2024 Summer Reading List Grades 6-8Like this list

25 items

• Barely Floating

  Rivera, Lilliam,

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  A great addition to a summer reading list, this story follows Nat as she falls in love with and tries out for the L.A. Mermaids, a synchronized swimming group. Over the summer, she learns how good it feels to surround herself with people…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Catch a Crayfish, Count the Stars

  Fun Projects, Skills, and Adventures for Outdoor Kids

  Rinella, Steven,

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  Written by the host of the Netflix show MeatEater, this book is full of fun activities to do in the summer. The activities range from making a sun compass to becoming a bike mechanic, pickling a cucumber, and birdwatching.

• The Firefly Summer

  Matson, Morgan,

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  A girl is sent to meet her extended family at their lakeside retreat. There she learns how to embrace her family’s changes and cope with grief.

• A First Time for Everything

  a True Story

  Santat, Dan,

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  From discovering punk music and Fanta to sneaking into Wimbledon, this graphic memoir is the story of how one class trip to Europe changed a middle schooler’s life forever.

• Half Moon Summer

  Vickers, Elaine,

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  Seventh-graders Mia and Drew spend their summer running together as they train for a half marathon and face challenges within their families.

• Heroes

  Gratz, Alan, 1972-

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  December 7, 1941—the world changes for Frank and Stanley. Caught on a battleship when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, the two friends endure frightening moments that test their friendship as everything around them is destroyed. Includes a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Labors of Hercules Beal

  Schmidt, Gary D.,

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  Hercules knows he’s no hero—even though he’s named after one. Assigned a Herculean task by his teacher, Herc, over the course of a year, helps out in the family nursery, with all that entails, and learns to accept the death of his parents…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Lost Year

  Marsh, Katherine,

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  During the COVID pandemic, thirteen year-old Matthew discovers a photo of his great-grandmother and a family secret that is connected to the Holodomor—a famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in 1930s Soviet Union.

• The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams

  Nayeri, Daniel,

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  Determined to save his new master’s life, a young orphan must face various assassins as he and the “Seller of Dreams” travel the Silk Road.

• Mexikid

  Martin, Pedro, 1967-

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  Pedro and his large family take an epic road trip to Mexico to bring his abuelito back to America. This hilarious graphic novel memoir has a lot of heart and will keep kids laughing

• A Royal Conundrum

  Yee, Lisa,

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  High jinks, heists, and humor! Before departing on another last-minute business trip, Olive Cobin Zang’s parents deposit her at the Reforming Arts School (RASCH), a boarding school at a former prison, where she is soon secretly enrolled in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Mona Lisa Vanishes

  a Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity

  Day, Nicholas, 1991-

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  A rollicking true tale of the improbable theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911, set alongside the equally improbable story of its creation and the life of its painter, Leonardo da Vinci.

• The Plot to Kill a Queen

  a Royal Spy Story in Three Acts, Also Including the Princess Saves the Cakes, a One Act Play to Perform With a Company of Friends

  Hopkinson, Deborah,

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• Remember Us

  Woodson, Jacqueline,

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  Twelve-year-old Sage experiences a summer of self-discovery as she spends her days playing basketball and watching fires overtake the beloved Bushwick neighborhood where she lives in this novel set in the 1970s.

• Shakti

  Sindu, SJ,

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  A fantasy graphic novel about a twelve-year-old Indian American girl learning to use her powers for good.

• Simon Sort of Says

  Bow, Erin,

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  In this story filled with quirky characters, Simon learns that life is full of tragedy, sensitive moments, and most importantly, humanity. Humor abounds as Simon learns the true meaning of letting go of the past and facing his future as…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Sunshine

  Krosoczka, Jarrett,

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  This graphic novel tells the story of a summer camp for seriously ill children and their families. Sixteen-year-old Jarrett is worried that working with sick kids will be too depressing, but he quickly learns how to connect and empathize…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Tegan and Sara

  Junior High

  Quin, Tegan, 1980-

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  Twin sisters Tegan and Sara are growing up—and growing apart—as they face the challenges of junior high, crushes, and friend drama. They find a way to reconnect through their love of making music in this semi-autobiographical graphic…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Two Tribes

  Bowen Cohen, Emily,

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  Raised by her Jewish mother and stepfather, Mia yearns to know more about her father, a member of the Muscogee Nation, so she runs away to Oklahoma to discover more about her family—and her own identity.

• Where the Water Takes Us

  Barillaro, Alan,

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  A girl spends her summer at her grandfather’s lake house and befriends a neighbor boy who teaches her how to cope with complex emotions. The illustrations double as a flip-book.