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August 7th
Support Staff Interest Group Meeting
August 8th
Picture Book Read-In--13th Annual Event
Support Staff Interest Group Meeting
Picture Book Read-In--13th Annual Event
With guest Rollie Welch, from Cleveland Public Library
action, sports, violence, plot-driven as opposed to character-driven, male characters, cool toys, weapons, betrayal, nobility, courage, gruesome, bodily fluids, gratuitous cussing, decision to mature or not to mature, social groups, humor and slapstick comedy as is appropriate to the age of intended audience, how-to books, danger, battle, war, graphic novels, nonexistent parents, sex without romance or love, mischief, scheming, rule breaking
List and Descriptions of Titles Discussed
Paranoid Park by Blake Nelson
high school appropriate, page turner, plot driven, main character accepts a dare, huge skating element, sense of urgency and panic, sense of guilt, server injury brings in grossness factor
Other good boy books by this author: Rock Star Superstar and They Came from Below
Choosing Up Sides by John Ritter
6th and 7th grades, historical fiction, sports fiction, baseball, main character is a left handed baseball player at a time when left handedness in not welcomed, lots of action, fighting against father, can be used as a sports read or as an example of a character not being accepted by family and community because of differences (for example: the author wrote this as a metaphor of being gay and trying to find acceptance)
Gym Candy by Carl Deuker
Sports fiction, football fiction with lots of authentic football scenes, main character is football player who takes steroids, descriptions of the effects of steroid use such as roid rage, depression, complexion issues, etc. character eventually shoots himself as a result of roid rage
Other titles by Deuker: Night Hoops (basketball), The Runner (running and terrorism)
Other football novels to try: Crackback, Football Genius, and The Cover-Up
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
High school appropriate, main character is a Spokane Indian, set on Spokane Reservation and neighboring white-kid school, discusses very serious topics such as poverty, alcoholism, death, and racism in a very humorous way, rivalry between friends, themes of maturation, funny illustrations throughout book
The Warriors by Joseph Bruchac
Middle School appropriate, sports fiction, lacrosse main character is Iroquois who grew up on Reservation but sent to live with mother and attend a private school, struggles with being new kid and only Native American at a school where the mascot is “The Chief,” lots of action and good lacrosse descriptions
Flight by Sherman Alexie
10th-12th grade, Science Fiction, Native American-Irish teen orphan shuttled from foster home to foster home, shoots up a bank and is killed and is then teleported through out history into other people’s bodies, violence, lots of cussing, lots of action, alcoholism, abuse, poverty
Slam by Nick Hornby
High school appropriate, main character gets girlfriend pregnant and runs away, has to decide if he should do the right thing by accepting the situation and helping his girlfriend out, themes of maturation and decision making, lots of skating thrown in, set in London with lots of British slang
Last Dance at the Frosty King by
For older teens, set in a small town which the main characters can’t wait to get out of, main character drives a hearse, lots of risk taking, lots of sex, affair with an older woman
Vampire books with lots of blood, very gory, easy reads, plot driven, horror, good bridging books for the Goosebumps crowd who aren’t ready for Stephen King, Anne Rice, etc.
Angel of Death and The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson
High school level, CSI type books, forensic mysteries, very gruesome books, lots of corpses, lots of technical forensic information
Outdoor adventure books starring teens, very tame and safe therefore somewhat unrealistic
Rash by Pete Hautman
6th-9th grades, sports fiction set in the future, football, set in futuristic society that is obsessed with health and safety, main character is sent to prison camp for breaking law, very harsh life at camp, joins football team, very realistic football descriptions, violent and bleak
Bunker 10 by J.A. Henderson
Sci-fi-ish, book opens with characters dying in an explosion, the novel then goes back in time to learn the stories of all the characters, all action occurs in 1 day, fast-paced, great for fans on 24
10,000 Days of Thunder by Philip Caputo
appropriate for all teens, nonfiction about Vietnam war, each “chapter” is only 2-4 pages long and addresses a different topic of the war such as weapons, food, protests, politics, jungle rot, etc. lots and lots of cool photos on every page
Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar
8th-10th grades, main character in incoming high school freshman, group of friends all goes different ways, main character does lots of stupid things to get the attention a girl, very funny
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
7th grade and up, boy accidentally kills another boy by setting him on fire and goes into shock, book is immediate attention grabber, psychological thriller, lots of suspense, sociopathic characters, very short and quick read, possibility of redemption, character driven as opposed action driven but still very appealing,
Book is possible lead in to The Burn Journals
Other books by author: Shattering Glass, Whatever Happened to Cass McBride, etc.
Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
High school appropriate, main character is outcast with poor self-esteem but manages to hook up with the school’s coolest kid, overcoming fears, public embarrassment
Schooled by Gordon Korman
Middle school appropriate, main character is raised on a commune in the 60s and then gets sent to a regular middle school, shows how merciless kids can be to each other, school nerd becomes school hero in a prank
Games by Gordon Korman
Middle school appropriate, 2 boys who love to fight in school have to serve detention by playing board games against each other, alternating narrators like alternating players in a game.
High school appropriate, psychological mystery thriller kicked off when a cheerleader disappears, other characters include Murray, a student who like spending time in the local cemetery, and Peal, the daughter of the cemetery’s caretaker. Alternating narrators, including characters that are dead.
Son of the Mob and Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle by Gordon Korman
Vince’s father is in the Mob and his girlfriend’s father in an FBI member investigating Vince’s father, Vince and his girlfriend spend their time trying avoid letting each other’s parents know who they’re really dating, very funny
Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead
Older teens, historical fiction set during the Civil War including the Battle of Gettysburg, coming of age story, very gory battle scenes, 14 year old Robey sets off by himself to find his father and witnesses the effects of war on his journey
Amazonia by James Rollins
A/ YA. Outlandish fantasy adventure, characters are on a mission in the Amazon Jungle to find a body and the tree that heals, on the way they encounter amphibious piranhas, 100 ft alligators, killer panthers, and active volcanoes
Black and White by Paul Volponi
Older teens, sports fiction about a hold-up that goes wrong, experience of juvenile justice system according to race, issues of race and friendship, question of loyalty to a friendship, great basketball scenes
Tyrell by Coe Booth
Title character 15 year old living in homeless shelter who’s dad just got released from prison, very intense language, good to pair with The True Diary . . . by Alexie for books that show what life is like in areas/ situations very different from middle class Midwest
Also check out other stories by Coe Booth
New Boy by Julian Houston
Historical fiction set during the Civil Rights Movement, main character is the first African American boy to enter a prestigious prep school, can be difficult to read
Redwall series by Brian Jacques
Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Warriors series by Erin Hunter
Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale
All series are appropriate for middle school age. Fantasy series with either boy main characters (Pendragon, Artemis, Keys to the Kingdom) or animal main characters (Warriors, Redwall). All have themes of maturation and war. All tend to be “niche” fiction whose popularity spreads by word of mouth.
Eragon series by Christopher Paolini
Middle school, dragon fantasy, good battle scenes, author was a teen when he wrote first title
Boot Camp by Todd Strasser
High school appropriate, main character has affair with teacher and gets caught with drugs so he’s put in a correctional boot camp, lots of violence, peer abuse and torture, very sensory
Also try The Silent Room by Walter Sorrels and Shock Point by April Henry
Taken by Edward Bloor
Futuristic science fiction, main character is female but still very boy friendly, people have GPS chips embedded inside of them, lots of action, very similar to the television show “24”
Maximum Ride and sequels by James Patterson
Middle school appropriate, fast moving, all action, brief chapters
Unwind, Everlost, Full Tilt, Dreadlocks, and Duckling Ugly and others by Neal Shusterman
Dark science fiction and fantasy, horror, grotesque, engaging and quick
Black Storm Comin’ by Diane Wilson
Historical fiction about a mixed-race boy who works for the pony express right before the Civil War, good for booktalking
Alabama Moon by Watt Key
Appropriate for younger teens, protagonist is an orphan who has lived most of his life in the woods with his father, he is sent to a boys home where he makes his first friends, lots of escape and chase scenes, underdog story, sort of like Huck Finn for a younger crowd
Interworld by Neil Gaiman
Grades 6-9, science fiction novel where Joe “walks” into different worlds and discovers lots of other “walkers” from all worlds and dimensions whose names are all some variations of Joe’s name, fight between good and evil, some violence, friendship
Other good scifi/ fantasy picks for middle school boys:
Rash by Pete Hautman
Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Boxes by William Sleator
Taken by Edward Bloor