Summer Reading for NCCS Middle School Students 2024: Mystery, Espionage, Detective, Spellbinding and Suspense

hirteen-year-old twins Hope and Gordon enter a spelling bee in a last-ditch effort to save their family from financial ruin, only to find themselves in a cut-throat competition to uncover a fortune and dark secrets about the wealthy relations they have never known. Grades 4-7

Eleven-year-old Lou wishes she could turn back time to mend her friendship with Francie after a terrible fight, so when Lou befriends Cece she is eager to prove herself, but as she uncovers the truth about Cece's family, she grapples with what being a good friend means. Grades 4-6

Witty typewriter Olivetti and twelve-year-old introvert Ernest embark on a mission to find Ernest's missing mother that takes them across San Francisco. Grade 4-6

Eleven-year-old Amelia thinks of herself as devoid of talent, but when the dragonfly staff goes missing seven days before the Dragonfly Day Festival, she takes it upon herself to catch the thief and save her town. Grades 4-6

Ten-year-old twins Ike and Iris race to find the thief stealing valuable historical artifacts before their family is framed for the crimes, Grades 4-6

Eleven-year-old Lou wishes she could turn back time to mend her friendship with Francie after a terrible fight, so when Lou befriends Cece she is eager to prove herself, but as she uncovers the truth about Cece's family, she grapples with what being a good friend means. Grades 4-6

Witty typewriter Olivetti and twelve-year-old introvert Ernest embark on a mission to find Ernest's missing mother that takes them across San Francisco. Grades 4-6

The unforgettable tale of a girl, her maybe-criminal mom, her babysitting business, and her pet pineapple. Grades 4-7

When Dr. Alistair Fairfleet, the Fairfleet Institute's eccentric chairman, disappears on the first day of Alex Foster and Asha Singh's summer vacation, they receive a letter inviting them to a game involving complicated clues and puzzles. It is just the sort of case they've been waiting for. But nothing in the Fairfleet case has a simple solution. As the kids track down clues, they uncover art forgeries, archaeological crimes, and Fairfleet family secrets that will test their partnership and force them to confront the complicated legacies of the people and places they admire most. Grades 4-6 (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)

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

Ten-year-old twins Ike and Iris race to find the thief stealing valuable historical artifacts before their family is framed for the crimes, Grades 4-6

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)

hirteen-year-old twins Hope and Gordon enter a spelling bee in a last-ditch effort to save their family from financial ruin, only to find themselves in a cut-throat competition to uncover a fortune and dark secrets about the wealthy relations they have never known. Grades 4-7

Rafa goes to work on a Rancho Espanto as punishment for a prank gone wrong, where he discovers a mystery as inexplicable as it is familiar and ultimately leads to Rafa learning hard truths about himself. Grades 4-7 (810 Lexile)

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)

When a mysterious Little Free Library guarded by a large orange cat appears overnight, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change. Grades 4-7

When Guinevere "Nev" Tallow receives an acceptance letter to the exclusive Deephaven Academy, they know it's the fresh start that they've been looking for. But things are strange from the moment they arrive--the house itself seems to breathe, students whisper secrets in dark corridors, and the entire east wing of the academy is locked away for reasons no one wants to explain. And Nev knows something ragged stalks the shadowy corridors, something that sobs quietly and scratches at the walls, waiting to be released. With the help of another first-year student, Nev takes it upon themself to unravel the mysteries hidden in Deephaven's halls. But will they risk their fresh start to bring the academy's secret to light? Grades 4-7