Summer Reading for NCCS Middle School Students 2024: Adventure

When an unintended balloon flight over Michigan brings twelve-year-old Clara Poole instant celebrity, she is invited to be the spokesperson for a round-the-world adventure race, but it soon becomes clear that someone is trying to sabotage the competition. Grades 4-6

Ratty Barclay wasn't supposed to be born a four-foot-tall, walking, talking rodent, but thanks to the Barclay family curse, he's had to live in hiding from the rest of the world. All he wants for his thirteenth birthday is to return to his family's abandoned estate on Fairweather Island to somehow break the curse. Then he'll finally get to live his life as a four-foot-tall, walking, talking, human boy. Edweena Gup, the granddaughter of the Barclays' groundskeeper, has dedicated her life to being a Rat-Catcher Extraordinaire like her great-great-great grandmother before her. It doesn't matter that Fairweather Island has been rat-free for over a hundred years—she's determined to make sure everyone is prepared for their imminent return. And when she spots a human-sized rat lurking on the Barclay grounds, her worst fears are confirmed. Though it seems like Ratty and Edweena are destined to be enemies, they have a lot in common—they're both lonely and misunderstood. But will they be able to overcome their fears of each other and maybe even become . . . friends? Grades 4-6 (Lexile: 680)

In this reimagining of the classic novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, "Zane is itching for an adventure that will take him away from his family's boarding house in Rockaway, Queens. So when he is entrusted with a real treasure map, leading to a spot somewhere in Manhattan, Zane wastes no time in riding the ferry over to the city to start the search with his friends Kiko and Jack and his dog Hip-Hop. Through strange coincidence, they meet a man who is eager to help them find the treasure: John, a sailor who knows all about the buried history of Black New Yorkers of centuries past--and the gold that is hidden somewhere in those stories. As a vicious rival skateboard crew follows them around the city, Zane and his friends begin to wonder who they can really trust. Grades 4-6

The gripping story of a boy's escape by boat from Communist Vietnam in 1980. Eleven-year-old Thọ Phạm lives with his family in South Vietnam. He spends his afternoons playing soccer and cricket fighting, but life is slowly changing under the Communists. His parents are worried, and Thọ knows the Communist army will soon knock on their door to make his brother, and them him, join them. Still, it shocks him when his father says he's arranged for Thọ to leave, immediately. Thọ tries to be brave as he sets out on a harrowing journey toward the unknown. A survival story drawn from real-life experiences enrich this riveting refugee story. Grades 5-7 (Lexile: 930)

December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good. Their dads are Navy pilots stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the boys get a front-row view of the huge battleships and the sparkling water. Yes, World War II is raging in Europe and in Asia, but the US isn't involved in the war, and the boys are free to dream about becoming comic book creators. They've even invented a superhero of their own, in the style of Batman, Superman, Captain America, and other stars of the Golden Age of Comics. Maybe they'll even get their comic published someday. December 7th, 1941: Everything explodes. That morning, Frank and Stanley are aboard the battleship the USS Utah when Japanese planes zoom overhead and begin dropping bombs on the ships below. Chaos ensues as everyone scrambles to dive for safety. Frank and Stanley realize what's happening: Japan is attacking America! The war has come to them. As the boys fight to make their way home amidst the carnage, it's clear that everything has changed. Stanley's mother is Japanese American and he is suddenly facing a terrible prejudice that he's never known before--he's now seen as the "enemy," and Frank, who's white, cannot begin to understand what Stanley will now face. Can their friendship--and their dreams--survive this watershed moment in history? Grades 4-7

It's not easy being a Remarkable in the Unremarkable world. Some things are cool--like getting a pet hellhound for your twelfth birthday. Others, not so much--like not being trusted to learn magic because you might use it to take revenge on an annoying neighbor. All Nic Blake wants is to be a powerful Manifestor like her dad. But before she has a chance to convince him to teach her the gift, a series of shocking revelations and terrifying events launch Nic and two friends on a hunt for a powerful magic tool she's never heard of...to save her father from imprisonment for a crime she refuses to believe he committed. Grades 4-6

Tacoma Jones loves working at her family's roadside diner, the Brake Fast, pouring coffee and serving eggs and muffins to truckers all day long. But tonight, she is finally going to break out her collection of cookbooks and prepare the best dinner the state of Washington has ever seen. But her excitement is dampened when she learns that today is one of Dad's bad days, when his depression makes it hard for him to get out of bed. Tacoma knows she can't fix her dad's depression. But what she can do is steal back his prized photograph of his second-best day from her nemesis, the nasty Crocodile Kyle--while also planning a dinner that is sure to brighten up his bad day. She just might need an accomplice or two to pull off the heist. . . .Grades 5-7

When fifteen-year-old Valdez Jones VIII, a.k.a. Wrecker, unwittingly becomes entangled with a group of smugglers and grave robbers, he must deep-dive into their shady dealings in order to escape their twisted net. Grades 6-9 (Lexile: 810)

Dare Coates is sure of it. No drifter or ruffian could have killed her father, the Captain of the Guard, while he was on patrol. But everyone insists that monsters have been gone for years now. Dare's mother. Her classmates. Even the governor, who swiftly marries her mother just months after her father's death. Dare's suspicions grow even stronger when the governor suddenly ships her off to the mainland, away from any hope of uncovering the truth about her father's death. Or so she thinks. Soon Dare finds solid proof that monsters still exist and she starts to question everything she's always known. Was her father who she thought he was? Who can she trust? Where is the line between good and evil? The truth hides behind danger and deception. But with the help of an unlikely crew of cohorts and a stray beastie, nothing can stop Dare from finding out what happened to her father and exposing who the real monsters are. Grades 5-8

When twelve-year old Ivy attends West Archer Academy, she is determined to graduate in two years and eventually follow her hero Ruth Bader Ginsberg to the Supreme Court, but after her roommate introduces her to a group of students who are hundreds of years old, she is forced to reexamine her priorities. Grades 4-7 (Lexile: 600)

As twelve-year-old aspiring taekwondo champion Modesty "Mo" Seto faces off against her nemesis in a movie audition, she uncovers a mysterious book and embarks on an adventure to rescue her missing father and discover hidden martial art secrets. Grades 4-7

Eight singular middle schoolers from across America find belonging in a series of escape room-type challenges. Each sixth grader assumes that winning a coveted spot to spend three days at the Octagon Valley Institute led by Willy Wonka-esque Onasander Octagon--an ethnically ambiguous multiracial tech genius--means winning a 'golden ticket to the rest of your life.' However, they soon realize that instead of an academic conference, they will each have to utilize their particular skills to find eight puzzle pieces in a high-stakes scavenger hunt. Grades 5-7 (Lexile: 680)

When fifteen-year-old Valdez Jones VIII, a.k.a. Wrecker, unwittingly becomes entangled with a group of smugglers and grave robbers, he must deep-dive into their shady dealings in order to escape their twisted net. Grades 6-9 (Lexile: 810)

It's the first day of the holidays and Sam is roaming the island of Texel, imagining what it'd feel like to be the last person on earth. Then, like a whirlwind, 12-year-old islander Tess swoops into his life. Sam's only option is to go along for the ride. Soon he's dancing the waltz, burying a pet canary and coming up with an especially weird plan to help Tess find her father, who doesn't even know she exists. Along the way, Sam discovers the true meaning of family and what it is to be alive. One thing's for sure - this is a holiday he'll never forget. Grades 5-7

A pair of tween vampires hide their true nature from the humans in their town. Grades 4-7

Abeni, a reluctant magical apprentice, and a team of spirit kids set out to save their village from the evil Witch Priest who captured and marched off everyone toward ghost ships bound for distant lands. Grades 4-6

An unlikely group of dinosaur misfits discover a deadly secret and must band together to save their herbivore kingdoms from doom at the hands of ruthless carnivores, Grades 4-7

When twelve-year old Ivy attends West Archer Academy, she is determined to graduate in two years and eventually follow her hero Ruth Bader Ginsberg to the Supreme Court, but after her roommate introduces her to a group of students who are hundreds of years old, she is forced to reexamine her priorities. Grades 4-7 (Lexile: 600)

Eleven-year-old Daisy Thistledown is on the run. Her mother has been keeping big, glittering secrets, and now she has vanished. Daisy knows it's up to her to find Ma--but someone is hunting her across London. Someone determined to stop her from discovering the truth. So when Daisy flees to safety through a mysterious hidden doorway, she can barely believe her eyes--she has stepped out of the city and into another world. This is the Greenwild. Bursting with magic and full of amazing natural wonders, it seems too astonishing to be true. But not only is this land of green magic real, it holds the key to finding Daisy's mother. And someone wants to destroy it. Daisy must band together with a botanical genius, a boy who can talk with animals, and a cat with an attitude to uncover the truth about who she really is. Only then can she channel the power that will change her whole world ... and save the Greenwild itself. Grades 4-7

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. Grades 5-8

As twelve-year-old aspiring taekwondo champion Modesty "Mo" Seto faces off against her nemesis in a movie audition, she uncovers a mysterious book and embarks on an adventure to rescue her missing father and discover hidden martial art secrets. Grades 4-7

An outsider in her village above the cloud sea, 12-year-old orphan Yeung Zhi Ging's only hope of escape is to win the single invitation to train as a Silhouette: an apprentice to the immortals. After her ill-fated attempt to impress the Silhouette scout leads to a dragon attack on the jade mountain, Zhi Ging is sure that her chances, and her life, are over. But the scout spots her potential and offers her protection and a second chance. She's in. Grades 5-8 (Lexile: 940)

Eleven-year-old Roswell Johnson is obsessed with conspiracies about extraterrestrial life, an interest he inherited from his late father, who aptly named Roswell after the infamous UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico. 

When Roswell is accidentally abducted by aliens, his biggest dream comes true—he learns that aliens are real! But when he discovers Earth is in grave danger, he must join forces with a team of quirky extraterrestrials, including two bickering Grays, a humorless Cyborg, a germophobic Mantis, an overly confident Furgarian, and an over achieving Pleiadean to save his planet from a tyrannical invasion. But can Roswell restore his own faith in humanity and Earth in time to save the world? Grades 4-7

Eight singular middle schoolers from across America find belonging in a series of escape room-type challenges. Each sixth grader assumes that winning a coveted spot to spend three days at the Octagon Valley Institute led by Willy Wonka-esque Onasander Octagon--an ethnically ambiguous multiracial tech genius--means winning a 'golden ticket to the rest of your life.' However, they soon realize that instead of an academic conference, they will each have to utilize their particular skills to find eight puzzle pieces in a high-stakes scavenger hunt. Grades 5-7 (Lexile: 680)

Abeni, a reluctant magical apprentice, and a team of spirit kids set out to save their village from the evil Witch Priest who captured and marched off everyone toward ghost ships bound for distant lands. Grades 4-6

Dare Coates is sure of it. No drifter or ruffian could have killed her father, the Captain of the Guard, while he was on patrol. But everyone insists that monsters have been gone for years now. Dare's mother. Her classmates. Even the governor, who swiftly marries her mother just months after her father's death. Dare's suspicions grow even stronger when the governor suddenly ships her off to the mainland, away from any hope of uncovering the truth about her father's death. Or so she thinks. Soon Dare finds solid proof that monsters still exist and she starts to question everything she's always known. Was her father who she thought he was? Who can she trust? Where is the line between good and evil? The truth hides behind danger and deception. But with the help of an unlikely crew of cohorts and a stray beastie, nothing can stop Dare from finding out what happened to her father and exposing who the real monsters are. Grades 5-8

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. Grades 3-7

An unlikely group of dinosaur misfits discover a deadly secret and must band together to save their herbivore kingdoms from doom at the hands of ruthless carnivores, Grades 4-7

When twelve-year old Ivy attends West Archer Academy, she is determined to graduate in two years and eventually follow her hero Ruth Bader Ginsberg to the Supreme Court, but after her roommate introduces her to a group of students who are hundreds of years old, she is forced to reexamine her priorities. Grades 4-7 (Lexile: 600)

Eleven-year-old Daisy Thistledown is on the run. Her mother has been keeping big, glittering secrets, and now she has vanished. Daisy knows it's up to her to find Ma--but someone is hunting her across London. Someone determined to stop her from discovering the truth. So when Daisy flees to safety through a mysterious hidden doorway, she can barely believe her eyes--she has stepped out of the city and into another world. This is the Greenwild. Bursting with magic and full of amazing natural wonders, it seems too astonishing to be true. But not only is this land of green magic real, it holds the key to finding Daisy's mother. And someone wants to destroy it. Daisy must band together with a botanical genius, a boy who can talk with animals, and a cat with an attitude to uncover the truth about who she really is. Only then can she channel the power that will change her whole world ... and save the Greenwild itself. Grades 4-7

A gripping novel about a family's will to endure, mystical horses, and the beauty of self-sufficiency and restoration. Grades 3-6 (Lexile: (850)

An outsider in her village above the cloud sea, 12-year-old orphan Yeung Zhi Ging's only hope of escape is to win the single invitation to train as a Silhouette: an apprentice to the immortals. After her ill-fated attempt to impress the Silhouette scout leads to a dragon attack on the jade mountain, Zhi Ging is sure that her chances, and her life, are over. But the scout spots her potential and offers her protection and a second chance. She's in. Grades 5-8 (Lexile: 940)

Eleven-year-old Roswell Johnson is obsessed with conspiracies about extraterrestrial life, an interest he inherited from his late father, who aptly named Roswell after the infamous UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico. 

When Roswell is accidentally abducted by aliens, his biggest dream comes true—he learns that aliens are real! But when he discovers Earth is in grave danger, he must join forces with a team of quirky extraterrestrials, including two bickering Grays, a humorless Cyborg, a germophobic Mantis, an overly confident Furgarian, and an over achieving Pleiadean to save his planet from a tyrannical invasion. But can Roswell restore his own faith in humanity and Earth in time to save the world? Grades 4-7

"Since Grandpa died, Dally's days are dull and restricted. She's eleven and a half years old, and her exacting single mother is already grooming her to take over the family business. Starved for adventure and release, Dally rescues a mysterious envelope from her mother's clutches, an envelope Grandpa had earmarked for her. The map she finds inside leads straight to an ancient vault, a library of secrets where each book is a portal to a precise moment in time. As Dally 'checks out' adventure after adventure--including an exhilarating outing with pirates--she begins to dive deep into her family's hidden history. Grades 4-7

Twelve-year-old Mia uses Filipino folk magic to take down the shady chef brothers who are threatening her family's food truck. Grades 4-7

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

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. Grades 5-8

Things get squirrely when Jerry discovers that his new town is a sanctuary for were-creatures, humans who turn into animals when the moon is full. Grades 4-6

Eleven-year-old Roswell Johnson is obsessed with conspiracies about extraterrestrial life, an interest he inherited from his late father, who aptly named Roswell after the infamous UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico. 

When Roswell is accidentally abducted by aliens, his biggest dream comes true—he learns that aliens are real! But when he discovers Earth is in grave danger, he must join forces with a team of quirky extraterrestrials, including two bickering Grays, a humorless Cyborg, a germophobic Mantis, an overly confident Furgarian, and an over achieving Pleiadean to save his planet from a tyrannical invasion. But can Roswell restore his own faith in humanity and Earth in time to save the world? Grades 4-7