Books You Might Like
6th Grade Reading Suggestions
6th Grade Reading Suggestions
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby
elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
Almost Home by Joan Bauer
Sixth-grader Sugar and her mother lose their beloved house and experience the harsh world of
homelessness.
Doll Bones by Holly Black
Zach, Alice, and Poppy, friends from a Pennsylvania middle school who have long enjoyed acting out
imaginary adventures with dolls and action figures, embark on a real-life quest to Ohio to bury a doll
made from the ashes of a dead girl.
Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
Seven fifth-graders at Snow Hill School in Connecticut relate how their lives are changed for the better
by "rookie teacher" Mr. Terupt
Gaby, Lost and Found by Angela Cervantes
Gaby Ramirez Howard volunteers at the animal shelter by writing adoption advertisements and would like
to adopt a cat named Feather but with her mother deported to Honduras Gaby has no home herself.
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
Twelve-year-old Addie tries to cope with her mother's erratic behavior and being separated from her
beloved stepfather and half-sisters when she and her mother go to live in a small trailer by the railroad
tracks on the outskirts of Schenectady, New York.
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
A young student, who comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous
poems mean to him, surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem. You will then want to read Hate
That Cat also by Creech.
Flora & Ulysses : The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo (2014 Newbery Award Winner)
A girl named Flora and a squirrel named Ulysses, whose life was saved by Flora after he was involved in
an incident with a vacuum cleaner, team up to use Ulysses' superpowers to conquer villains and protect
the weak.
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Considered by many to be mentally challenged, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy
discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Orphaned brothers Prosper and Bo, having run away from their cruel aunt and uncle, decide to hide out in
Venice where they fall in with the Thief Lord, a thirteen-year-old boy who leads a crime ring of street
children.
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos
To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey has trouble paying attention or
controlling his mood swings when his prescription meds wear off and he starts getting worked up and
acting wired.
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
In 1935, when her mother gets a job housekeeping for a woman who does not like children, eleven-year-
old Turtle is sent to stay with relatives she has never met in far away Key West, Florida.
The Contract by Derek Jeter
In Kalamazoo, Michigan, eight-year-old Derek Jeter, who dreams of playing for the New York Yankees,
learns what it takes to be a champion on and off the field.
Stolen Children by Peg Kehret
Amy's babysitting course taught first aid, how to bathe a baby, and tips for a happy bedtime. It did not
cover what to do if two thugs show up, intent on stealing the baby. In this suspenseful thriller, awarding
winning author Peg Kehret creates a spunky heroine who uses her wits and a big dose of courage as she
attempts to save herself and the toddler in her care
Schooled by Gordon Korman
Cap lives in isolation with his grandmother, a former hippie; but when she falls from a tree and breaks
her hip, Cap is sent to a foster home where he has his first experience in a public school.
Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur
When twelve-year-old Elise, orphaned since age three, becomes disheartened by middle school, with its
bullies, changing relationships, and higher expectations, keys to long-locked rooms and messages from
her late father help her cope.
Dash by Kirby Larson
When her family is forced into an internment camp, Mitsi Kashino is separated from her home, her
classmates, and her beloved dog Dash; and as her family begins to come apart around her, Mitsi clings to
her one connection to the outer world--the letters from the kindly neighbor who is caring for Dash.
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Joey is a war horse but he wasn't always. Albert was his master but when World War II came along
everything changed for Joey.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to
survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan,
which entails enduring the taunts and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another
student.
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from
his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in
search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after immigrating to America in 1996, began a
project to dig water wells in Sudan.
I Funny by James Patterson
Jamie Grimm tries to win the Planet's Funniest Kid Comic Contest, while also dealing with his stepfamily,
friends, and a school bully. First in a series.
Road Trip by Jim Paulsen and Gary Paulsen
A father and son embark on a road trip to a distant animal shelter to save a homeless Border Collie
puppy. Road Trip is followed up in Field Trip.
Slob by Ellen Potter
Picked on, overweight genius Owen tries to invent a television that can see the past to find out what
happened the day his parents were killed.
The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan
A fictionalized biography of the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who grew up a painfully
shy child, ridiculed by his overbearing father, but who became one of the most widely-read poets in the
world.
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and
find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident.
Baseball in April and Other Stories by Gary Soto
A collection of eleven short stories focusing on the everyday adventures of Hispanic young people
growing up in Fresno, California.
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
Seventh-grader Georges adjusts to moving from a house to an apartment, his father's efforts to start a
new business, his mother's extra shifts as a nurse, being picked on at school, and Safer, a boy who wants
his help spying on another resident of their building.
7th Grade Reading Suggestions
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the
court as their father ignores his declining health.
Dark Eden by Patrick Carman
Fifteen-year-old Will Besting, plagued by crippling phobias, is sent by his doctor to Fort Eden where he
and six other teens are treated by spending time in fear chambers where they confront their worst
nightmares, and although they all emerge feeling emboldened, in time unexplained aches and pains make them wonder what is really happening to them.
The Selection by Kiera Cass
"Sixteen-year-old America Singer is living in the caste-divided nation of Illea, which formed after the
war that destroyed the United States. America is chosen to compete in the Selection--a contest to see
which girl can win the heart of Illea's prince--but all she really wants is a chance for a future with her
secret love, Aspen, who is a caste below her"--Provided by publisher.
Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg
Macallan and Levi are best friends from the first day they meet in seventh grade, but over the years
their close friendship keeps interfering with their dating life because everyone else regards them as a
couple.
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
Fourteen-year-old Michael discovers he has special electrical powers and, with the help of his best
friends, becomes aware that there are other teens with similar powers, but something or someone is
hunting them and, after Michael's mother is kidnapped, he will need to rely on his powers and his friends to rescue his mom, protect himself, and save the others.
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz
Based on the life of Jack Gruener, this book relates his story of survival from the Nazi occupation of
Krakow, when he was eleven, through a succession of concentration camps, to the final liberation of
Dachau.
January by Gabrielle Lord
"On New Year's Eve, Cal is chased down the street by a staggering, sick man with a deadly warning,
"They killed your father. They'll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days". Hurled into a life on the
run, with a price on his head, the 15-year-old fugitive is isolated and alone. Hunted by the law and
ruthless criminals, Cal must somehow uncover the truth about his father's mysterious death and a
history-changing secret". This is the first book in the Conspiracy 365 series.
I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
In rural Ohio, friendships and a beautiful girl prove distracting to a fifteen-year-old who has hidden on
Earth for ten years waiting to develop the Legacies, or powers, he will need to rejoin the other six
surviving Garde members and fight the Mogadorians who destroyed their planet, Lorien.
Legend by Marie Lu
In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.
Bang by Barry Lyga
A new friend and their YouTube cooking channel help fourteen-year-old Sebastian move on from
accidentally shooting his infant sister ten years earlier.
Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann
Seventeen-year-old Kendall, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, lives with her parents on a potato farm in a tiny community in Montana, where two teenagers go missing within months of each other, with no explanation.
A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen
When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz were trapped on the eastern
side where they were living, while her father, and her other brother Dominic were in the West--four
years later, now twelve, Gerta sees her father on a viewing platform on the western side and realizes he wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom.
Run, Boy, Run : A Novel by Uri Orlev
Based on the true story of a nine-year-old boy who escapes the Warsaw Ghetto and must survive
throughout the war in the Nazi-occupied Polish countryside.
Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson
Tandy Angel is, along with her brothers, a suspect in their parents' murder but having grown up under
Malcolm and Maud Angel's perfectionist demands, Tandy decides she must clear the family name no
matter what.
Scribbler of Dreams by Mary Pearson
Despite her family's long feud with the Crutchfields, seventeen-year-old Kaitlin falls in love with Bram
Crutchfield--the son of the man her father murdered--and weaves a tangled web of deception to conceal her identity from him.
The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner
Four years after her brother, Simon, drowned while in her charge, Francesca, now fifteen, begins to
move on after a summer of caring for Frankie, who seems to be Simon reincarnated, and getting closer to her best friend's boyfriend.
Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus
In Nazi-occupied Norway, fourteen-year-old Espen joins the resistance movement, graduating from
deliverer of illegal newspapers to courier and spy.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
When sixteen-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Sixteen-year-old Jacob, having traveled to a remote island after a family tragedy, discovers an abandoned orphanage, and, after some investigating, he learns the children who lived there may have been dangerous and quarantined and may also still be alive.
The Swap by Megan Shull
When seventh-grader Ellie, who is having best-friend problems, and eighth-grader Jack, who is under
tremendous pressure from his father, switch bodies and lives, they learn a great deal about themselves and the opposite gender.
I'll Be There : A Novel by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Raised by an unstable father who keeps constantly on the move, Sam Border has long been the voice of his silent younger brother, Riddle, but everything changes when Sam meets Emily Bell and, welcomed by her family, the brothers encounter normalcy for the first time.
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend, Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome aftereffects of their cancer treatments in preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen, who is studying drums in Africa.
Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist Sixteen-year-old blind teen Will Porter undergoes an experimental surgery that enables him to see for the first time, all while navigating a new school, new friends, and a crush, Cecily, who doesn’t fit the traditional definition of beautiful.
My Name is Not Friday by Jon Walter
When seventh-grader Ellie, who is having best-friend problems, and eighth-grader Jack, who is under
tremendous pressure from his father, switch bodies and lives, they learn a great deal about themselves and the opposite gender.
8th Grade Reading Suggestions
Mosquitoland by David Arnold
When she learns that her mother is sick in Ohio, Mim confronts her demons on a thousand-mile odyssey from Mississippi that redefines her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
Relates the intertwining fates of former street gang leader Han Alister and headstrong Princess Raisa,
as Han takes possession of an amulet that once belonged to an evil wizard and Raisa uncovers a
conspiracy in the Grey Wolf Court.
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray travels to England in search of her brother only to be abducted by the
Dark Sisters, residents of London's Downworld, home to the city's supernatural folk, and she becomes
the object of much attention--both good and bad--when it is discovered she has the power to transform at will into another person.
Something In Between by Melissa De la Cruz
After learning of her family's illegal immigrant status, Jasmine realizes that college may be impossible and that deportation is a real threat, uncertainties she endures as she falls for the son of a
congressman who opposes an immigration reform bill.
Gym Candy by Carl Deuker
Mick Johnson works hard for a placement on the varsity team during his freshman year, and decides to use steroids in order to hold onto his edge, despite the consequences to his health and social life.
A Little Something Different: Fourteen Viewpoints, One Love Story by Sandy Hall
The creative writing teacher, the local baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the
park all have one thing in common-they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. They have a lot in common, but unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe is shy, and despite their mutual crush, it looks like
they are never going to work things out.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han (Book 1)
What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them...all at once? Sixteen-year-old
Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone
else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved--five in all. When
she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life,
because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara
Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control. This book is followed by P.S. I Still Love You and
Always and Forever, Lara Jean.
When We Collided by Emery Lord
Bipolar seventeen-year-old Vivi is escaping home (and her meds) in Verona Cove, California, where
"townie" Jonah is trying to keep his family afloat after his father's death. The two quickly find
themselves in a relationship as confusing and intense as one of Vivi's manic episodes. Both characters' experiences read true, but Vivi's voice--which changes poignantly and seamlessly with her moods--steals the show.
Bang by Barry Lyga
Fourteen-year-old Sebastian lives in the past: when he was four years old, he accidentally shot and killed his four-month-old sister. This haunts him, leading to obsessive self-hate and suicidal feelings. He is waiting, in fact, for the voice in his head to tell him it's time to effect his end. That time seems
imminent as his past and future seem to come together, faster and faster until he meets Aneesa. The
two become friends, bonding over a YouTube channel they create that features Sebastian making pizzas.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and
leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and
her treatment, when she falls in love.
Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian
Performing community service for pulling a stupid prank against a rival high school, soccer star Tom
tutors a Somali refugee with soccer dreams of his own.
The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki
Staying with their aunts over the summer, Neil Cady, his sister Bree, and their new friends Wesley and
Eric, set out to explore Greylock Hall, an abandoned psychiatric hospital which is supposed to be haunted by the ghost of Nurse Janet.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
When a quick stop at the corner store suddenly escalates into police brutality, high school classmates
Rashad (who is African American) and Quinn (who is white) are linked and altered by the violence--
Rashad as victim and Quinn as witness. This nuanced novel explores issues of racism, power, and justice with ethnically diverse characters.
A List of Cages by Robin Roe
Fourteen-year-old Julian Harlow looks "like an anime character," with shiny black hair almost falling into his "enormous round eyes." He is shy, sweet, and secretly good at singing and storytelling, but his uncle is beating the light, and life, out of him. Adam Blake, a high school senior, knows and loves Julian because the boy came to live with him and his mother as a foster child after his parents were killed. But it's been five years since Julian's abusive uncle took him in, and the boy, young-seeming for 14, is decidedly worse for wear.