Corner Lake PTSA

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Marty Preston, 11, is a country boy who learns that things are often not what they seem, and that adults are not always “fair” in their dealings with other peoples. Marty finds a stray dog that seems to be abused and is determined to keep it at all costs. Because his family is very poor, without money to feed another mouth, his parents don’t want any pets. Subsequently, there is a lot of conflict over the animal within the family and between Marty and Judd Travers, the dog’s owner. Honesty and personal relations are both mixed into the story

Just Juice by Karen Hesse

This year, Juice Faulstich is back again in Miss Hamble’s third grade class. Letters and numbers still don’t make sense to her. But when an important letter comes to the family, someone’s got to read it and break the news to Ma and Pa. Realizing that her father’s lack of work has endangered her family, nine-year-old Juice decides that she must return to school and learn to read in order to help their chances of surviving and keeping their house.

7th Grade Reading List

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Set in 1943, life for Annemarie and her best friend is filled with school, food shortages, and Nazi soldiers marching in their town. Then Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission. She must find strength and courage during her challenges.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Set in 1942, Berlin, Bruno comes home from school to find his belongings packed in crates. His father is in the German military and they must move. Bruno makes a friend who lives on the other side of the fence. Can friendship survive this horrific time?

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.

This is a historical novel based on the life of a real person. The main character joins the Hitler Youth Program as a teenager and must make choices that put him in challenging positions. Chapters consist of flashbacks between the present and past.

Flipped by Wendilin Van Draanen

Told in a “He said, She said” style, this lighthearted book addresses the pains of growing up when friendships change. Bryce and Juli tell their story of their relationship as it changes from elementary school through middle school.

Far North by Will Hobbs

Gabe Rogers’ parents are getting divorced. He lives with his mom. Now he wants to meet his dad and get to know him better. Tragic events lead to Gabe having to fight for survival in Canadian wilderness.

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

This historical fiction novel brings to life a small “hick” town that has become Mary Alice Dowdel’s new home when she is sent to live there with her grandmother. Being a true “city girl,” she faces the challenges of living in a rural area. Some of the resulting experiences are quite hilarious.

Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin

A realistic fictional piece about a boy named Jason who is a writing whiz and an explainer of literary devices. But he lacks in social skills. Determination helps Jason to move through life’s difficulties and triumph over his awkwardness

Trino’s Choice by Diane Bertrand

Trino witnesses a crime in his neighborhood. He must deal with peer pressure, family conflict, learning to love, and loneliness. This is a very realistic contemporary fiction piece.

Downsiders by Neal Shusterman

Talon lives Downside, that is, underneath New York City. There is a strict code of secrecy among the Downsiders. However, when Talon accidentally meets a young woman named Lindsay, who is a Topsider (from above the ground), the two worlds collide. The punishment for Talon's lack of discretion could be death. Read to find out what will happen to these friends and whether the entire Downsider community will be discovered.

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

Steven is a gifted junior high school drummer with an imagination that takes him some distance from his writing assignments into musing on his own life. The book chronicles his experience of the year his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey, was diagnosed with leukemia. Jeffrey's illness oddly makes Steven an object of his friends' admiration and pity, neither of which he thinks he wants or deserves.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a trolley accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run-and not just run away, but run. And this is where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary feats.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

As the only passenger, and the only female, on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, thirteen-year-old Charlotte finds herself caught between a murderous captain and a mutinous crew. Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action offend you, read no more. Find another companion to share your idle hours. For my part I intend to tell the truth as I lived it.

8th Grade Reading List

Gone by Michael Grant

In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. Gone. Everyone except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not a single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Gone, too, are the phones, internet, and television. There is no way to get help. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.

House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo

Xander and his family move from the big city of Los Angeles to a small town.  He and his friends find lots of mysterious things happening when he moves into his new house.

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

 Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven, a centuries-old hidden refuge for the preservation of mythical creatures. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken -- Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good -- powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. They must find the courage to venture alone into the dangerous wilds to save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world.

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

Steven is a gifted junior high school drummer with an imagination that takes him some distance from his writing assignments into musing on his own life. The book chronicles his experience of the year his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey, was diagnosed with leukemia. Jeffrey's illness oddly makes Steven an object of his friends' admiration and pity, neither of which he thinks he wants or deserves.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Thirteen year old Harry has returned for his third year at the Hogwarts School and more exciting, magical adventures. This time, a dangerous escaped convict is on the loose.  Sirius Black is reputedly a madman with a mysterious tie to Harry's past. Harry's life is in danger from the ghost of Lord Voldemort, escaped Sirius Black and the Azkaban Prison guards meant to keep the students safe from Black. Harry is challenged with solving the mystery of how Black is connected to Harry’s past but preventing Black from killing him at the same time. 

Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings

First hailed as a hero for his dramatic water rescue, thirteen-year-old Brady Parks, son of a Chesapeake Bay waterman, soon makes a startling discovery that puts him at the heart of an enormous tragedy. Alone with his dark secret, Brady is ultimately forced to choose between loyalty to his lifelong friends and doing what he knows in his heart is right.

I Am David by Anne Holm

David’s entire twelve-year life has been spent in a grisly concentration camp in Eastern Europe. He knows nothing of the outside world. But on his heels, David struggles to cope in this strange new world, where his only resources are a compass, a few crumbs of bread, his two aching feet, and some vague advice to seek refuge in Denmark. Is that enough to survive?

Summer Ball by Mike Lupica

When you’re the smallest kid playing in a big man’s game, the challenges never stop – especially when your name is Danny Walker. Leading your travel team to the national championship may seem like a dream come true, but for Danny, being at the top just means the competition tries that much harder to knock him off.

Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Henry Fleming, a private in the Union Army, runs away from the field of war. Afterwards, the shame he feels at this act of cowardice ignites his desire to receive an injury in combat, a red badge of courage that will redeem him. Stephen Crane’s novel about a young soldier’s experiences during the American Civil War is well known for its understated naturalism and its realistic depiction of battle.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

One night a plane appeared out of nowhere, the only passengers aboard: thirty-six babies. As soon as they were taken off the plane, it vanished. Now, thirteen years later, two of those children are receiving sinister messages, and they begin to investigate their past. Their quest to discover where they really came from leads them to a conspiracy that reaches from the far past to the distant future—and will take them hurtling through time.

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Capricorn Anderson had never watched a television show before. He'd never tasted a pizza. He had never even heard of a wedgie. And he had never, in his wildest dreams, thought of living anywhere but Garland Farm commune with his hippie caretaker, Rain. Capricorn (Cap for short) had lived every day of his life on Garland Farm growing fruits and vegetables. He was homeschooled by Rain, the only person he knew in the world. Life was simple for Cap. But when Rain falls out of a tree while picking plums and is hospital-ridden, he has to attend the local middle school and live with his new guidance counselor and her irritable daughter. While Cap knew a lot about Zen Buddhism, no amount formal education could ready him for the trials and tribulations of public middle school.

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Fourteen-year old Johnny Tremain, an apprentice silversmith with a bright future ahead of him, injures his hand in a tragic accident, forcing him to look for other work. In his new job as a horse-boy, riding for the patriotic newspaper, the Boston Observer, and as a messenger for the Sons of Liberty, he encounters John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Dr. Joseph Warren. Soon Johnny is involved in the pivotal events shaping the American Revolution from the Boston Tea Party to the first shots fired at Lexington.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a trolley accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run-and not just run away, but run. And this is where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary feats.