It’s that time of year again, Summer Reading! We put our heads together a couple weeks ago and came up with a wide variety of Middle School summer reading choices – from light beach reads to weightier non-fiction books. Stop by and check out our new display featuring dozens of titles. Here at Barrett Bookstore, we all have our favorites. Here are a few of mine:
Ashes (The Ashes Trilogy) by Ilsa J. Bick Fans of the Hunger Games will devour the first two books in this fast-paced series, and they’ll be asking us when the third will be published (September 10). The scene is set when Alex, a teen who is facing her own mortality, goes for a days-long hike in a nature preserve to face her personal demons. Once in the woods, a blinding flash of light nearly cripples her. It turns out that an electromagnetic pulse has changed the world in an instant – billions have been killed, all computers have shut down and electronic devices are useless. After the pulse, Alex bonds with a young girl and a guy her age. This make-shift family must learn to survive in a world that has been permanently altered.
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt This is a powerful story about the triumph of the human spirit and the heights a person can achieve with a little help from a good friend, a dedicated teacher and an enthusiastic librarian. In a new town, Doug struggles to be more than the thug his new neighbors believe him to be. Faced with an abusive father, Doug finds inspiration and a safe haven at his local library and learns lessons on life that help lift him out of his circumstances. In this companion to Schmidt’s earlier novel, The Wednesday Wars, readers will laugh and cry along with Doug and cheer him on until the final page.
If We Survive by Andrew Klavan What started out as a high school mission trip to Central America turns into a nightmare for Will Peterson and his friends. Just as they are about to return home, revolutionaries take over the country’s government and the movement’s leaders don’t think kindly of Americans. Will Peterson and his group are suddenly faced with a choice: escape through the jungle or get shot by a firing squad. The daring escape and trials of this group will have you staying up late to finish the book!
