Recommended New Novels
Prices show 30%
for the Middle School Classroom
Antsy Does Time
Neal Shusterman
In this sequel to The Schwa Was Here, Antsy, 14,
is known as the Master of Time after donating a
month of his life to his “dying” classmate Gunnar.
Amidst his own family issues and dating Gunnar’s
sister, Antsy learns things with Gunnar’s family
aren’t what they seem.
• IL 6–8, RL 5.7, LEX 890
• National Awards: ALA Best Book for Young
Adults, Junior Library Guild selection
• State Lists: OK, PA, TX, VT
• Themes and Genres: humor, friendship, family
• Free Teacher Resource available at perfectionlearning.com/trlibrary
• “I loved the author’s quirky storytelling style and irreverent sense of humor.
I’m an English teacher, and I read excerpts of this book to teach voice and
humor in writing. My students love it!”—English teacher on a popular
review site black female pilots during World War II, those records do not tell the truth
PB LCL2653301 Price: $6.99 $ 4.89
The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had
Kristine Levine
When Harry “Dit” Sims, who is growing up in a
small Alabama town in 1917, befriends Emma,
the daughter of the new postmaster, the racism
of their community creates difficulties for them.
When the town barber, who is black, is put on trial
for a terrible crime, Dit and Emma come up with
a daring plan to save him from the unthinkable.
Inspired by the author’s true family history.
• IL 5–8, RL 4, LEX 680
• National Awards: ALA Best Book for
Young Adults, Junior Library Guild selection
• State Lists: VA
• Themes and Genres: multicultural (African American), racial prejudice,
friendship
• Free Teacher Resource available at perfectionlearning.com/trlibrary
• This is a good book on the value of friendship without boundaries.
PB LCL2165401 Price: $6.99 $4.89 CC LCL2165402 Price: $15.85 $11.10
Chains
Laurie Halse Anderson
Sold as a slave to an influential New York Tory family,
13-year-old Isabel spies for the Patriot side during
the American Revolution in a desperate hope to
gain freedom for herself and her five-year-old sister.
• IL 6–10, RL 4.5, Lexile 780
• National Awards: CBC/NCSS Notable
Social Studies Trade Book, ALA Notable
Children’s Books, ALA Best Books for
Young Adults, National Book Award finalist,
IRA Teachers’ Choices, Rodda Book Award
nominee, Scott O’Dell Award
• State Lists: AK, AR, AZ, CT, DC, IL, IN, ME, MI, MO, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OR, PA, RI,
SC, TN, TX, UT
• Themes and Genres: multicultural (African American), American Revolution,
slavery
• Free Teacher Resource available at perfectionlearning.com/trlibrary
• This is a really good middle school book about the Revolutionary War
that’s not only historically accurate, but also fast-paced and kid-friendly,
while still revealing the heartaches and struggles of the time, including
those of slaves fighting for freedom. This well-researched book includes
extensive back matter that addresses many questions about history for
readers to discuss.
PB LCL2079501 Price: $6.99 $ 4.89 CC LCL2079501 Price: $16.10 $ 11.27
RL=Reading Level • IL=Interest Level • LEX=Lexile Level • GRL=Guided Reading Level | PB=Paperback | CC=Cover Craft
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Flygirl
Sherri L. Smith
Ida Mae, an 18-year-old light-skinned African American,
passes herself off as a white woman in order to
be allowed to fly as a member of the Women’s
Airforce Service Pilots during World War II.
• IL 7–12, RL 4, Lexile 680
• National Awards: ALA Best Books for Young
People, Notable Social Studies, Cooperative
Children’s Book Center Choices Selection,
Washington Post Best Kids’ Books of the Year
• State Lists: CA, DC, IL, KS, SC, TN, TX, UT
• Themes and Genres: World War II,
multicultural (African American), prejudice
(racial and gender)
• Free Teacher Resource available at perfectionlearning.com/trlibrary
• An afterword fills in the history of the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots
(WASP), which notes that while records do not show that there were any
about pilots like Ida Mae in Flygirl.
PB LCL2168201 Price: $7.99 $ 5.59 CC LCL2168202 Price: $16.85 $ 11.80
The Great Wide Sea
M.H. Herlong
Still mourning the death of their mother, three
brothers go with their father on an extended
sailing trip off the Florida Keys, and have a
harrowing adventure at sea.
• IL 6–10, RL 4, Lexile 660
• National Awards: ALA Best Books for Young
Adults, ALA Top Ten
• State Lists: FL, IL, KS, KY, ME, NM, TX, VT
• Themes and Genres: survival, adventure, grief,
family, bonds of brotherhood
• Free Teacher Resource available at
perfectionlearning.com/trlibrary
PB LCL2168301 Price: $6.99 $ 4.89 CC LCL2168302 Price: $15.85 $ 11.10
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, where the rulers of
Panem maintain control through an annual
televised survival competition pitting young
people from each of the twelve districts against
one another, 16-year-old Katniss’s skills are put to
the test when she voluntarily takes her younger
sister’s place.
• IL 8–12, RL 4.8, GRL Z, Lexile 810
• National Awards: ALA Best Books for
Young Adults, ALA Top Ten for Young Adults,
ALA Notable Books, ALA Quick Picks for
Reluctant Readers, Publishers Weekly’s Best
Books of the Year: Children’s Fiction, New York Times Notable Children’s
Book, Cybil Award—Fantasy & Science Fiction, Children’s Choice Book
Award Teen Choice Book of the Year finalist, CCBC Choices, Kirkus Best
Young Adult Books, Horn Book Fanfare, School Library Journal Best Book
• State Lists: AK, AR, AZ, CA, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MO, NC, NE, NY, OK,
OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, UT, VT, WA, WY
• Themes and Genres: science fiction (dystopian society), survival, suspense,
adventure
• Free Teacher Resource available at perfectionlearning.com/trlibrary
• This book, the first in The Hunger Games trilogy, shares similarities with
Lord of the Flies—writing style, suspense, action, and survival. The Hunger
Games would work for upper middle school, maybe eighth grade, as students
younger than that may not understand the depth of the book. In addition,
there is some violence, albeit not explicit, that might not be appropriate for
younger middle grades.
PB LCL2064201 Price: $8.99 $ 6.29 CC LCL2064202 Price: $18.10 $ 12.67
 Leviathan
Scott Westerfeld
In an alternate history of World War I where
engineered beasts are pitted against machines,
orphaned Prince Alek is hidden away for his own
protection. He meets up with Deryn, a girl who
has disguised herself as a boy so she can join the
British Air Service.
• IL 7–10, RL 5, Lexile 790, GRL J
• National Awards: ALA Notable Children’s
Books for Young Adults, ALA Best Book for
Young Adults, Bank Street Best Books of the Year—
with Merit, Kirkus Best Young Adult Book,
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
• Themes and Genres: Science fiction, steam-punk fiction, adventure,
suspense, World War I
• The first book in a new series, Leviathan is a very good, unique book that
will appeal to girls and boys (especially boys) in middle school and the first
few years of high school. Steam-punk fiction is becoming a hot genre and
this book represents the genre well. It also has really good characterization
and is very fast-paced and exciting reading. The black-and-white illustrations
(at least one to two per chapter) are an added bonus. Lastly, it is squeaky
clean in terms of language.
PB LCL2168701 Price: $9.99 $ 6.99 CC LCL2168702 Price: $18.85 $ 13.20
The Rock and the River
Kekla Magoon
Fourteen-year-old Sam is caught in a conflict
between his father’s nonviolent approach to seeking
civil rights for African Americans and his older
brother, who has joined the Black Panther Party.
• IL 5–10, RL 3.9, Lexile 680
• National Awards: ALA Notable Children’s
Books, ALA Coretta Scott King John Steptoe
New Talent Award, ALA Best Books for Young
Adults, Bank Street Best Books of the Year,
CCBC Choices
• State Lists: DC
• Themes and Genres: multicultural (African Americans), Civil Rights
movement, racism
PB LCL2169101 Price: $6.99 $ 4.89 CC LCL2169102 Price: $15.85 $ 11.10
Recommended New Novels for the Middle School Classroom Complete Set
Paperback (10 titles) LCL0419701 $85.99 $64.49 Cover Craft (8 titles) LCL0419702 $144.77 $108.58
For thousands of additional titles,
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The Snow Baby: The Arctic
Childhood of Admiral E. Peary’s
Daring Daughter
Katherine Kirkpatrick
When Marie Ahnighito Peary, daughter of
the famous explorer, was six weeks old, her
mother wrapped her in a caribou skin bag,
furs, and an American flag. Young Marie
had a childhood like no other. Called “Snow
Baby” by the Inuit, who had never seen a
blonde, blue-eyed child, she moved back
and forth between the icy domains where
her father kept camp as he continued his expeditions and the United States,
where her mother’s relatives led a genteel life. Illustrated with captivating
black-and-white photographs. Includes a solid bibliography.
• IL 4–7, RL 8, LEX 1050
• Awards: Orbis Pictus Award Recommended Title, Booklist Top 10 Biographies
for Youth, Booklist Editors’ Choice Book, Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Choice Book, James Madison Book Award Honor Book
• Themes and Genres: biography, adventure, Native Americans/Inuit,
women’s experiences in history, American exploration
PB LCL2133401 Price: $9.45 $ 6.62
Snow Falling in Spring:
Coming of Age in China
During the Cultural Revolution
Moying Li
A compelling memoir that brings to life a dark time
in China’s history. During the summer of 1966 when
Red Guards launched brutal assaults and forced
confessions, a young girl is able to find solace and
learning when her father smuggles a reading list of
banned books to her from labor camp.
• IL 7–12, RL 6
• National Awards: NCSS/CBC Notable Trade
Book in the Field of Social Studies, IRA Children’s
Book Award, Bank Street Children’s Book of the Year, CBBC Choice
• State Lists: MA
• Themes and Genres: memoir, world literature (China), Cultural Revolution,
family
PB LCL2169201 Price: $8.99 $ 6.29 CC LCL2169202 Price: $17.85 $ 12.50
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