8th grade booktalks
2019-2020
March 9, 2020: historical (non) fiction
Bomb: the Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
- 623.4 SHE. Narrative historical nonfiction.
- In December 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: when placed next to a radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. This discovery began a scientific race in three continents.
- Soviet spies worked their way into the British and American scientific communities, a commando force went behind enemy lines to attack German manufacturing in Norway, and deep in the desert of New Mexico a group of scientists secretly worked to learn more.
- This is the story of the development of the atomic bomb, which ended up changing the world forever.
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
- F AND. Historical fiction.
- As the Revolutionary War begins, Isabel is also fighting--for her freedom. She and her sister were promised freedom at the death of their owner, but that doesn't happen. They become property of a hateful couple of New York City who are not sympathetic to the cause of the Revolution or to Isabel and her sister.
- When Isabel meets Cruzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he tries to convince her to spy on her owners because they have details of the British plan for invasion. At first she's reluctant, but when the unthinkable happens to her sister, Isabel realizes the only thing that's important is freedom and she'll do whatever it takes.
Like Vanessa by Tami Charles
- F CHA. Realistic/Historical fiction.
- Author book trailer
- Vanessa Martin is a 13 year old living in Newark, NJ in 1983. Life is not easy: her mom is in prison, her grandfather struggles with addiction, and Vanessa doesn't have much self-confidence herself.
- When a teacher at her school convinces her to enter a beauty pageant, Vanessa starts to learn about true beauty.
The Devil's Paintbox by Victoria McKernan
- F McK. Historical fiction.
- 15 year old Aiden and his sister Maddy have barely survived the harsh 1865 winter on their family's flooded farm. But barely.
- When trailrider Jefferson J. Jackson appears at the farm looking for workers to help in a lumber camp in Seattle, he knows he has to go. But it means crossing the Oregon Trail.
- Aiden and Maddy make some friends on the trail and even start to dream of life in the west, but as the saying goes, there are a hundred ways to die on the Oregon Trail. They experience hardship after hardship.
- Some of Aiden's new friends are Native Americans, and once he's in the west, Aiden learns it is illegal for Native Americans to be vaccinated against the deadly disease smallpox. Aiden must decide if he's going to keep to himself and his work or if he's going to work for justice for his friends.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
- F SCH. Historical fiction. Classic.
- Set in the late 1600s, Kit Tyler has just arrived in Connecticut on a ship from Barbados. She immediately realizes she doesn't fit in, at least one reason being that she can swim! Her neighbors think she must be a witch because she can float! It isn't long before Kit realizes how little she knows about this place where she is now living.
- Kit soon makes two friends--Prudence, a scared child whose family thinks she is "dumb" so she doesn't go to school, and Hannah, a widow who lives alone and is a Quaker in a Puritan village. This makes Hannah suspicious to everyone, and Kit realizes how dangerous that is.
- Is Kit going to be able to adjust to this life in New England that's so different from what she knows? And will she be able to help Hannah before it's too late?
Happy reading!
February 10, 2020: good books to try
Flying Lessons & Other Stories edited by Ellen Oh
- SC OH. short stories
- Written by some authors you might recognize (Kwame Alexander, Walter Dean Myers, Jacqueline Woodson), and others you probably won't, this is a collection of stories about all kinds of topics.
- The great thing about a story collection is that the stories are short! And you don't have to read them all, but there are probably at least a couple stories everyone will enjoy.
Strong Inside: the True Story of How Perry Wallace Broke College Basketball's Color Line by Andrew Maraniss
- 921 WAL. biography.
- book trailer
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
- F PFE. Science fiction (dystopian).
- Life changes for Miranda the moment a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth, and it changes in ways no one can imagine.
- Suddenly worldwide tsunamis are wiping out the coasts, earthquakes are rocking continents, and volcanic ash has blocked the sun.
- How is her family supposed to plan for the future when they're just trying to survive?
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
- F PHI. realistic fiction.
- Kevin and Max are complete opposites. Max is large, slow, and has a kind heart. Kevin is a genius, has a huge vocabulary, and has a physical disability that makes him small. Max and Kevin become inseparable--"Freak the Mighty."
- Together, they face Kevin's health condition, Max's rough home life, and more.
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
- F WIL. realistic fiction.
- Genesis keeps a list of things she doesn't like about herself. #95 is that because her skin is so dark, even her family calls her nicknames she doesn't like. #61 is that her family is always getting kicked out of their house, belongings laying all over the yard.
- When that happens again, and they don't have anywhere to go, Genesis and her mom end up at her grandma's house. Genesis isn't excited about that because her grandma is always nagging her mom, saying she should have gone back to school, she should have married someone with lighter skin, and on and on.
- But Genesis is actually finding some good this time--she's made a few friends and her choir teacher says she has real talent, even convincing her to enter the talent show.
- Genesis doesn't know what or who to believe, though--her choir teacher or her dad, who tells her the exact opposite from her teacher. And when Genesis gets to #100 on her list, will she keep going or find a way to begin again?
Happy reading!
January 13, 2020: dystopian novels to read along with The Giver
The Firefly Code by Megan Frazer Blakemore
- F BLA.
- Mori and her three close friends all live on Firefly Lane in Old Harmonie, a town where the adults all have challenging and interesting jobs and the children all feel safe and are rarely sick. Because of the work of a previous generation, the residents of this town enjoy genetic enhancements and design.
- When children in Old Harmonie turn 13, they learn their genetic code, revealing if they are "natural" or genetically "designed," and their hidden "latency," the talent that will be released through surgery. Mori and her friends are all about to turn 13, so this is constantly on their minds.
- When a new girl, Ilana, moves to Firefly Lane, it changes the way Mori and her friends relate to each other. As they get to know her, and find out about the truth about her, it changes everything they thought they knew.
The Roar by Emma Clayton
- F CLA.
- Mika and Ellie are fraternal twins who live in a futuristic society that's protected by a wall. The wall keeps out all animals, which carry the plague.
- Ellie has disappeared, and Mika and his parents are told she is dead. Mika doesn't believe it, though, and decides he's going to do what it takes to find her. Even if that means joining in a government led war game that leads Mika to truths he didn't know before.
- fan-made book trailer
Legend by Marie Lu
- F LU.
- book trailer
- What was once the western part of the United States is now the Republic, a nation continually at war. Fifteen year old June, born into one of the country's highest regarded families, is being trained to be successful in the military.
- Fifteen year old Day is the country's most wanted criminal--for killing June's brother, Methias. Now Day is on the run and June is seeking revenge for Methias's death.
- What's shocking to both of them when they find out what has really allowed their paths to cross is the lengths their country will go to to keep its secrets.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
- F WES
- book trailer
- Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. She's excited because when a person turns sixteen, they get an operation that turns them from ugly to pretty. Not just pretty--stunning. And as a pretty, Tally will get sent to a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun.
- Tally's friend Shay isn't so sure she wants the surgery, though. When Shay runs away, Tally learns why--and learns about the underside of the pretties world that isn't so...pretty.
- Tally is presented a choice--find Shay and turn her in or not be allowed to get the operation that will turn her pretty. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.
Happy reading!
September 23, 2019: recommended reads
Gym Candy by Carl Deuker
- Sports fiction. F DEU
- Mick Johnson has dreams of being a great running back--of winning and being the best.
- But football is hard. It requires power, speed, quickness, and knowledge of the game. One off hit or wrong move and a sure victory can turn into a sudden defeat.
- When Mick is offered a method for getting just a little stronger and faster that would allow him to be the best, he has to decide if it's worth the risk to find that kind of success.
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart
- Realistic/Action Adventure fiction. F GEM
- Mark is a normal kid in lots of ways. He has a dog named Beau and a best friend named Jessie. He likes to take photos and write haiku. He wants to climb a mountain someday.
- In one big way, though, Mark is not like other kids. He is sick. Very sick. The kind of sick that is life or death sick.
- So Mark runs away. He takes his dog, his camera, and his notebook and plans to hike Mount Rainer, even if it's the last thing he ever does.
Wake Up Missing by Kate Messner
- Science fiction/Fantasy. F MES
- Quentin, Sarah, Ben, and Cat don't have much in common, except that they are all at an elite brain-science center in the Florida Everglades because of head injuries.
- The center has an international reputation, but as time goes on, the four start to wonder if there's more going on that just treating their concussions.
- The four will need to get past their head injuries and their differences if they hope to escape.
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
- Science Fiction/Fantasy. F SAN
- book trailer
- 10 years ago, ordinary men and women started developing extraordinary powers. People started calling them Epics. With power, the Epics wanted even more--to rule over humans. And no one, except for the Reckoners, fight back.
- David wants to be a part of it. He wants to fight back against Steelheart, the Epic said to be invincible. Steelheart killed David's father, and David wants revenge. David has something the Reckoners need in order to be able to fight back--he's seen Steelheart bleed.
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
- Realistic fiction. F VAN
- book trailer/author interview