Summer Reading for NCCS Upper School Students 2025

Annotation:
Twelve-year-old Natalia's dream of becoming a synchronized swimmer is in jeopardy when her parents decide they are against a sport that emphasizes looks, but Nat is determined to change their minds. Grade 5-8 (Lexile: 590)

Twenty years before women's soccer became an Olympic sport and two decades before the formation of the WNBA, the '76 US women's basketball team laid the foundation for the incredible rise of women's sports in America at the youth, collegiate, Olympic, and professional levels. Though they were unknowns from small schools such as Delta State, the University of Tennessee at Martin and John F. Kennedy College of Wahoo, Nebraska, at the time of the '76 Olympics, the American team included a roster of players who would go on to become some of the most legendary figures in the history of basketball. Grade 7-12 (Lexile: 1240)

A heartwarming middle grade debut about a young nonbinary figure skater discovering who they are on and off the ice. Grade 5-8

Twelve-year-old Charley Cuffey is many things: a granddaughter, a best friend, and probably the best pitcher in all of Lee's Mill. Set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball, Charley doesn't need reminders from her best friend Cool Willie Green to know that she has lofty dreams for a Black girl in the American South. Even so, Nana Kofi's thrilling stories about courageous ancestors and epic journeys make it impossible not to dream big. She knows he has so many more to tell, but according to her parents, she isn't old enough to know about certain things like what happened to Booker Preston that one night in Great Bridge and why she can never play on the brand-new real deal baseball field on the other side of town. Grades 5-8

From failed football tryouts to helping the new Syrian refugee student, seventh-grader Kareem attempts to navigate the social complexities of seventh grade, which are further complicated when his mother is unable to return home from Syria due to an executive order. Grades 5-8 (In Verse).

The summer before seventh grade, as the constant threat of housefires looms over her Brooklyn neighborhood, basketball-loving Sage is trying to figure out her place in her circle of friends, when a new kid named Freddy moves in, Grades 4-8

When biracial seventh-grader Wyatt gets upset, mysterious smoke forms around him, but as his plans to make the baseball team and fit in at school fall apart, he must confront the roots of his unusual stress reaction. Grades 5-9

No one knows hard work and dedication like Valentina Camacho. And Vale's thing is fencing. She's the top athlete at her fencing gym. Or she was--until the accident. After months away, Vale is finally cleared to fence again, but it's much harder than before. Her body doesn't move the way it used to, and worst of all is the new number one: Myrka. When she sweeps Vale aside with her perfect form and easy smile, Vale just can't accept that. But the harder Vale fights to catch up, the more she realizes her injury isn't the only thing holding her back. If she can't leave her accident in the past, then what does she have to look forward to? Grades 5-8

Jack isn't happy about Coach's decision to pair him with star athlete Jay Perkins to prep him for the cross-country team. He and Jay have a history-Jay bullied Joseph, and Jack fought back. And besides, Jay doesn't want to hang out with a dumb eighth grader. As Jack begins to get the hang of running and starts to see Jay as almost a friend, the adoption hits a snag. Another couple intends to adopt Jupiter. As blood relatives, their claim is powerful. The adults in charge feel they know what's best for Jupiter, and Jack is powerless to change their decision. Jupiter's future hangs in the balance, and as he faces his own destiny, Jack will learn what love and loyalty can do. Grades 6-9

Determined to regain her sense of accomplishment after losing her top-class ranking to Jonah, Grace decides to compete against him in a Labor Day half-marathon, but as they train together, she learns valuable lessons about what truly matters. Grades 5-8

A heartwarming middle grade debut about a young nonbinary figure skater discovering who they are on and off the ice. Grade 5-8

Annotation:
Twelve-year-old Natalia's dream of becoming a synchronized swimmer is in jeopardy when her parents decide they are against a sport that emphasizes looks, but Nat is determined to change their minds. Grade 5-8 (Lexile: 590)