Summer Reading for NCCS Middle School Students 2025

Bridget Baxter is the very last orphan at the Orphanage for Errant Childs, left at the mercy of the awful Ms. Acrid and her foul-smelling fish sandwiches. Ms. Acrid's mission is to make Bridget's life a misery. But Bridget is more than a match for her. When kindly Mr. Vanderpuff arrives at the Orphanage in search of a child to care for, Bridget thinks her luck has finally turned. Mr. Vanderpuff is the village baker, and his shop is a world of wonders. But they soon discover that Bridget is absolutely terrible at baking. When Ms. Acrid returns for the ultimate revenge, Bridget must open the Locked and Secret Door, navigate Ms. Acrid's spiderweb of booby traps, and use her unique baking skills to save herself-and Mr. Vanderpuff-from certain disaster. Join Bridget as she dons her chef whites and gets the croissants at the ready Baking isn't such a piece of cake. Book 1 Grades 3-6

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

Eighth-grader Ingrid runs a popular blog anonymously and has online personal more popular than she is, but when a wrong-number text message offers her a chance at connection, Ingrid opens herself to the opportunity to make a real live friend. Grades 5-8

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. . . .Grade 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. Grade 4-6

Trey knows the drill: His dad gets him into a school full of kids with rich parents. Trey makes friends, and his dad makes connections. Soon, there's the con, where Trey's dad suckers the other parents into investing in one of his schemes. Once the money's in the bank, Trey, his sister, and their dad are on the run... until they set up somewhere else and start again. Trey believes his father when he says no one's getting hurt. After all, these parents have money to spare. But Trey's starting to get tired of running... and lying... and never having a friend for longer than a few months. But how do you get your family to stop lying when your lives depend on it? Grades 4-8

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. Grade 4-7

A hilarious story about a boy who is homeschooled in his grandmother's retirement community...until he is forced to go to public school. Dexter Foreman is twelve going on eighty. He has lived at The Pines retirement village with his grandmother since he was six years old, and as a result he gets along better with senior citizens than kids his own age. He's homeschooled by the residents up until the day the county's truancy officer shows up and announces that Dex has to go to a "real" school, to the local middle school. At school, Dex sticks out like a sore thumb. He dresses like a grandpa (and can be just as cranky). His taste in movies and music is decades out of date. Only a few students--like Gianna Greco, a reporter at the school's newspaper--find him intriguing. For most, he is either a weirdo or a target. Dexter would do anything to return to his old life at The Pines. But when his wish finally seems to be coming true, his old and new worlds collide in a way that surprises everyone--Dexter most of all. 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

Stevie Crumb doesn’t want to stand out. But when you’re nearly five foot ten in seventh grade, it’s kind of hard not to. All anyone wants to talk about is Stevie’s height―including Stevie’s parents, who would just love for her to be an athlete like her basketball-star older brother. Sure, Stevie wants to be good at something―maybe even great at something. She’d just prefer it didn’t draw more attention to her lanky frame.

A chance encounter leads Stevie to the school’s debate team instead, where she meets cute fellow debater Cedric. He’s shorter than she is, and Stevie doesn’t think anything of it―until her best friend points it out. Then strange guys on the subway start making comments about Stevie’s body, too―which is not only annoying, but scary and unsafe. It’s time for Stevie to ask for help, set some boundaries, and realize that standing up (and standing out) isn’t such a bad thing after all. Grades 4-7

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

Cincinnati Lee’s great great (great?) grandfather is famous. His adventures discovering ancient artifacts have been made into movies, and his work is widely respected by museums across the world. The thing is, in that line of work, you’re bound to get cursed. And that leaves your great great (great?) granddaughter to break the curse by returning the artifacts you “preserved.” Cincinnati’s own adventure begins in the Cosmopolitan Museum in New York City, where her single mom works and Cincinnati has grown up. Soon she learns about the ancient Spear of Destiny—and its potential to right all the wrongs in her family’s past. Or bring about the end of the world. It all depends on whose hands it falls into. Cincinnati must beat two relic hunters to the spear, and her quest will take her to surprising locations throughout the city and even across the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, she’ll make a new friend (which is not the easiest thing to do), make some enemies (surprisingly easy to do), and ultimately learn what makes the world worth saving. Grades 4-7

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)

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

Princess Marigold-who hadn't yet been born when the remarkable Princess Rosalind was kidnapped-is eleven when the unthinkable happens: her older sister escapes her captivity and comes home. Marigold has always known she's not as good, sweet, or kind as the sister everyone adores, but amid the celebration of Rosalind's return, Marigold realizes something new: if Princess Rosalind is good, then Princess Marigold must be wicked. And there's no place for wickedness in the kingdom. When Marigold tries to find a new place for herself in an evil wizard's fortress, though, the results are disastrous. Before she's even learned to cackle or scowl properly, she gets tangled up in a magical plot to ruin all the Cacophonous Kingdoms. Is Marigold too wicked to make things right? Or can she-with the help of a kitchen boy, a well-dressed imp, and a grumpy blob of glop-find her own way to restore peace? This endearing fantasy will have princess and anti-princess fans alike chuckling and cheering,. Grades 4-7 (Lexile: 800).

Bridget Baxter is the very last orphan at the Orphanage for Errant Childs, left at the mercy of the awful Ms. Acrid and her foul-smelling fish sandwiches. Ms. Acrid's mission is to make Bridget's life a misery. But Bridget is more than a match for her. When kindly Mr. Vanderpuff arrives at the Orphanage in search of a child to care for, Bridget thinks her luck has finally turned. Mr. Vanderpuff is the village baker, and his shop is a world of wonders. But they soon discover that Bridget is absolutely terrible at baking. When Ms. Acrid returns for the ultimate revenge, Bridget must open the Locked and Secret Door, navigate Ms. Acrid's spiderweb of booby traps, and use her unique baking skills to save herself-and Mr. Vanderpuff-from certain disaster. Join Bridget as she dons her chef whites and gets the croissants at the ready Baking isn't such a piece of cake. Book 1 Grades 3-6

Eleven-year-old orphan Nico Lombardi has been unfairly indentured at a remote mountain inn for five years now. Just as he gathers the courage to escape, the inn gets booked by the remaining members of a “tontine,” an investment scheme where a cash prize is awarded to whomever lives the longest. In other words, every guest wants access to the fortune. Preferably as soon as possible. During their stay, a chaotic race to control the fate of the tontine takes over the normally sleepy inn. Nico watches in horror as a series of comically disastrous events unfolds—some of which might aid his escape, and some of which might get him in big trouble. Before he can even put the right clues together, three unexpected revelations change the course of everyone’s future! Grades 4-7

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