Summer Reading for NCCS Upper School Students 2023: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror and Supernatural

To save their father's life, a brother and sister must journey across a land full of magical beings from Colombian folklore and find the most powerful and dangerous of them all--the Madremonte. Grade 4-7

The Otherworld is at war. The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts trains warriors. And Kelcie Murphy―a foster child raised in the human world―is dying to attend. A place at AUA means meeting Scáthach, the legendary trainer of Celtic heroes. It means learning to fight with a sword. It means harnessing her hidden powers and―most importantly―finding out who her parents are, and why they abandoned her in Boston Harbor eight years ago. When Kelcie tests into the school, she learns that she’s a Saiga, one of the most ancient beings in the Otherworld. Secretive, shunned, and possessed of imposing elemental powers, the Saiga are also kin to the Otherworld's most infamous traitor. But Kelcie is a survivor, and she’ll do whatever it takes to find her parents and her place in their world. Even if that means making a few enemies. Grade 6-8

All Momo wants for her twelfth birthay is an ordinary life, but instead she finds out she is half human, half goddess and must unlock her divine powers to save her mother's life and keep countless evil spirits from escaping Yomi, the land of the dead. Grade 5-7

Searching for her buried friend after the mines collapse, twelve-year-old Pakistani mica miner Nura finds herself at the Sijj Palace, a luxury hotel for the dangerous and deceitful jinn, where she must discover the truth beneath the glitter or be trapped forever. Grade 5-8

After her home is attacked by shapeshifting vampires, twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng is sent to live with her aunt and cousin in Maryland, but the aspiring vampire hunter discovers that middle school is harder than it appears on television, especially when she has to avoid detention and turn her classmates into warriors before they become vampire food. Grade 5-8

Riley Oh ventures into the Spiritrealm, where she hopes to convince Saint Heo Jun to become the new patron god of the Gom clan and restore their healing powers. Grade 4-8

After twelve-year-old Lebanese-American Shad Hadid discovershe is an Alchemist, he receives an invitation to the Alexandria Academy where he discovers not everything is as it seems and shadowy figures are lurking around every corner. Grade 4-7

Armed with her fledgling powers, a magic cookbook, and the mentorship of a talking rabbit, sixth-grader Winnie Zeng must embrace her heritage and the powers of her ancestors to save her town from an evil spirit of Chinese legend. Grade 5-8

When a powerful desert spirit kidnaps her sister, Cece Rios must learn forbidden magic to get her back. Living in the remote town of Tierra del Sol is dangerous, especially in the criatura months, when powerful spirits roam the desert and threaten humankind. But Cecelia Rios has always believed there was more to the criaturas, much to her family's disapproval. After all, only brujas--humans who capture and control criaturas--consort with the spirits, and brujeria is a terrible crime. When her older sister, Juana, is kidnapped by El Sombrerón, a powerful dark criatura, Cece is determined to bring Juana back. To get into Devil's Alley, though, she'll have to become a bruja herself--while hiding her quest from her parents, her town, and the other brujas. Thankfully, the legendary criatura Coyote has a soft spot for humans and agrees to help her on her journey. With him at her side, Cece sets out to reunite her family--and maybe even change what it means to be a bruja along the way. Grade 4-8

Eleven-year-old Thom Ngho is keeping a secret: she's strong. Like suuuuper strong. Freakishly strong. And it's making it impossible for her to fit in at her new middle school.
In a desperate bid to get rid of her super strength, Thom makes a deal with the Monkey King, a powerful deity and legendary trickster she accidentally released from his 500-year prison sentence. Thom agrees to help the Monkey King get back his magical staff if he'll take away her strength.
Soon Thom is swept up in an ancient and fantastical world in where demons, dragons, and Jade princesses actually exist. But she quickly discovers that magic can't cure everything, and dealing with the trickster god might be more trouble than it's worth. Grade 4-7

This is the story of a creature who is both strange and unique. When he hatches down in the vast underground lair where monsters dwell, he looks just like a human boy – much to the disgust of everyone watching. Even the grumpy gargoyles who adopt him and nickname him 'Imp' only want him to steal chocolate for them from the nearby shops. He's a child with feet in both worlds, and he doesn't know where he fits.

But little does Imp realise that Thunderguts, king of the ogres, has a great and dangerous destiny in mind for him, and he'll stop at nothing to see it come to pass …Grade 5-7

When Clo's father goes missing, she takes the mysterious items he left behind and journeys across the sea to find him, but is stranded on a strange island and must learn to spin fish into yarn to unravel the secret of all that has happened. Grade 5-8

Soon after meeting her eighteen-year-old brother, Dustin, for the first time, thirteen-year-old Molly learns their shared inheritance, a mortuary business, serves monsters. Grade 5-8

When a child goes missing from the Orphan House in the town of Stone-in-the-Glen, the mayor suggests the kindly Ogress is responsible, but the orphans do not believe that and try to make their deluded neighbors see the real villain among them. Grade 4-8

In the real world, Bugz is a shy and self-conscious Indigenous teen who faces the stresses of teenage angst and life on the Rez. But in the virtual world, her alter ego is not just confident but dominant in a massively multiplayer video game universe.

Feng is a teen boy who has been sent from China to live with his aunt, a doctor on the Rez, after his online activity suggests he may be developing extremist sympathies. Meeting each other in real life, as well as in the virtual world, Bugz and Feng immediately relate to each other as outsiders and as avid gamers. And as their connection is strengthened through their virtual adventures, they find that they have much in common in the real world, too: both must decide what to do in the face of temptations and pitfalls, and both must grapple with the impacts of family challenges and community trauma. But betrayal threatens everything Bugz has built in the virtual world, as well as her relationships in the real world, and it will take all her newfound strength to restore her friendship with Feng and reconcile the parallel aspects of her life: the traditional and the mainstream, the east and the west, the real and the virtual. Grade 7-10

In a future shaken by climate disasters, Yolanda Cicerón knows that nature is something to be feared. While life in the Valley is brutal and harsh, Yoly dreams of leaving her farm to live in Silo--the most advanced town for miles around. But first, Yoly will need to prove she belongs in a place where only the smartest and most useful are welcomed. Between her razor-sharp smarts and sheer determination, Yoly is well on her way until she discovers her family can no longer afford her schooling. When forced to take matters into her own hands, the closer she gets to securing her future, the more she uncovers the dangers lying inside Silo's walls--ones that threaten the entire Valley. As she cracks long-guarded secrets, Yoly, along with those closest to her, is put in grave peril and the only chance of surviving may lie in the rediscovery of a long-extinct species--the honeybee. Can the last surviving beehive be the key to pulling the Valley out from under Silo's thumb, or will they destroy what remains of Yoly's future? Grade 4-8

Crumbling under the pressure at her elite school on the moon, misfit Myra Hodger discovers a lab full of toxic plants and uses her botanical magic to weed out its secrets, but quickly discovers some will do anything to take those secrets to the grave. Grade 5-8

Five years after dragons decimated the world, a chance encounter with a young dragon leaves twelve-year-old Noah questioning everything he thought he knew. Grade 4-7

Years after her sisters venture Outside and vanish in a snow squall, thirteen-year-old Tag sets out to rescue the lost Youngers, accompanied by an unlikely crew--Boots, who can climb anything; Ant, who will eat anything; and Ren, who will say anything. Grade 5-8

This fast-paced YA horror novel perfect for fans of Stranger Things throws together two former friends when their long-missing best friend suddenly reappears--five years after his disappearance, but the same age as the day he vanished. Grade 7-12

Soon after arriving in the tiny tourist town of Nightfall, Oregon, siblings Theo and Marco break their grandmother's rule not to leave the house after dark and befriend a mysterious group of beguiling girls who are far from what they seem. Grade 7-11 (Lexile: 650)

When Glennon McCue moves into a lighthouse on a mysterious island not found on any maps, he must figure out why those who visit are never heard from again before he and his family fall victim to the island's curse. Grade 4-7

A powerful and poignant story about friendship, betrayal, and redemption. This unforgettable story, complete with lush black-and-white illustrations throughout, explores how we can find the strength to face down monsters: in the darkness, in our friends, and in our selves. Grade 5-8

Noah Prime discovers he can exhibit the traits and access the abilities of animals and must use them to fight back against those who are hunting him. Grade 5-8

Bones Malone feels like he can’t do anything right in his new small town: He almost punched the son of the woman who babysits him and his brothers, he’s one of the only Black kids in Langille, and now his baseball team (the one place where he really feels like he shines) just lost their first game. To make matters worse, things in town are getting weird. His mom isn’t acting like herself at all—she’s totally spaced out, almost like a zombie. And then he and his brothers have the same dream—one where they’re running from some of their deepest fears, like a bear and an eerie cracked mirror that Bones would rather soon forget. Kyle Specks feels like he can never say the right thing at the right time. He thinks he might be neurodivergent, but he hasn’t gotten an official diagnosis yet. His parents worry that the world might be too hard for him and try to protect him, but Kyle knows they can’t do that forever. Even though he’s scared, he can’t just stand by and do nothing while things in this town get stranger and stranger, especially not after he and Bones find a mysterious scientist’s journal that might hold answers about what’s going on. But when faced with seemingly impossible situations, a shady corporation, and their own worst nightmares, will Kyle and Bones be brave enough to admit they're scared? Or will the fear totally consume and control them? Grade 5-7

Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts. Despite her excitement, Ella discovers that being the first isn't easy--some Marvellers mistrust her magic. Eventually, she finds friends in elixirs teacher, Masterji Thakur, and fellow misfits Brigit and Jason. When a dangerous criminal escapes prison, supposedly with a Conjuror's aid, Ella becomes the target of suspicion. Worse, Masterji Thakur mysteriously disappears while away on a research trip. With the help of her friends and her own growing powers, Ella must find a way to clear her family's name and track down her mentor before it's too late. Grade 5-7

When Oscar dies in the city of the elves after a silver wave struck him down, his friends, family, and a six-year-old troublemaking stowaway elf race against time to stop the clock and rewind time to prevent the tragedy. Grade 5-8

Riley Oh ventures into the Spiritrealm, where she hopes to convince Saint Heo Jun to become the new patron god of the Gom clan and restore their healing powers. Grade 4-8

To free himself from an ancient curse, thirteen-year-old Shinji Takahashi must team up with a secret organization of explorers, find a magical font hidden in the jungles of Mexico, and replace a stolen idol. Grade 5-8

The arrival of Superintendent Tiltersmith threatens to upset the balance of nature unless four intrepid classmates can free the Lady of Spring and bring an end to winter in Brooklyn. Grade 5-8

A powerful and poignant story about friendship, betrayal, and redemption. This unforgettable story, complete with lush black-and-white illustrations throughout, explores how we can find the strength to face down monsters: in the darkness, in our friends, and in our selves. Grade 5-8

After inheriting a grieving fox spirit, a Chinese American boy must learn to embrace his heritage to solve the mystery of his brother's death. Grade 3-7

Sycamore seed siblings Merwin and Louise must use their wits and imaginations to navigate a mysterious and often dangerous world, filled with talking plants, monsters, meteors, and the fear of never finding the right conditions to set down roots and become big trees. Grade 3-7

on a quest to defeat a tyrannical ruler and protect a magical book. Rachel and Robert live a gray, dreary life under the rule of cruel and calculating Charles Malstain. That is, until one night, when their librarian father enlists their help to steal a forbidden book.
Before their father is captured, Rachel and Robert are given one mission: find the missing final page.
But to uncover the secrets of The Book of Stolen Dreams, the siblings must face darkness and combat many evils to be rewarded with the astonishing, magical truth about the book. Nevertheless, they resolve to do everything in their power to stop it from falling into Charles Malstain's hands. For if it does, he could rule their world forever. Greade 4-8

Disobeying her witch-like grandmother when she becomes desperate to uncover a family secret, thirteen-year-old Simi goes exploring outside her remote Nigerian village where she discovers a strange parallel world after sinking into the red quicksand of a forbidden lake that holds the key to everything. Grade 5-8

Seventeen-year-old Jani and her little sister Zosa secure jobs at a glamorous magical hotel, but when Jani realizes that their staff contracts are unbreakable, she embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa--and the other staff--from the cruelty of the ruthless maãitre d'hãotel. Grade 7-10

Twelve-year-old Octavia, who grew up believing her town was the only one left after a magical war, meets a girl from outside her town and tries to uncover the truth about her world. Grade 5-8

Never trust a fae. Lark Mairen knows this. In her village, the border between the fae and human worlds is as thin as a whisper, and fae trickery is nothing new. But Lark's brother, Galin, has just disappeared into the fae realm while racing in the deadly Wild Hunt, and Lark's only lead is a mysterious fae boy called Rook. To save her brother, she'll have to trust Rook--even if it takes her into the dangerous fae kingdom, where she'll untangle riddles, navigate labyrinths, and face the wicked king himself. Grade 5-8

Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts. Despite her excitement, Ella discovers that being the first isn't easy--some Marvellers mistrust her magic. Eventually, she finds friends in elixirs teacher, Masterji Thakur, and fellow misfits Brigit and Jason. When a dangerous criminal escapes prison, supposedly with a Conjuror's aid, Ella becomes the target of suspicion. Worse, Masterji Thakur mysteriously disappears while away on a research trip. With the help of her friends and her own growing powers, Ella must find a way to clear her family's name and track down her mentor before it's too late. Grade 5-7

Five years after dragons decimated the world, a chance encounter with a young dragon leaves twelve-year-old Noah questioning everything he thought he knew. Grade 4-7

When fifteen-year-old Iranian American Marjan discovers her murdered father was secretly a veterinarian to magical creatures, she realizes she must take up his mantle, despite the many dangers. Grade 6-9

When Oscar dies in the city of the elves after a silver wave struck him down, his friends, family, and a six-year-old troublemaking stowaway elf race against time to stop the clock and rewind time to prevent the tragedy. Grade 5-8

When his mother accidentally kills a Quidhunk in the woods, Osmo Unknown must embark on a quest to find the Eightpenny Woods--the mysterious kingdom where all wild forest creatures go when they die--and make amends. Grade 5-8

Riley Oh ventures into the Spiritrealm, where she hopes to convince Saint Heo Jun to become the new patron god of the Gom clan and restore their healing powers. Grade 4-8

To free himself from an ancient curse, thirteen-year-old Shinji Takahashi must team up with a secret organization of explorers, find a magical font hidden in the jungles of Mexico, and replace a stolen idol. Grade 5-8

Young Linnet, her father, and the other bird-people, the Alkonosts, have been driven to live in the swamps of Morovia, forbidden to sing magic, and often hunted by the humans, so when her father is captured Linnet embarks on a rescue mission. Grades 4-7

The arrival of Superintendent Tiltersmith threatens to upset the balance of nature unless four intrepid classmates can free the Lady of Spring and bring an end to winter in Brooklyn. Grade 5-8

Years after her sisters venture Outside and vanish in a snow squall, thirteen-year-old Tag sets out to rescue the lost Youngers, accompanied by an unlikely crew--Boots, who can climb anything; Ant, who will eat anything; and Ren, who will say anything. Grade 5-8

Every year, in the magical town of Ravenskill, Witchlings who participate in the Black Moon Ceremony are placed into covens and come into their powers as full-fledged witches. And twelve-year-old Seven Salazar can't wait to be placed in the most powerful coven with her best friend! But on the night of the ceremony, in front of the entire town, Seven isn't placed in one of the five covens. She's a Spare! Spare covens have fewer witches, are less powerful, and are looked down on by everyone. Even worse, when Seven and the other two Spares perform the magic circle to seal their coven and cement themselves as sisters, it doesn't work! They're stuck as Witchlings--and will never be able to perform powerful magic. Seven invokes her only option: the impossible task. The three Spares will be assigned an impossible task: If they work together and succeed at it, their coven will be sealed and they'll gain their full powers. If they fail... Well, the last coven to make the attempt ended up being turned into toads. Forever ..Grade 4-7

Sylvie and her mother and grandmother are beloved, trusted healers in their medieval French village, though some whisper that fifteen-year-old Sylvie and her grand-mere deal in more than herbs and medicines...After her grandmother dies, and an attempt to use magic to heal her mother's grief brooks tragic consequences, Sylvie leaves her village in search of a teacher. Grade 5-8

When two masterminds--Mary, the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, and Ada, the daughter of Lord Byron--are brought together by fate, they make a shocking--and magical--discovery that draws the attention of a mad scientist. Grade 8-12

Fished from the river as an infant and raised by a roving band of street urchins who call themselves the Crowns, eight-year-old Duck keeps her head down and her mouth shut. It’s a rollicking life, always thieving, always on the run—until the ragtag Crowns infiltrate an abandoned cathedral in the city of Odierne and decide to set down roots. It’s all part of the bold new plan hatched by the Crowns’ fearless leader, Gnat: one of their very own will pose as an apprentice to the local baker, relieving Master Griselde of bread and coin to fill the bellies and line the pockets of all the Crowns. But no sooner is Duck apprenticed to the kindly Griselde than Duck’s allegiances start to blur. Who is she really—a Crown or an apprentice baker? And who does she want to be? Meanwhile, high above the streets of Odierne, on the roof of the unfinished cathedral, an old and ugly gargoyle grows weary of waiting to fulfill his own destiny—to watch and protect. Told in alternating viewpoints, this exquisite novel evokes a timeless tale of love, self-discovery, and what it means to be rescued. Grade 5-8

A thrilling story of six sisters who must fight against circumstance and fate, gorgeously told and steeped in history and legend.
On a poor farm surrounded by marshlands, six sisters -- Grace, Willa, Freya, and triplets Deedee, Darcy, and Dolly -- live in fear of their father and the superstition that haunts him: The Curse of the Six Daughters. Their beloved grandmother tries to protect them, but the future seems bleak. When the Full Moon Fayre makes a rare visit to Hollow-in-the-Marsh, the girls slip out to see the famous Shadow Man, an enigmatic puppeteer. Afterwards, oldest sister Grace is missing. Following the Full Moor Fayre into the Lost Marsh, Willa will have to battle her inner doubts and the legends that have haunted her family. Can she save her sister from one fate, and outrun her own? Grade 4-7

When twelve-year-old Olive, who suffers from brittle bone disease and has been homeschooled all her life, finally attends school in person she soon discovers fitting in is not that easy, but if she can find the magical wish-granting hummingbird that supposedly lives nearby, and prove herself worthy, maybe her deepest wish will be granted. Grade 4-7 (Lexile: 610)

Sixteen-year-old Arachne is ostracized by all but her family and closest friend, Celandine. Turning to her loom for solace, Arachne learns to weave, finding her voice and her strength through the craft. After the tragic loss of her family, Arachne and Celandine flee to the city of Colophon, where Arachne's skills are put to the test. Word of her talent spreads quickly, leading to a confrontation with the goddess Athena, who demands that Arachne repent.
But Arachne will not be silenced. She challenges Athena, and a fateful weaving contest ensues, resulting in an exposé of divine misdeeds, a shocking transformation, and unexpected redemption. Grade 7-11 In Verse