Summer Reading for NCCS Middle School Students 2024: Humor

Magnolia “Maggie” Hagen is determined to be in the spotlight . . . if she can just get over her stage fright. This summer, though, she has big plans to finally attend Camp Rising Star, the famous performing arts camp she’s been dying to go to for three whole summers. But on the last day of school, her parents break the news: Maggie isn’t going to Camp Rising Star. She’s being shipped off to fat camp—and not just any fat camp. She’s going to Camp Sylvania, run by world-famous wellness influencer Sylvia Sylvania, who is known for her soon-to-be-patented Scarlet Diet. When Maggie arrives at camp, things are . . . weird. There are the humiliating weigh-ins and grueling workouts, as expected. But the campers are also encouraged to donate blood—at their age! The cafeteria serves only red foods and the oddly specific rules change every day. There are even rumors of a camp ghost.
Despite these horrors, Maggie makes friends and starts to actually enjoy herself. There are even tryouts for a camp production of The Music Man! This place might not be so bad . . . until campers start going missing and other suspicious things begin happening—especially after dark. The camp ghost might be the least scary thing about this place. . . .Grades 3-7

Benjamin Banneker STEM Academy is the top middle school in Denver. Let's just say the kids are . . . competitive. When Principal Yee announces the start of an epic Team Competition for the school, Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows that trophy's got his name on it. That'll show his sports-obsessed Dad that he's worthy, right? Only problem is, it's a TEAM competition ... and Doug isn't so great working in a team environment (except with his best friend Huey, of course). A clever send-up of school - and a genuine portrait of a kid and family - that kids across the country will see themselves and find joy and connection in. Grades 4-6

Seventh-grader Hercules Beal has to figure out how to fulfill his teacher's assignment of performing the Twelve Labors of Hercules in real life, and discovers important things about friendship, community, and himself along the way. Grades 4-7

When Alfie goes to Airport Lost Property, he finds more than he bargained for. A lot more. Because there's a giant robot called Eric hidden away on the shelves. Eric has lost one leg and half his memory. He's super strong, but super clumsy. He's convinced that he's the latest technology, when he's actually nearly one hundred year's old and ready for the scrap heap. Can Alfie find a way to save Eric from destruction – before Eric destroys everything around him? Grades 4-6

Forced to take Physical Education Equivalency, aka "Slugfest," in summer school so he can maintain his star spot on the JV football team, Yash recruits his fellow PE rejects to train with him and pass this course, an endeavor that turns into a summer he'll never forget. Grades 4-7

Portico Reeves--or Stuntboy, the greatest superhero people have never heard of--tries to manage his frets and navigate his new normal with divorced parents, bullies in his building, and a newfound friend. Grades 3-5

Portico Reeves--or Stuntboy, the greatest superhero people have never heard of--tries to manage his frets and navigate his new normal with divorced parents, bullies in his building, and a newfound friend. Grades 3-5

Eleven-year-old Lemon Peabody is certain that aliens visited her grandfather thirty years ago, but she is running out of time to prove it before Grandpa Walt's memory fades. Grades 4-6

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

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

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

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)

Asperides, an ancient demonic talking sword, tricks Nack Furnival, a bumbling would-be knight, into battling a wicked sorcerer bent on summoning all the evils of the underworld. Grades 4-7