Summer Reading Recommendations Middle and High Schoolers

How do you know these are good books Christina?  I’ll share a little secret.  I’ve read them.  Scary but true (I am an adult, and I read YA lit).  Here are some titles that you might consider for your middle and high school readers

My Top Six Summer Reads

 Struck By Lightning, Chris Colfer (good for high school students)

The Fault in Our Stars, by Jonathan Green (I wept, but I’m a sucker for star crossed lovers of any age) 

The Age of Miracles, Karen Thompson Walker (Earth is doomed!)

 Girl Overboard, Justina Chen Headley (a great read with an active sporty girl as the protagonist who has a very complex life.  Snowboard fans will love!)

North of Beautiful, Justina Chen Headley, (flawed heroine, my favorite!)

 If I Stay/ Where She Went, Gayle Forman,  (Heroine is in a coma in book one, and must come to terms with her decisions in book two.)

Sci-Fi Fantasy Favorites

Incarceron series, Catherine Fisher  (Imagine a jail so large it has a forest!)

Hunger Games series, Suzanne Collins (LOVED)

City of Bones, Mortal Instrument series Cassandra Clare.  NYC, demons.  Need I say more.

House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer.  Mexico isn’t Mexico anymore but the country of Opium.  And Matteo finds out why he’s being raised by an elderly drug lord, and it ain’t because the old guy loves him.  Harvest season! 

Books about The 60s

Countdown, Deborah Wiles, (middle school and up.  If you want to know anything about the south, the 60s, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, this book is for you.  It weaves primary sources throughout the fiction as a way of teaching about the bigger issues of the time period, as well as the personal issues Franny and her family are facing.)

The Help, Kathryn Stockett (definitely for high schoolers who want to know about the 60s and the south)

 One Crazy Summer, Rita Williams-Garcia (great for learning about the Black Panther movement)

The Best Books for learning about the Holocaust:

The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak (Hint: narrated by Death)

Milkweed, Jerry Spinelli (difficult in its sparse language but stark and haunting to read about a boy who thinks his name is “stoptheif”)

 Night, Elie Wiesel (for advanced readers.  A tough one, but such a good book)

Great “Chick Lit” Books for Teens

Anything by Sonya Sones:  “One of those hideous books where the mother dies”

(A favorite, all her books are written in poetry.  Quick easy reads!)

Any Sarah Dessens books

Sue Limb Series:  Girl 15, Charming but Insane

Anything by Laurie Halse Anderson.  You can’t get out of middle school without reading “Speak” or “Wintergirls.”

 Action Adventure

Maximum Ride Series, James Patterson

Among the Hidden (Shadow Children Series), Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Lightning Thief Series,  Rick Riordan

On The Run Series, Gordon Korman (He wrote Schooled, my favorite “fish out of water” story about a kid who’s homeschooled and has to go to middleschool for the first time…Cringeworthy).

Son of the Mob, Hollywood Hustle, Gordon Korman

There you have it.  Go forth and read people!  Read with your kids, it won’t hurt, and you might have fun doing it.  I’m the geek you see in public reading these young adult books, but here’s a secret:  they aren’t bad.  They have difficult themes, complex plots and are well written.  The best thing you can do for your children this summer is to read too.  As Gandhi said “you must be the change you want to see in the world.”  If you want your kids to read, pick up a book!  If you want me to craft a summer reading list, create a reading plan for your child, or want specific recommendations in a genre, drop me a line at www.christinadelouise.com.