MIDDLE SCHOOL NEW BOOK LIST

N0VEMBER 2003

FICTION

Almost forever. Maria Testa. A young girl describes what she, her brother, and their mother do during the year that her doctor father is serving in the Army in Vietnam.

Among the Barons. Margaret Peterson Haddix. In a future world of false identities, government lies, and death threats, Luke feels drawn to the younger brother of a boy whose name Luke has taken.

The Amulet of Komondor. Adam Osterweil. When Joe and Katie become actual characters in a fantasy game, they must battle everyone from a dragon to the FBI to unite five pieces of an amulet, scattered across Earth and the fantasy world of Komondor, that will restore everything to normal.

Artemis Fowl : the eternity code. Eoin Colfer. After Artemis uses stolen fairy technology to create a powerful microcomputer and it is snatched by a dangerous American businessman, Artemis, Juliet Mulch and the fairies join forces to retrieve it.

Beast. Walter Dean Myers. A visit to his Harlem neighborhood and the discovery that the girl he loves is using drugs gives sixteen-year-old Anthony Witherspoon a new perspective both on his home and on his life at a Connecticut prep school.

Brainboy and the Deathmaster. Tor Seidler. When Darryl, a twelve-year-old orphan, is adopted by a technology genius, he finds himself the star of his very own life-threatening video game.

Chasing fire : danger in canoe country. Earl Fleck. Thirteen-year-old Danny and his family go on a challenging camping and canoeing trip from Minnesota into Canada, planning to rendezvous with Danny's older fire fighter brother along the way.

Colibri. Ann Cameron. Kidnapped when she was very young by an unscrupulous man who has forced her to lie and beg to get money, a twelve-year-old Mayan girl endures an abusive life, always wishing she could return to the parents she can hardly remember.

Dark waters. Catherine MacPhail. Col McCain becomes a local hero when he saves a boy from drowning but when his older brother is suspected of a serious crime, Col must decide if he should be loyal to his family or tell the truth about what he saw while under the water.

Disappearing act. Sid Fleischman. After their archaeologist mother fails to return from Mexico and they discover that someone is stalking their Albuquerque house, twelve-year-old Kevin and his opera-singing older sister flee to Venice, California, wher they hope that new identities will keep them safe.

Dreaming in black and white. Reinhardt, Jung. A boy dreams that he is a student during the period of the Nazi Third Reich in Germany, where he is persecuted for being physically handicapped.

Eragon. Christopher Paolini. In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.

Every day and all the time. Sis Boulos Deans. Eleven-year-old Emily, still reeling from the car accident that took her older brother's life and badly injured her, uses psychotherapy and ballet dancing to cope with her parents' decision to sell their house--the only place she can still feel and talk to her brother.

For freedom : the story of a French spy. Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Despite the horrors of World War ll, a French teenager pursues her dream of becoming an opera singer, which takes her to places where she gains information about what the Nazis are doing--information that the French Resistance needs.

Friction : a novel. E. R. Frank. When a new girl at the private school Alex attends starts rumors about Alex's favorite teacher, Alex and her eight-grade classmates are not sure how to act around him or with each other.

The Goblin Wood. Hilari Bell. A young Hedgewitch, an idealistic knight, and an army of clever goblins fight against the ruling hierachy that is trying to rid the land of all magical creatures.

Goose girl. Shannon Hale. On her way to marry a prince she's never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a "goose girl" to survive

until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers.

Hear the wind blow. Mary Downing Hahn. With their mother and their home burned, a thirteen-year-old boy and his little sister set out across Virginia in search of relatives during the final days of the Civil War.

High Heat. Carl Deuker. When sophomore Shane Hunter's father is arrested for money laundering at his Lexus dealership, the star pitcher's life of affluence and private school begins to fall apart.

Keeper of the night. Kimberly Willis Holt. Isabel, a thirteen-year-old girl living on the island of Guam, and her family try to cope with the death of Isabel's mother who committed suicide.

The Merlin Conspiracy. Diana Wynee Jones. Roddy and Nick, two teenagers with magical powers they are just learning to use, find that they must work together to save Roddy's home of Blest from destruction by power-hungry wizards.

Necessary noise : stories about our families as they really are. A collection of short stories about families by top young adult authors.

Olive's ocean. Kevin Henkes. On a summer visit to her grandmother's cottage by the ocean,

twelve-year-old Martha gains perspective on the death of a classmate, on her relationship with her grandmother, on her feelings for an older boy, and on her plans to be a writer.

Pirates. Celia Rees. In 1722, after arriving with her brother at the family's Jamaican plantation where she is to be married off, sixteen-year-old Nancy Kington escapes with her slave friend, Minerva Sharpe, and together they become pirates traveling the world in search of treasure.

Princess in waiting.Meg Cabot. Princess Mia is introduced to her Genovian subjects, and more importantly, she goes out on a date.

The River between us. Richard Peck. During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois.

Ruby electric. Theresa Nelson. Twelve-year-old Ruby Miller, movie buff and aspiring screen writer, tries to resolve the mysteries surrounding her little brother's stuffed wooly mammoth and their father's five year absence.

Shaekspeare bats cleanup. Ronald Koertge. When a fourteen-year-old baseball player catches mono, he discovers that keeping a jounral and experimenting with poetry not only helps fill the time, it also helps him deal with life, love, and loss.

Shelf life : stories by the book. Ten short stories in which the lives of young people in different circumstances are changed by their encounters with books.

The Slightly true story of Cedar B. Hartley : who planned to live an unusual life. Martine Murray. When twelve-year-old Cedar loses her dog, it sets off a chain of events leading her to find a new friend, become an acrobat, and learn some bitter-sweet truths about family, community, and herself.

Stop the train : a novel. Geraldine McCaughrean. Despite the opposition of the owner of the Red Rock Runner railroad in 1893, the new settlers of Florence Oklahoma, are determined to build a real town.

Storm catchers. Tim Bowler. Filled with guilt over his younger sister's kidnapping, teenaged Fin tries to rescue her and in the process learns about a dark family secret.

Thirteen stories about the agony and ecstasy of being thirteen. Assorted short stories about teenage angst.

Trickster's choice. Tamora Pierce. Alianne must call forth her mother's courage and her father's wit in order to survive on the Copper Isles in a royal court rife with political intrigue and murderous conspiracy.

Walk softly, Rachel. Kate Banks. When fourteen-year-old Rachel reads the journal of her brother, who died when she was seven, she learns secrets that help her understand her parents and herself.

BIOGRAPHY

Alfred Nobel and the story of the Nobel Prize. John Bankston. A biography of the reclusive inventor of dynamite and the story of how he came to establish the prestigious prize that bears his name.

Facing the lion : growing up Maasai on the African savanna. Joseph Lekuton. A member of the Masai people describes his life as he grew up in a northen Kenyan village, travelled to America to attend college, and became an elementary school teacher in Virginia.

Fight on! : Mary Church Terrell's battle for integration. Dennis B. Fradin. Profiles the first black Washington, D.C. Board of Education member, who helped to found the NAACP and organized the picketts and boycotts that led to the 1953 Supreme Court decision to integrate D.C. area restaurants.

Joseph Pulitzer and the story behind the Pulitizer Prize. Susan Zannos. A biography of Joseph Pulitizer and the creation of the Pulitizer Prizes.

Nicholas Copernicus and the founding of modern astronomy. Todd Goble. Presents the life and work of the famous sixteenth-century Polish astronomer.

Phineas Gage : a gruesome but true story about brain science. John Fleischman.

The story of a man who went around with a metal spike in his skull.

Theodore Roosevelt : champion of the American spirit. Betsy Harvey Kraft. A biography of the energetic New Yorker who became the twenty-sixth president of the United States and who once exclaimed "No one has ever enjoyed life more than I have."

A Young dancer's apprencticeship : on tour with the Moscow City Ballet. Olympia Dowd. An autobiography of a Canadian ballet student who, while still in her early teens, was offered the chance to study and tour with the Moscow City Ballet.

NON-FICTION

Air Force One. Andrew Santella. The story of the Presidential plane.

Al Qaeda : Osama bin Laden's army of terrorists. Phillip Margulies. Discusses the Islamic organization known as Al-Qaeda, focusing on its presumed role in the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

An American plague : the true and terrifying story of yellow fever. Jim Murphy. A history of the spread and destruction caused by yellow fever in the United States.

Constellations : the stars and their stories. Chris Sasaki. Stories and the myths concerning the constellations.

Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Tamra Orr. Discusses the origins, philosophy, and most notorious attacks of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad terrorist group, including their present activities, possible plans, and counter-terrorism efforts directed against them.

Freedom roads : searching for the Underground Railroad. Joyce Hansen. The story of the history of the "railroad" which helped fugitive slaves escape to freedom.

Getting away with murder : the true story of the Emmett Till case. Chris Crowe. Presents a true account of the murder of fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, in Mississippi, in 1955.

Hamas : Plaestinian terrorists. Maxime Rosaler. Discusses the origins, philosophy, and most notorious attacks of the Hamas terrorist group, including thier present activities, possible plans, and counter-terrorism efforts directed against them.

In defense of liberty : the story of America's Bill of Rights. Russell Freedman. Describes the origins, applications of, and challenges to the ten amendments to the United States Constitution that comprise the Bill of Rights.

The Man who counted : a collection of mathematical adventures. A book of mathematical recreations.

The Middle school survival guide. Arlene Erlbach. A guidebook to help deal with changes in school, families, social lives, and bodies that come during the middle school years, with specific advice for a variety of situaitons.

My fellow Americans : the most important speeches of America's presidents, from George Washington to George W. Bush. Important speeches of U.S. Presidents in print and on CD.

New dinos : The latest finds! The coolest dinosaur discoveries! Shelley Tanaka. Describes some of the newly discovered dinosaurs and what paleontologists have learned about these prehistoric creatures in recent years.

The Pantheon. Lesley A. DuTemple. Describes the building of the Pantheon, discussing the role of the Roman emperor Hadrian and the significance of the Pantheon in the fields of history and architecture.

The Taj Mahal. Lesley A. DuTemple. Recounts the history of the creation of the Taj Mahal, built as a tomb and memorial for the wife of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

Trees : a guide to familiar American trees. Herbert Spencer Zim.

Trees of North America : a field guide to the major native and introduced species of North America. Frank C. Brockman.

Women in the Middle East : tradition and change. Ramsay M. Harik. Discusses the lives of women in the Middle East today including the traditions that shape these lives, the present day religious, social and political realities, and changing expectations.

VIDEOS

Ireland, Great Britain & Brittany : journeys of the Celtic legends.

Japan : journeys on the Tokaido.

Greece : journeys to the Gods.

Austria : journeys through the salt mines.

South Africa : journeys of the freedom songs.

Peru : journeys to the golden cities.