Summer Reading for NCCS Middle School Students 2023: Top 10 List (Booklist Magazine)

As the daughter of immigrants who came to America for a better life, Annie Inoue was raised to dream big. And at the start of seventh grade, she’s channeling that irrepressible hope into becoming the lead in her school play.

So when Annie lands an impressive role in the production of The King and I, she’s thrilled . . . until she starts to hear grumbles from her mostly white classmates that she only got the part because it’s an Asian play with Asian characters. Is this all people see when they see her? Is this the only kind of success they’ll let her have—one that they can tear down or use race to belittle?

Disheartened but determined, Annie channels her hurt into a new dream: showing everyone what she’s made of. Grade 4-7

In 1980s Brooklyn, new student JJ Pankowski, an autistic, punk-rock-lover, befriends Pie Velez, an Afro-Latinx math geek and graffiti artist. Grade 5-8

Jerry Pinkney, Caldecott Medal winner and illustrator of over one hundred books, tells the story of his childhood and how he developed his artistic talent. Grades 3-7

Jeanne Villepreux-Power was never expected to be a scientist. Born in 1794 in a French village more than 100 miles from the ocean, she pursued an improbable path that brought her to the island of Sicily. There, she took up natural history and solved the two-thousand-year-old mystery of how of the argonaut octopus gets its shell. In an era when most research focused on dead specimens, Jeanne was determined to experiment on living animals. And to keep sea creatures alive for her studies, she had to invent a contraption to hold them―the aquarium. Grade 5-8 (Lexile: 1220)

he third book in the ThinkCities series explores the urgent need for sustainable transportation in and around our cities. Grade 3-6

A visually stunning story of environmental harm and eventual restoration, offering hope for the future. Grade 3-6

Outlines the science behind global heating and its root causes, provides ways to take action and honors the efforts of the millions of people from around the world working tirelessly to help the planet. Grade 6-9 (Lexile 1260)

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

Eleven-year-old Juniper Harvey is having trouble coping in her new Florida town, but when the girl from her recurring fantasy dream appears in her room they have to figure out how to save Galatea's world from a war of rival gods--and deal with their mutual attraction. Grade 3-7

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

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

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

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

Eleven-and-a-half-year-old Valentina Salazar grew up as a monster protector until her father's loss, but when a video of a mythical egg appears, Valentina convinces her older brother and sister to help her find and save it--all while avoiding the monster hunters who want to destroy it. Grade 4-6

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

A boy and his mother refuse to identify themselves as American or Canadian at the border and become caught in the limbo between nations when they claim their citizenship as Blackfoot. Grade 5-8

An original graphic novel about being the new kid in a different school, getting picked on by the class bullies, and what happens when a magical presence takes notice. Like, can things get any worse? Starting out at a new school is tough, and Bridgette isn't having much luck, seeing as, well, she's not great at making a first impression. Or, maybe, any impression. Ugh, all these nervous feelings! Grade 4-7

A young journalist is determined to uncover a secret that threatens her town. Ruth Keller is brash and precocious; she argues with her dentist, her parents, and her teachers. So, when she discovers a strange black slime in the man-made lake of her suburban neighborhood, she decides to investigate. Fortified by the encouragement of those around her, Ruth seeks the truth at all costs, even if it means taking on the rich local country club owner, who she believes is responsible for the pollution. Between the teasing of former friends, and a sudden viral spotlight, Ruth discovers how difficult it is for a journalist to take a stand for what's right in the face of critique and controversy. From writer Kate Reed Petty and illustrator Andrea Bell, comes a story about corruption, pollution, and freedom of the press, and the young journalist at the center of it all. Grade 4-7

Tells the story of 10-year-old Elvie and her crucial mission to save humanity from extinction after a sun shift has changed life on earth as we know it. Grade 5-8

The headmistress at school believes Manu has the potential to help people with her magic, but Manu would rather have fun than fit in. The other students claim she's secretly a demon and that she was raised by wolves. Manu doesn't care what people say about her, until an argument with her best friend Josefina ends with Manu getting cursed so she can't control her magic. Manu is determined to break the curse and prove she's the best witchling at school. But great power comes at a cost, and it may be a price Manu isn't able to pay. Grade 3-6

More than anything, Mel wants to be a grown-up, and to make her own decisions, instead of having her parents pick what she wears, where they live, what they have for dinner, and where she goes to school. Then Mel gets the chance to travel to a magical world, where she can make her own choices and return all grown up. But what happens when you get older without living your life along the way? Grade 4-7 (Lexile: 290)

Life is difficult for nine-year-old Nathan. All he dreams of is hanging out with his older brother, watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, and enjoying summer vacation far away from the neighborhood bullies. When he overhears his parents talking about a family crisis, he seeks sanctuary from his troubles. In an abandoned lighthouse, Nathan discovers a portal to a berry-colored world where time has little meaning and he, finally, is in control. Grade 4-7

Twelve-year-old Vonceil Taggart, willing to risk everything to set things right, leaves her family's Oklahoma farm in 1919 seeking the salt witch who cast a spell that turned their spring to saltwater. Grade 5-8

After the death of his best friend and the only other trans boy at school, Noah starts writing letters expressing his feelings to the humanoid creature Mothman and risks everything when he treks into the woods to prove Mothman's existence. Grade 5-8

Eleven-year-old Katie navigates life as a homeschooler, forms a better understanding of the OCD she experiences, and learns that growing apart from friends is sometimes part of growing up. Grades 3-6

The unexpected appearance of a dolphin in her backyard creek helps a sixth-grader with cystic fibrosis learn to write her own story. Grades 4-7

In his village in Upper Kwanta, 11-year-old Kofi loves his family, playing oware with his grandfather and swimming in the river Offin. He’s warned though, to never go to the river at night. His brother tells him ”There are things about the water you do not know. “ Like what? Kofi asks. “The beasts.” His brother answers.

One fateful night, the unthinkable happens and in a flash, Kofi’s world turns upside down. Kofi soon ends up in a fight for his life and what happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves. Grade 6-9

This is the tale of an exciting journey along the Silk Road with a young Monk and his newfound guardian, Samir, a larger than life character and the so-called 'Seller of Dreams.' The man is a scammer; his biggest skill being the ability to talk his way into getting what he wants. While that talking did save Monkey's life, it has left a lot of people furious with Samir--furious enough to hire assassins. Monkey decides to try and save Samir from the attempts on his life--as a way to pay off his debt! If he can save Samir six times, he'll be a free man ... but will they all survive that long, Grade 5-8

Lula, a farm-working girl with big dreams, meets Dolores Huerta, Larry Itliong, and other labor rights activists and joins the 1965 protest for workers' rights. Grade 4-7

When his asthma lands him at a health resort in the wilds of Gilded Age South Florida, twelve-year-old Algie Emsworth is over the moon. The scientific treasure trove of unexplored swamps may launch his dream career as a naturalist. But even Algie is startled when he happens upon a brand-new species and her brood in the karst springs surrounding the resort. Algie quickly realizes he must keep his discovery a secret: a famous collector of exotic animals is also staying at the hotel, and the new species is threatened by his very presence. An apparent curse has also descended upon the hotel, bringing with it a deadly red tide. But when the pool starts filling with ink and guests start getting mysterious, sucker-shaped wounds, Algie must pluck up his courage to find the truth about the goings-on at the Grand Hotel--and save the new species from destruction. Grade 4-6 (Lexile: 700)

In this moving tale, join war veteran James Howard Williams as he encounters Bandoola, a working Asian elephant, and his keeper, Po Toke for the first time. Working together on a teak plantation, Williams and Bandoola develop a rare friendship, which even today set standards around elephant care and conservation. Grade 3-6 (Lexile: 1000)

Tells the story of French-born Catherine Leroy, one of the Vietnam War's few woman photographers, who documented some of the fiercest fighting in the 20-year conflict. Despite being told that women didn't belong in a "man's world," she was cool under fire, gravitated toward the thickest battles, went along on the soldiers' slogs through the heat and mud of the jungle, crawled through rice paddies, and became the only official photojournalist to parachute into combat with American soldiers. Later, Leroy was gravely wounded from shrapnel, but that didn't keep her down more than a month. When captured by the North Vietnamese in 1968, she talked herself free after photographing her captors, scoring a cover story in Life magazine. Grade 6-9

Jeanne Villepreux-Power was never expected to be a scientist. Born in 1794 in a French village more than 100 miles from the ocean, she pursued an improbable path that brought her to the island of Sicily. There, she took up natural history and solved the two-thousand-year-old mystery of how of the argonaut octopus gets its shell. In an era when most research focused on dead specimens, Jeanne was determined to experiment on living animals. And to keep sea creatures alive for her studies, she had to invent a contraption to hold them―the aquarium. Grade 5-8 (Lexile: 1220)

From an award-winning author comes a vivid depiction of an act of war from opposing sides of the conflict in World War II--and a rare reconciliation and wish for peace that evolved years later. Grade 5-8

An up close account of the ill-fated Franklin expedition.In 1845, Sir John Franklin set sail from England with two ships in search of the Northwest Passage. Not only did they not succeed, the ships and their crew members vanished, their fate an unsolved mystery for decades. In 10 suspenseful episodes, the captivating story of that doomed polar mission is revealed from the viewpoints of the commander, those back home and the search parties. It's a riveting tale, that in bone-chilling detail answers the question: What really happened in Terror Bay?At last, a story long hidden in the icy Arctic, finally gets to be told. Grade 5-8

The story of one man's remarkable life, and in doing so, explores the trials of the brave Black freedom fighters who defended the world against racism and bigotry, both on the front lines and at home. Grade 5-7 (Lexile: 1090)

The Greek word democracy comes from demos (people) and kratos (rule)--meaning 'the people hold power.' In this ... graphic novel, ... author-illustrator Don Brown explores the history of democracy--from civilization's beginnings as hunter-gatherers to the birth of monarchies and vast empires, and from the earliest republics to our present-day government. Narrated by Abigail Adams, We the People! explores how Athenian and Greek assemblies inspired our legislative and judiciary branches; how Enlightenment ideals of reason, toleration, and human progress shaped our founding fathers' thinking; how Mali's Manden Charter and England's Magna Carta influenced our Bill of Rights; and how the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy directly shaped the US Constitution. Grader 4-7

Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said he was gone for good.

So when she finds a ticking briefcase in his closet, containing a nomination for a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she’s certain the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton—if only she can wrap her head around the idea of magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real.

Now she must compete for a spot against kids who’ve known about magic their whole lives. No matter how hard she tries, Amari can’t seem to escape their intense doubt and scrutiny—especially once her supernaturally enhanced talent is deemed “illegal.” With an evil magician threatening the supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she’s an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t stick it out and pass the tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton. Grade 3-7

What turns citizens into refugees and then immigrants? In this powerful middle-grade debut, Sami and his family embark on a harrowing journey to save themselves from the Syrian civil war. Grade 6-8

Collin can't help himself--he has a unique condition that finds him counting every letter spoken to him. It's a quirk that makes him a prime target for bullies, and a continual frustration to the adults around him, including his father.
When Collin asked to leave yet another school, his dad decides to send him to live in Minnesota with the mother he's never met. She is Ojibwe, and lives on a reservation. Collin arrives in Duluth with his loyal dog, Seven, and quickly finds his mom and his new home to be warm, welcoming, and accepting of his condition.
Collin's quirk is matched by that of his neighbor, Orenda, a girl who lives mostly in her treehouse and believes she is turning into a butterfly. With Orenda's help, Collin works hard to overcome his challenges. His real test comes when he must step up for his new friend and trust his new family. Grade 5-8

Lupe Wong is going to be the first female pitcher in the Major Leagues. She's also championed causes her whole young life. Some worthy ... like expanding the options for race on school tests beyond just a few bubbles. And some not so much...like complaining to the BBC about the length between Doctor Who seasons. Lupe needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who's Chinacan/Mexinese just like her. So when the horror that is square dancing rears its head in gym? Obviously she's not gonna let that slide. Grade 4-7

It's 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won't stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven-- and their uncle, Doc, tells them he's going to train them in rootwork. Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of their family for generations--especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family's true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs...and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it's going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through. Grade 5-8

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

Bullied and shamed her whole life for being fat, twelve-year-old Ellie finally gains the confidence to stand up for herself, with the help of some wonderful new allies. Grade 5-8

Kay's father has gone missing on Christmas Eve! And when Kay and her sister Ell go to his office, everyone he works with claims never to have heard of him. So later that evening, when Kay wakes up to find two mysterious strangers outside her bedroom window, talking about her father and looking for the last remnants of his existence, she demands to know what's happened to her dad.

The two strangers, Flip and Will, are wraiths, on a mission to bring Kay and Ell's father to their world--the world of woven stories and grand imagination that their father has spent his career studying. Only things in that world have gone very wrong, and the Bride of Bithynia, the only being who can set things right, is nowhere to be found. Can Kay and Ell find their father and join Flip and Will in a centuries-old battle to save the world? Grade 5-8

When twelve-year-old Waka's parents suspect she can't understand basic Japanese, they make the drastic decision to send her to Tokyo to live for several months with her strict grandmother. Forced to say goodbye to her friends and what would have been her summer vacation, Waka is plucked from her straight-A student life in rural Kansas and flown across the globe, where she faces the culture shock of a lifetime. Grade 4-7

In this magical middle-grade novel, ten-year-old Gabrielle finds out that America isn't the perfect place she imagined when she moves from Haiti to Brooklyn. With the help of a clever witch, Gabrielle becomes the perfect American -- but will she lose herself in the process? Grades 3-6

The life of a musically gifted bird changes forever after she discovers the music of Chopin and helps a talented young pianist solve the mystery of a long-lost Chopin piano. Grades 3-6

Mallory Moss knows the rules of middle school. The most important one? You have to fit in to survive. But then Jennifer Chan moves in across the street, and that rule doesn't seem to apply. Jennifer doesn't care about the laws of middle school ... Then Jennifer goes missing. Using clues from Jennifer's journals, Mallory goes searching. But the closer she gets, the more Mallory has to confront why Jennifer might have run ... and face the truth within herself. Grade 4-7

Swallowtail Island is hosting the Swallowtales Writer’s Conference. Lark's ecstatic to be chosen as a “page” for her favorite author, Ann E. Keyhart.

But they say you should never meet your idols. When Keyhart arrives with her personal assistant in tow, she is nothing but a terror. And within a few hours, the assistant is dead! But the explanation isn't sitting well. Not when lots of people had reasons to want to be rid of Keyhart, and especially not after it’s revealed the assistant recently completed a hot new novel and the file's vanished from her computer.

Then Lark finds out the assistant had a bird—the match to the one she found hidden in her mom’s book—and she needs answers. It looks like Swallowtail Island still has secrets to reveal, and Lark’s going to uncover them. Grades 5-7

On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match. Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker. Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. She’s excited to finally meet her arriving relatives—until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs. So what if everyone thinks she’ll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she’s determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer. Grade 5-7

"Thirteen-year-old new girl Anna Hunt decides to make an investigative podcast about how fellow classmate Rachel Riley went from being the most popular girl in school to the most hated Grade 5-8

In a warlike land of wind and sunlight, "ringed by a restless sea," live Rhaskos and Melisto, spiritual twins with little in common beyond the violent and mysterious forces that dictate their lives. A Thracian slave in a Greek household, Rhaskos is as common as clay, a stable boy worth less than a donkey, much less a horse. Wrenched from his mother at a tender age, he nurtures in secret, aided by Socrates, his passions for art and philosophy. Melisto is a spoiled aristocrat, a girl as precious as amber but willful and wild. She'll marry and be tamed--the curse of all highborn girls--but risk her life for a season first to serve Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Bound by destiny, Melisto and Rhaskos--Amber and Clay--never meet in the flesh. By the time they do, one of them is a ghost. But the thin line between life and death is just one boundary their unlikely friendship crosses. Grade 5-8

Three unlikely friends meet in a middle school pottery class and learn how to piece their lives back together again, all the while discovering that that some things can never be unbroken-and that's okay too. Grade 5-8

Thirteen-year-old Nikhil Shah is the beloved voice actor for Raj Reddy on the hit animated series Raj Reddy in Outer Space. But when his mom temporarily moves them to the small town in Ohio where she grew up to take care of Nikhil’s sick grandfather, Nikhil feels as out of orbit as his character. Nikhil’s fame lands him the lead in the school musical, but he’s terrified that everyone will realize he’s a fraud once they find out he has stage fright. And when a group of conservative parents start to protest having an openly gay actor in the starring role, Nikhil feels like his life would be easier if only he could be Raj Reddy full-time. Then Nikhil wakes up one morning and hears a crack in his voice, which means his job playing Raj will have to come to an end. Life on earth is way more complicated than life on television. And some mysteries—like new friendships or a sick grandparent or finding the courage to speak out—don’t wrap up neatly between commercial breaks. Grade 5-8

A young graffiti artist learns to fight smart against the gentrification threatening her neighborhood. Grade 5-8

Fifteen-year-old Kellen's unique ability to unravel curses unfortunately does not protect him from becoming cursed, and unless he and his best friend and ally Nettle can remove his hex, Kellen is in danger of unravelling everything--and everyone--around him. Grade 6-9

A young shepherdess, her wolf companion, and a young oracle-apprentice must stop a king's reign of terror after he receives a frightening prophecy, Grade 6-8

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

Eleven-and-a-half-year-old Valentina Salazar grew up as a monster protector until her father's loss, but when a video of a mythical egg appears, Valentina convinces her older brother and sister to help her find and save it--all while avoiding the monster hunters who want to destroy it. Grade 4-6