his years as a prankster at boarding school to his envious position as a chocolate tester for Cadbury's.
YA 928.2 D137B (160p) 1984

Cheap Frills: Fabulous Facelifts For Your Clothes by Jennifer Knapp
With over forty simple ideas that use ribbons, beads, sequins, and other easy-to-find trimmings, the projects in Cheap Frills will have readers converting their humdrum garments into one-of-a-kind fashion statements.
YA 646.408 K727C (113p) 2001

Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul: 101 Stories of Changes, Choices, and Growing Up for Kids Ages 9-13 by Jack Canfield
This survival guide to the preteen years is packed with inspirational and entertaining stories by and about readers ages nine to thirteen.
YA 158.1 C432P (386p) 2000

D.I.Y. Girl: The Real Girl's Guide to Making Everything from Lip Gloss to Lamps by Jennifer Bonnell
A step-by-step guide to making clothes, beauty products, fashion accessories, and decorative items for your room.
YA 745.5 B643D (85p) 2003

The Dream Book: A Young Person's Guide to Understanding Dreams by Patricia L Garfield
Dream expert Patricia Garfield has gathered together the common types of dreams - dreams of being chased, of unfinished homework, of falling, and even of being undressed in the most awkward places - and helps young people analyze their dream lives.
YA 154.63 G18D (122p) 2002

The Good Fight: How World War II Was Won by Stephen E Ambrose
Ambrose does an excellent job of bringing this war to life by combining accounts of major events during the war, personal anecdotes from soldiers, awesome photographs, battlefield maps and more.
YA 940.53 AM16G (96p) 2001

How Angel Peterson Got His Name and Other Outrageous Tales about Extreme Sports by Gary Paulsen
Author Gary Paulsen's humorous stories of extreme sports stunts he and his friends performed while growing up in northern Minnesota.
YA 928.1 P285H (111p) 2003

How Rude! : The Teenagers' Guide to Good Manners, Proper Behavior, and Not Grossing People Out by Alex J. Packer
A humorous but practical guide to good manners and social skills, covering such areas as family life, behavior in public, manners in school, eating, and clothes.
YA 395.123 P127 (465p) 1997

The Kid's Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference by Barbara A Lewis
This helpful book describes a variety of opportunities for young people to participate in successful community service.
YA & JUV 361.37 L585K (175p) 1995

Police Lab: How Forensic Science Tracks Down and Convicts Criminals by David Owen
Full color photos and an easy to read format brings this fascinating subject to life explaining how forensics experts gather, analyze, and assess data on forgery, suicides, explosions, and murder.
YA 363.25 OW22P 2002 (128p) 2002

Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America by Sharon Robinson
Sharon Robinson shares memories of her famous father in this richly illustrated biography of the man who made history by breaking the color barrier in baseball.
JUV 927.95 R563M (64p) 2004

Strange Stuff: True Stories of Odd Places and Things by Janet Nuzum Myers
Quicksand, mermaids, scorpions, Bigfoot, if you like weird stuff you'll love this book. It's chock full of unusual oddities guaranteed to amuse and fascinate.
YA 001.94 M992S (104p) 1999

Surviving Hitler: A Boy In The Nazi Death Camps by Andrea Warren
Caught up in Hitler's Final Solution to annihilate Europe's Jews, fifteen-year-old Jack is torn from his family and thrown into the nightmarish world of the concentration camps.
YA 940.5318 W251S (146p) 2001

Teens 911: Snowbound, Helicopter Crash and Other True Survival Stories by Deborah Morris
Accounts of true incidents from across the United States in which teenagers used their knowledge and skills to save their own or someone else's life.
YA 613.69 M831T (189p) 2002

Ten Days in the Dirt: The Spectacle of Off-road Motorcycling by Russ Rohrer
Travel to ten of the world’s premier off-road events meet some of the best off-road riders on the planet.
YA 796.756 R636T (159p) 2004

They Saw the Future: Oracles, Psychics, Scientists, Great Thinkers, and Pretty Good Guessers by Kathleen Krull
Discusses the work and predictions of those who have speculated about or claimed to see the future, from the oracles of ancient Greece to such modern figures as Edgar Cayce and Jeane Dixon.
YA 133.3 K939T (108p) 1999

Ultimate Special Forces by Hugh McManners
Written by a former commando and defense correspondent for the London Sunday Times, McManners traces the discipline and principles behind crack forces like the US Delta Force and British SAS and reveals their little-known techniques, specialized equipment, and outstanding military achievement by land and sea.
YA 356.16 M227U (192p) 2003

We Were There Too! Young People in U.S. History by Phillip M Hoose
Biographies of dozens of young people who made a mark in American history, including explorers, planters, spies, cowpunchers, sweatshop workers, and civil rights workers.
JUV 920.0083 H769W (264p) 2001

Within Reach: My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer
The author describes how he spent his teenage years climbing mountains in the United States, South America, Africa, and Asia, with an emphasis on his two expeditions up Mount Everest.
YA 796.522092 P479W (224p) 1998

Compiled by Shari Brown 12/03, updated 6/05; Holdings checked 7/06 KRL

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