Teen Read Week 2009: Wilmington Middle School, October 23
Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians, by Brandon Sanderson
Alcatraz has a knack for breaking things. So when his 13th birthday rolls around and he accidentally smashes up his foster parents’ kitchen, is anyone really surprised? And because it’s that kind of day, Alcatraz gets a birthday present: a bag of sand. And then someone steals his bag of sand. Because that bag of sand is what the evil librarians need to take over the world—unless Alcatraz can catch up to them and put his klutziness to good use.
The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex
Where do you start writing an essay on what Smekday means to you, when it involves things like an alien invasion, a runaway Boov mechanic named J.Lo, and a cross-country trip in a flying car, all while on a mission to rescue your mom—whom the alien invaders kidnapped on Christmas Eve? Gratuity “Tip” Tucci’s essay has all the hilarious details—and some photos!—from her action-packed adventure!
Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins
When Gregor’s baby sister Boots crawls through a vent in the laundry room, Gregor crawls through after her—and finds himself, and Boots, falling. Falling all the way until they reach the Underland, where the Crawlers welcome Boots as a princess and the Underland humans hail Gregor as their prophesied savior. With the help of the Fliers and one particular Gnawer, Gregor must lead a small team of Underlanders through dangerous, Gnawer-controlled territory to rescue an imprisoned Overlander… who may be Gregor’s missing father.
Found, by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Jonah has always known he was adopted, so when he gets the first letter in the mail--you are one of the missing--he's able to tell himself it's just a prank. But when his friend Chip gets one, too, it's less funny. Especially since Chip didn't know that he, too, was adopted. As they both start asking questions, they learn that the circumstances of their adoptions were even more mysterious than they'd ever dreamed...
Mudville, by Kurtis Scaletta
When Roy gets home from baseball camp, he’s surprised to find Sturgis sitting on his couch. Even more surprising, though, is that right after Sturgis’s arrival, it stops raining in Moundville for the first time in twenty-two years. With the sky finally clear, it’s time to finish the baseball game against Sinister Bend that was rained out more than two decades ago. But two decades of rain makes for a generation of Moundville kids who don’t know the first thing about how to play baseball–and they have to start by building the new field.
The Wednesday Wars, by Gary Schmidt
Hollis is just trying to make it through the seventh grade--the year when half his class goes to Hebrew school on Wednesday afternoons, and the other half goes to catechism, leaving Hollis alone with Mrs. Baker week after week. And that wouldn't be so bad, except that Mrs. Baker hates him. After devising several plans to get rid of him in the afternoons, she finally starts assigning him Shakespeare--which leads to a number of colorful curses, an understanding of love, and a public performance in yellow tights with feathers on the butt.
Z for Zachariah, by Robert C. O'Brien
Following a nuclear war, 16-year-old Ann Burden learns to survive alone in the untouched valley—until the day a stranger wearing a radiation-proof suit comes over the hill. When the stranger makes a crucial mistake, Ann nurses him back to health—making a crucial mistake of her own.
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
At six years old, Ender is already a military genius. Despite being the youngest child to ever attend Battle School, he rises quickly in the ranks until he’s leading his fellow students through the Battle School games meant to prepare them for the war against the Buggers.
Un Lun Dun, by China Mieville
Animals have been watching Zanna. Staring at her, actually. And a few people have called her “the Schwazzy.” But Zanna only finds out why when she and her best friend Deeba fall through to Un Lun Dun, the reverse of their own London, and they’re suddenly in charge of saving the world—both worlds, actually—in a place where words are alive and nothing makes any sense at all.
Story Time, by Edward Bloor
George and Kate are lucky enough to be accepted into the Whittaker Magnet School. But the school’s curriculum is focused only on standardized tests: drills, dreary classrooms, and disgusting protein shakes are all part of the new school day. Oh, and there’s also a murderous demon loose. Can George and Kate pass the tests and make it through the year?
Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld
Pretties live in their Pretty cities and have their Pretty parties, and it’s all pretty great—no worries, no responsibilities, and best of all, no Uglies. But for those few people who don’t want to be made into Pretties, the only option is to leave society all together. Tally Youngblood wants nothing more than to be made Pretty, but her only chance to have the surgery hinges on betraying her friends who have left.
The Name of This Book is Secret, by Pseudonymous Bosch
11-year-old misfits Cass and Max-Ernest find a mysterious box, The Symphony of Smells, filled with vials and an encoded plea for help. And from there, their troubles begin: an eccentric magician has been killed, a classmate has been kidnapped, and Cass is getting scolded on manners whenever she tells the principal what clues she has. This engaging mystery-adventure will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Do Not Open: An Encyclopedia of the World’s Best-Kept Secrets
Blackbeard’s treasure was buried near Keating Summit, Pennsylvania, and may still be there.
The average toilet contains less bacteria than the average kitchen sink—but you send up a cloud of 10 billion bacteria and viruses every time you flush.
In Louisiana, you can be fined $500 for having a pizza (or anything else) delivered to someone without their permission. These weird (and sometimes gross) facts and more in Do Not Open: An Encyclopedia of the World’s Best-Kept Secrets.
Unnameables, by Ellen Booraem
The foundling Medford Runyuin has a secret: instead of carving dishes and drawer handles like his foster father, he’s been carving Useless Objects, like statues of people and birds. Useless Objects that might even be Unnameable. Unnameable can get you banished, which is why Medford’s been careful to hide his collection. Until the windy night when the Goatman blows in, and the Goatman could destroy everything—both for Medford, and for the rest of the Island.
Compound, by S.A. Bodeen
When a nuclear bomb is launched, Eli’s family has, at most, about 40 minutes to find shelter. Luckily, they’re not far from their underground compound that can support them for the next fifteen years while they wait for the radiation to clear. Now six years in, the food stores have been contaminated—or sabotaged. There's only one way out—and the person who knows it is the one who won't let them leave.
Runaways, by Brian K. Vaughan
When they find out that their parents make up the super-villain group The Pride, six teens do the only logical thing: run away from home and plot to overthrow their parents. Finding a secret hideout and learning about their new powers is hard enough, but finding a traitor in their midst complicates everything.
Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon Hale
Rapunzel may have gotten locked in the tower, but she's hardly the helpless maiden she's made out to be. With braids long enough to escape on (and some handy
training in how to use a lasso), Rapunzel is set to exact revenge on the woman who locked her away. She’ll take down the evil witch and free her real mother from the dungeons—but first she has to get back home.
Bloody Jack, by L.A. Meyer
Mary Faber has been living in the streets of London with a gang of her fellow beggars for years. When the leader of her gang, Rooster Charlie, is killed, it’s time for Mary to strike out on her own. She dons his shirt and pants, cuts off her hair, calls herself Jacky, and lands herself a spot as a Ship’s Boy on the HMS Dolphin. What follows is a series of adventures on the high seas, including storms, pirate attacks, shipwrecks, and even a touch of romance—and every adventure is another opportunity for Jacky to blow her cover.
Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
After his uncle disappears, Hugo tends to the station clock and steals food to get by. He also steals mechanical toys, and when the elderly toy-maker catches him, Hugo loses his late father’s sketches of a mechanical man. But when the toymaker’s granddaughter offers to help him get it back, Hugo must make the decision to trust (or not) this strange girl.
Bone Sharps, Cowboys, & Thunder Lizards, by Jim Ottaviani
In the late 1800s, as the United States busily dug and tunneled its way across the country, the diggers accidentally started the Bone Wars. Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, two paleontologists, found and fought for the dinosaur bones—and the credit. How low will scientists go? Pretty low, it turns out. Don’t miss this graphic novel about the gilded age of paleontology!
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