The 2011/2012 Entering Eighth Grade Core Summer Reading Book is:

Chew on This
by Eric Schlosser
An adaptation of Schlosser’s best-seller, Fast Food Nation, this book might just change
the way you think about food! It covers everything from the invention of the hamburger
to America’s obsession with fast food to secrets of school cafeterias. The fast food
industry counts on kids as it’s prime consumers, find out the fascinating and sometimes
frightening truth about what lurks between those sesame seed buns, what a chicken
‘nugget’ really is, and how the fast food industry has been feeding off children for
generations.

All students are required to read the 8th Grade Core Summer Reading Book
as well as one other book on the list.
 deal with the constant fear of discovery.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve,
Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one
other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about
Matched by Ally Condie the society in which he lives.
Cassia has always had complete trust in the Society to make
decisions for her, but when she is being paired with her ideal A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
mate, a second face flashes on the screen, and Cassia begins Francie Nolan grows up amid the poverty of a Brooklyn
to doubt the Society's infallibility as she tries to decide which tenement, in a poignant novel set in the early twentieth century.
man she truly loves. By turns overwhelming, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the story
of the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolan family is
Pick Up Game by multiple authors honest and tender.
A series of short stories by such authors as Walter Dean Myers,
Rita Williams-Garcia, and Joseph Bruchac, interspersed with
poems and photographs, provides different perspectives on a
game of streetball played one steamy July day at the West 4th
Street court in New York City known as The Cage.

The Cruisers by Walter Dean Myers

Friends Zander, Kambui, LaShonda, and Bobbi, caught in the
middle of a mock Civil War at DaVinci Academy, learn the true Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak
cost of freedom of speech when they use their alternative by Deborah Ellis
newspaper, The Cruiser, to try to make peace. Presents the words of young people between the ages of
eleven and eighteen in which they share what it is like to live in
Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins the midst of the upheaval and violence of the Israeli/Palestinian
Two Burmese boys, one a Karenni refugee and the other the conflict.
son of an imprisoned Burmese doctor, meet in the jungle and
discover that they must learn to trust each other in order to Letters to a Bullied Girl by Olivia Gardner
survive. Presents a selection from the thousands of letters written to
offer comfort and support to Olivia Gardner, a girl who became
Orchards by Holly Thompson the victim of bullying after suffering an epileptic seizure in
Sent to Japan for the summer after an eighth-grade school, and after her story was heard by sisters Emily and
classmate's suicide, half-Japanese American, half-Jewish Kana Sarah Buder who took it upon themselves to start the letter
Goldberg tries to fit in with relatives she barely knows and writing campaign.
reflects on the guilt she feels over the tragedy back home.
Marching for Freedom by Elizabeth Partridge
This book recounts the three months of protest that took place
before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s landmark march from
Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery to promote equal rights and
help African-Americans earn the right to vote.


 Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer


 On May 9th, 1996, some 40 climbers started their summit
Emma by Jane Austen assault on the highest mountain in the world – Mount Everest.
Emma, a self-assured young lady in Regency England, Twenty-four hours later one climber had died and twenty three
attempts to arrange her life and the lives of those around her other men and women were caught in a desperate struggle for
into a pattern dictated by her romantic fancy. their lives. This is the definitive account of the deadliest season
in the history of Everest.
Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe
In Mississippi in 1955, a sixteen-year-old finds himself at odds Twelve Rounds to Glory: the Story of Muhammad Ali
with his grandfather over issues surrounding the kidnapping by Charles R. Smith
and murder of a fourteen-year-old African-American from Rap-inspired verse and illustrations describe the life of
Chicago. Muhammed Ali, discussing his bouts, struggles with societal
prejudice, Islamic faith, Olympic glory, and more.
Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Born in 1929, Anne Frank received a blank diary on her 13 th

birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding
to avoid being rounded up in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Her
journal chronicles the 25 trying months of Anne Frank’s time
hidden in the secret annex with her family and others as they
 become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to
oust the town's corrupt mayor.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old
Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the
courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to
Strings Attached by Judy Blundell terms with the course his life has taken.
When she drops out of school and struggles to start a career
on Broadway in the fall of 1950, seventeen-year-old Kit Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
Corrigan accepts help from an old family friend, a lawyer said Set in Boston, seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts his
to have ties with the mob, who then asks her to do some attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters
favors for him. from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive
mother.
Sources of Light by Margaret McMullen
Sam, having moved with her mother to Jackson, Mississippi, Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
after the death of her father, finds the conservative 1960s Grady, a transgendered high school student, yearns for
values of the town clashing with her family's liberal views and acceptance by his classmates and family as he struggles to
struggles to navigate difficult relationships and understand adjust to his new identity as a male.
segregation.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

Joey the horse recalls his experiences growing up on an
English farm, his struggle for survival as a cavalry horse during
World War I, and his reunion with his beloved master.

Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers

Robin "Birdy" Perry, a new army recruit from Harlem, isn't quite Feed by M.T. Anderson
sure why he joined the army, but he's sure where he's headed: This brilliantly ironic satire is set in a future world where
Iraq. Birdy and the others in the Civilian Affairs Battalion are television and computers are connected directly into people's
supposed to help secure and stabilize the country and brains when they are babies. The result is a consumer society
successfully interact with the Iraqi people. Officially, the code where empty-headed kids are driven by fashion and shopping
name for their maneuvers is Operation Iraqi Freedom. But the and the avid pursuit of silly entertainment and by constant
young men and women in the CA unit have a simpler name for customized murmurs in their brains of encouragement to buy.
it: War.
The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Suddenly able to see demons and the Shadowhunters who are
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-
relates the story of Liesel—a young German girl whose year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizarre world when her
bookstealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a
and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors. monster and discovers her true heritage.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances
have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a
seventeen-year-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and
suffering from memory lapses, learns a startling secret about
her existence.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Nation by Terry Pratchett

Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman A tsunami destroys everything leaving Mau, an island boy,
Melinda has found that it’s been getting harder and harder for Daphne, an aristocratic English girl, and a small group of
her to speak out loud. Everyone hates her because she called refugees responsible for rebuilding their village and their lives.
the cops on the senior party last summer, and her parents’
marriage seems to be falling apart, but while Melinda is bogged Double Helix by Nancy Werlin
down by these things, only she knows the real reason why When eighteen-year-old Eli Samuels is hired at the Wyatt
she’s been struck mute. Transgenics Lab, his father is dead set against it and Eli
doesn’t know why. Then Eli meets Kayla Matheson, a beautiful
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer girl who eerily reminds him of his mother. Slowly, Eli begins to
When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her uncover truth about Dr. Wyatt's genetic-engineering
move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as experiments his connection to Eli’s parents, Kayla, and himself.
waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they
 Real Time by Pnina Kass
Sixteen-year-old Tomas Wanninger persuades his mother to let
him leave Germany to volunteer at a kibbutz in Israel, where he
experiences a violent political attack and finds answers about
his own past.

The Boxer and the Spy by Robert B. Parker

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman Fifteen-year-old Terry, an aspiring boxer, tries to uncover the
Seventeen-year-old Vince's life is constantly complicated by mystery behind the unexpected death of a classmate, shy high
the fact that he is the son of a powerful Mafia boss, a school student whose body is found washed up on the shore
relationship that threatens to destroy his romance with the of a quiet beach town.
daughter of an FBI agent.
So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld
Absolutely, Positively Not by David LaRochelle Hunter Braque, a New York City teenager who is paid by
Steven is a typical kid from Minnesota. So what if he happens corporations to spot what is "cool," combines his analytical
to like keeping his stuff neat? And so who cares if he happens skills with girlfriend Jen's creative talents to find a missing
to prefer square dancing over everyone else in town’s favorite person and thwart a conspiracy directed at the heart of
pastime, hockey? He is just like everyone else and he is consumer culture.

absolutely, positively, NOT gay. Or is he? Read this hilarious
account of Steven trying to figure his life out

Suck it Up by Brian Meehl

After graduating from the International Vampire League, a
scrawny, teenaged vampire named Morning is given the
chance to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a superhero.
He embarks on a League mission to become the first vampire
to reveal his identity to humans and to demonstrate how Savage by David Almond
peacefully-evolved, blood-substitute-drinking vampires can use After his father dies and the town bully Hooper begins to target
their powers to help humanity. him, Blue starts to write and illustrate a graphic novel full of
blood, guts, and adventures; but after one of Blue's characters
Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson pays Hooper a nighttime visit, Blue wonders if the lines of
Through assignments for English class, seventeen-year-old reality have blurred.
James Hoff rants against consumerism and his classmates'
apathy, puzzles over his feelings for his ex-girlfriend, and Plain Janes by Cecil Castelucci
expresses disdain for his emotionally-distant parents. When transfer student Jane is forced to move from the
confines of Metro City to Suburbia, she thinks her life is over.
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging series by But there in the lunchroom at the reject table she finds her
Louise Rennison tribe: three other girls named Jane. Main Jane encourages
Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen- them to form a secret art gang and paint the town P.L.A.I.N. -
year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, People Loving Art In Neighborhoods. But can art attacks really
stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, save high school?
and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie.
The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds
Based on Homer's epic poem—in graphic novel format,
Homer's epic tale of Odysseus, the ancient Greek hero who
encounters witches and other obstacles on his journey home
after fighting in the Trojan War.

The Losers by Jack Kirby.

Collects all twelve issues of the comic series "The Losers,"
Peeled by Joan Bauer which follows the adventures of Captain Storm, Johnny Cloud,
Gunner, and Sarge—who formed their own Special Forces unit
In an upstate New York farming community, high school
after they each had individual failures in other branches of the
reporter Hildy Biddle investigates a series of strange
military.
occurrences at a house rumored to be haunted.


Pedro and Me by Judd Winick
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by
In graphic art format, describes the friendship between two
Mark Haddon roommates on the MTV show "Real World," one of whom died
Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, of AIDS.
Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic boy, decides to
investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret
information about his mother.
Boost by Kathryn Mackel
Thirteen-year-old Savvy is the girls basketball team's star
player, but, despite her height and skills, Savvy struggles with
her self-confidence and searches for some way to boost her
performance. When steroids are found in her bag, Savvy
denies they are hers and the rumors start to fly.

Ironman by Chris Crutcher

While training for a triathlon, seventeen-year-old Bo attends an
anger management group at school, which leads him to
examine his relationship with his father.

Baseball Crazy: ten short stories that cover all the

bases by Multiple Authors
A collection of ten short stories from popular, contemporary
authors that celebrate the joys of America's favorite pasttime
and the wonder, frustration, and delight of its fans.

Game by Walter Dean Myers

Drew Lawson knows basketball is taking him places. It has to,
because his grades certainly aren't. But lately his plan has run
squarely into a pick. Coach's new offense has made another
player a star, and Drew won't let anyone disrespect his game.
Just as his team makes the playoffs, Drew must come up with
something big to save his fading college prospects.

Keeper by Mal Peet

When Paul Faustino of La Nacion flips on his tape recorder for
an exclusive interview with El Gato—the phenomenal
goalkeeper who single-handedly brought his team the World
Cup—the seasoned reporter quickly learns that this will be no
ordinary story. Instead, the legendary El Gato narrates a
spellbinding tale that begins in the South American rainforest,
where a ghostly, but very real mentor, the Keeper, emerges to
teach a poor, gawky boy the most thrilling secrets of the game.
A seamless blend of magic realism and exhilarating soccer
action, this evocative novel will haunt readers long after the
story ends.