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Summertime doesn’t mean all learning has to stop. In fact, I’m a big advocate of finding some of the best books to read during the summer, especially for middle schoolers. To make your search super easy, I’ve rounded up some homeschool mom, teacher-approved and even a couple title suggestions from my own middle schoolers that you can get either at your public library, from ThriftBooks or even on Amazon.
Books to Read During the Summer for Middle Schoolers
Of course, you’ll want to take into consideration your middle schooler’s level of development, their particular likes or dislikes, current interests and get books accordingly. This is also the perfect time to help them enhance their reading skills and stay sharp until the next school year. Here are some books that will help you do just that.
Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret by Trudy Trueit
National Geographic’s blockbuster fiction series, Explorer Academy, has it all: a diverse cast of characters, cool technology, code breaking, adventure, exotic locations and a thrilling global mission — all inspired by the real adventures and explorations of the National Geographic Society.
Join Cruz as he leaves his tranquil home in Hawaii to join 23 talented kids from around the globe to train at the Explorer Academy with the world’s leading scientists to become the next generation of great explorers. But for Cruz, there’s more at stake. No sooner has he arrived at the Academy than he discovers that his family has a mysterious past with the organization that could jeopardize his future. In the midst of codebreaking and cool classes, new friends and exotic locales, eco-challenges and augmented reality expeditions, Cruz must tackle the biggest question of all: Who is out to get him, and why? Books 1-5 are out now, and book 6, The Dragon’s Blood will be released in October!
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
Palmer LaRue is running out of birthdays. For as long as he can remember, he’s dreaded the day he turns ten – the day he’ll take his place beside all the other ten-year-old boys in town, the day he’ll be a wringer. But Palmer doesn’t want to be a wringer. It’s one of the first things he learned about himself and it’s one of the biggest things he has to hide. In Palmer’s town being a wringer is an honor, a tradition passed down from father to son. Palmer can’t stop himself from being a wringer just like he can’t stop himself from growing one year older, just like he can’t stand up to a whole town — right?
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
Five years. That’s how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, criss-crossing the nation. It’s also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash.
Coyote hasn’t been home in all that time, but when she learns that the park in her old neighborhood is being demolished – the very same park where she, her mom, and her sisters buried a treasured memory box – she devises an elaborate plan to get her dad to drive 3,600 miles back to Washington state in four days…without him realizing it.
Along the way, they’ll pick up a strange crew of misfit travelers. Lester has a lady love to meet. Salvador and his mom are looking to start over. Val needs a safe place to be herself. And then there’s Gladys…. Over the course of thousands of miles, Coyote will learn that going home can sometimes be the hardest journey of all…but that with friends by her side, she just might be able to turn her “once upon a time” into a “happily ever after.”
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better.
Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.
Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father’s actions.
Once again Jewell Parker Rhodes deftly weaves historical and socio-political layers into a gripping and poignant story about how children and families face the complexities of today’s world, and how one boy grows to understand American blackness in the aftermath of his own death.
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
Acclaimed author Renee Watson offers a powerful story about a girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it’s trying to break her.
Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she’s ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And Jade has: every day she rides the bus away from her friends and to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities she doesn’t really welcome, like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for “at-risk” girls.
Just because her mentor is black and graduated from the same high school doesn’t mean she understands where Jade is coming from. She’s tired of being singled out as someone who needs help, someone people want to fix. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference.
The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake
Maleeka suffers every day from the taunts of the other kids in her class. If they’re not getting at her about her homemade clothes or her good grades, it’s about her dark, black skin. When a new teacher, whose face is blotched with a startling white patch, starts at their school, Maleeka can see there is bound to be trouble for her too. But the new teacher’s attitude surprises Maleeka. Miss Saunders loves the skin she’s in. Can Maleeka learn to do the same?
Final Thoughts
These books are sure to be a hit with your middle schooler. They combine adventure, culture, and suspense – all of which will help them better understand current (and past) events, as well as how to handle some of their own personal encounters. Enjoy!