MS Summer Reading 2022
Recommendations from the Becker Library Staff
Chill out with great reads this summer!
Below are selections for fun summer reads that take you on fantastic journeys near and far.
2022 Texas Lone Star Reading List
This reading list is chosen by youth librarians across Texas specifically for
Middle School students.
Below are some notable suggestions from this list as chosen by SSES Library Staff.
Lupe Wong Won't Dance
by Donna Barba Higuera
"The only thing standing between Lupe Wong and her chance to meet fellow Chinacana Fu Li Hernandez, "the first Asian/Latino pitcher in the major leagues," is an A in PE class. But for seventh graders at Issaquah Middle School, that means square dancing. Lupe, always willing to fight for a cause, is determined to cancel what she sees as both an obstacle and an outdated tradition." (APL Bibliocommons)
Glitch
by Laura Martin
"Regan Fitz and Elliot Mason have been enemies since they started training to become Glitchers--people who travel through time to preserve important historical events. But everything changes when they find a letter from Regan's future self, warning them about an impending disaster that threatens them and everyone they know. Will they be able to set aside their past in order to save the future?" (APL Bibliocommons)
Turtle Boy
by M. Evan Wolkenstein
"Seventh-grader Will's Bar Mitzvah community service project, visiting an incurably ill older boy in the hospital, leads to a friendship that is life-changing for both them and those around them."
Blackbird Girls
"On a spring morning, neighbors Valentina and Oksana wake up to an angry red sky. A reactor at the nuclear power plant where their fathers work--Chernobyl--has exploded. Before they know it, the two girls, who've always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina's estranged grandmother. In their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person." (APL Bibliocommons)
Amari and the Night Brothers
"Following the mysterious disappearance of her beloved big brother, Quinton, 13-year-old Amari Peters is offered a spot in a summer camp run by the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, a secret agency that forms the "link between the known world and what is hidden." Learning that Quinton was one of the Bureau's top agents, Amari vows to follow in his footsteps in order to discover his fate. " (APL Bibliocommons)
Ten Thousand Tries
"Twelve-year-old Golden Maroni starts eighth grade determined to be master of his universe, but learns he cannot control everything on the soccer field, in his friendships, and especially in facing his father's incurable disease." (APL Bibliocommons)
Additional Reading Recommendations
Below are some of our current favorites to read all summer long.
Wishing Upon the Same Stars
by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman
"The Isreali-Palestinian conflict takes center stage in this middle grade novel. Yasmeen Khoury, an Arab American girl living in Detroit, Michigan, is devastated to hear she and her family will be moving to Texas. Yasmeen is used to her life in Michigan where there are many Arab American families; she has a lot of concerns about her new home, but her biggest worry is fitting in at school. " (APL Bibliocommons)
Squire
by Nadia Shammas
"Aiza dreams of becoming a knight of the Bayt-Sajji Empire, which is the greatest military honor, and the only way someone like her, from the subjugated class of people, can earn full citizenship. So she enters into squire training, concealing her true identity, only to find it much more difficult than she imagined." (APL Bibliocommons)
The Race of the Century: The Battle to Break the Four-Minute Mile
by Neal Bascomb
"There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was believed to be beyond the limits of human foot speed. In 1952, after suffering defeat at the Helsinki Olympics, three world-class runners each set out to break this barrier: Roger Bannister was a young English medical student who epitomized the ideal of the amateur; John Landy, the privileged son of a genteel Australian family; and Wes Santee, the swaggering American, a Kansas farm boy and natural athlete. Spanning three continents and defying the odds, these athletes' collective quest captivated the world." (APL Bibliocommons)
MORE Resources for Great Reads!
NoveList Plus Database
This online database searches for read-alike titles based on your most loved books.
(User: ststephens, Password: spartans1950!)
Ask a Librarian
Contact Ms. Bartek (cbartek@sstx.org) or Ms. Andrews (mandrews@sstx.org) for more great summer reads.
Or visit your local library online or (hopefully) in person!