My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Fifteen-year-old Sam Gribley has decided to run away from his crowded apartment home, but unlike most kids who rarely get beyond their block, Sam goes from New York City all the way to the ruined farm of Great-grandfather Gribley in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There are no buildings or people on the old Gribley farm, so Sam sets up residence by hollowing out the trunk of an ancient Hemlock tree. He has brought only a few tools of survival with him: a penknife, a ball of cord, an ax, 40 dollars, and some flint and steel to help him make fire. Using these simple tools and his wits, Sam learns to live off the land, and in the course of a year, discovers just how much he values freedom, independence, and adventure when faced with the challenges of blizzards, loneliness and fear.

177 pages
Lexile 810
Jean Craighead George's Website

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Also try On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain- sequels to My Side of the Mountain.
  

Middle School: My Brother is a Big, Fat Liar by James Patterson and Lisa Papademetriou

My name is Georgia Khatchadorian, and I know what my brother, Rafe, told you:  LIES, All LIES!

He says I'm annoying and a tattletale and a pudding cup thief. (Well, okay, maybe that last part is true.)
But that's not the whole story.
I'm also

• smarter than him (who isn't)
• more popular than him (who isn't)
• and way, WAY funnier (it's really not that hard).

So if you're ready for the truth about how the life of a totally innocent girl (that would be ME) and her first year of middle school were ruined by her horrible brother (RAFE) and his superbad reputation...

It's time to set the record straight!

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277 pages
Lexile 520

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

 Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is “grounded for life” by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack’s way once his mom loans him out to help a feisty old neighbor with a most unusual chore—typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder.

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341 pages
Lexile 920

Stick Dog by Tom Watson

Introducing everyone's new best friend: Stick Dog!

  

He'll make you laugh . . . he'll make you cry . . . but above all, he'll make you hungry. Follow Stick Dog as he goes on an epic quest for the perfect burger.'
Easy to read!
Fun!

189 pages
Lexile: 700

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Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh.


Juli Baker devoutly believes in three things: the sanctity of trees (especially her beloved sycamore), the wholesomeness of the eggs she collects from her backyard flock of chickens, and that someday she will kiss Bryce Loski. Ever since she saw Bryce's baby blues back in second grade, Juli has been smitten.

Unfortunately, Bryce has never felt the same. Frankly, he thinks Juli Baker is a little weird--after all, what kind of freak raises chickens and sits in trees for fun?

Then, in eighth grade, everything changes. Bryce begins to see that Juli's unusual interests and pride in her family are, well, kind of cool. And Juli starts to think that maybe Bryce's brilliant blue eyes are as empty as the rest of Bryce seems to be. After all, what kind of jerk doesn't care about other people's feelings about chickens and trees?

This is a classic romantic comedy of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny new voices.

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Lexile 720
212 pages

Middle School: Get Me Out of Here by James Patterson

Everything you need to know about this book you will find at this website:

Middle School Books

It is a quick read and almost everyone will find parts they can relate to.

Enjoy!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Did you know that the Cinderella story is one of the world’s oldest fairy tales? The first version can be traced back to ninth-century China and was written about a heroine named Yeh-shen. Today, more than 1500 versions of the tale exist, many with a unique twist. Marissa Meyer has written a new story based on the old fairy tale that I found to be really interesting.

Cinder Linh is a cyborg – part human, part robot – who knows nothing of her birth parents or history. She is a ward of her evil stepmother, Adri, who relies on Cinder’s extraordinary talent as a mechanic to support the family all the while vilifying Cinder at every opportunity. Together with two stepsisters, Pearl and Peony, they live in technologically advanced, post-World War IV “New Beijing.” Unfortunately, New Beijing is threatened by an airborn plague called letumosis, which strikes at random and has an almost 100% fatality rate.

When Prince Kai brings a broken robot to Cinder to fix, romance is sparked between these two star-crossed, unlikely lovers. As a cyborg, Cinder is hated by New Beijing society, and there is no one higher on the societal echelon than Prince Kai, heir to the empire. This doesn’t stop the two from becoming friends, although Cinder takes pains to hide her cyborg nature from him.

Meyer introduces another evil villain to the fairy-tale plot in the form of Queen Levana, the mind-controlling ruler of the Lunars – a colony of people originally from Earth, who are inhabiting the moon. Over time, the Lunars have evolved from human to something else entirely, with their own culture and psychic powers. Levana craves the throne and pursues poor Prince Kai relentlessly.

Does this story turn out like the traditional Cinderella story?
Does the prince win Cinder over? or does Queen Levana win her prince?

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