Teddies Middle School Summer Reads

Middle School Summer Reads

by Teddies Library 2023

Not sure what to read this summer? We have you covered!

American Panda by Gloria Chao – An incisive, laugh-out-loud contemporary debut about a Taiwanese-American teen whose parents want her to be a doctor and marry a Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer despite her squeamishness with germs and crush on a Japanese classmate. At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents’ master pla n. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfil the rest of this predetermined future …

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo - Face your demons . . . or feed them. Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country's bloody civil war - and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka's coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Monsters by Sharon Dogar - 1814: Two 16-year-old stepsisters run away with a married man. The results are devastating, and the ripples will be felt for centuries. This is the incredible story of Mary Shelley – radical, rebellious and entranced. It is the story of a young woman who defies tradition and society, and who draws upon the monstrous elements of her own life to create the most memorable monster of them all.

My Brother Simple by Marie-Aude Murail - There's unrequited love, bad romantic poetry, too many essays, and plenty of crisps. But the seventeen year-old boy in this story has something extra to contend with. His older brother has learning difficulties and is languishing in a care home. Listening to his heart rather than his head, the boy knows he must get his brother, nicknamed Simple, out. Funny, thought-provoking and clever, this French bestseller won the Prix SNCF du Livre de Jeunesse and was dramatised for French television.

The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Allie Condie - Who do you become when you have nothing left to lose? Poe Blythe, the seventeen-year-old captain of the Outpost's last mining ship has revenge on her mind as she and her crew voyage up the Serpentine River in search of gold. But there is something Poe wants even more than gold, however - to annihilate the river raiders who, two years ago, killed the boy she loved. As Poe navigates the treacherous waters of the Serpentine and realizes

Summerland by Lucy Adlington - October, 1946. The Red Cross escort a group of child refugees from Europe to England. Among them is Brigitta - a serious, silent figure with worn clothes and a small cardboard suitcase containing a single grey glove. Arriving in London, Brigitta breaks from the group and runs . . . Brigitta's mission: to reach Summerland Hall and find the one person who can solve a wartime mystery. But Summerland holds secrets and shadows of its own... and perhaps the key to a new life and new beginnings.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert - Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice's life on the road, always a step ahead of the strange bad luck biting at their heels. Her mother is stolen, by a figure who claims to come from the cruel supernatural world from her grandmother's stories. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: STAY AWAY FROM THE HAZEL WOOD.

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch - The dying wish of 16-year-old Lina's mother was for her daughter to live in Tuscany and get to know her father, whom Lina has never met. "Howard is the best man I've ever known," her mother says, "he'll keep you safe." Why did her mother wait so long to tell her about him? Lina has a happy life in Seattle and doesn't want to leave. Shortly after she arrives at Howard's home, Lina meets Sonya, who gives Lina a diary that belonged to Lina's mother, the one she had kept while she was a photography student in Florence.

Solo Levelling by Chugong - E-class hunter Jinwoo Sung is the weakest of them all. Looked down on by everyone, he has no money, no abilities to speak of, and no other job prospects. So when his party finds a hidden dungeon, he's determined to use this chance to change his life for the better...but the opportunity he finds is a bit different from what he had in mind!

The Lost Boy by Christina Henry - Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join in the fun, but Peter’s idea of f un is sharper than a pirate’s sword. He wants always to be that shining sun that we all revolve around. He’ll do anything to be that sun. Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever.

Peter will say I’m a villain, that I wronged him, that I never was his friend.

Peter lies …

Music and Malice in Hurricane Town by Alex Bell - “There are no angels in Baton Noir. Only devils.” Jude Lomax scrapes a living playing the trumpet on the neon streets of Baton Noir. Then she is invited to play at the funeral of the infamous cajou queen, Ivory Monette. Passing through the cemetery gates, Jude finds herself possessed by the murdered queen ’s spirit. And Ivory won’t rest until she’s found the person responsible for her death.

Theodore Boone; series by John Grisham - In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he's only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he's one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk - and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom. But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than he expected. Because he knows so much - maybe too much - he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth. The stakes are high, but Theo won't stop until justice is served.

Squirm by Carl Hiaason - This summer, Billy will fly across the country, hike a mountain, float a river, dodge a grizzly bear, shoot down a spy drone, save a neighbour's cat, save an endangered panther, and then try to save his own father. A wildly entertaining adventure involving snakes, grizzlies, a menacing drone, a missing father, and the kid determined to find him. In classic Hiaasen fashion, the animals here are wild, and the people are wilder!

Hitler’s Canary by Sandi Toksvig - It's April 1940 and German troops are pouring onto the streets of Denmark. 12-year-old Bamse is ordered by his father to keep his head down and stay out of trouble. But Bamse and his daring friend Anton can't resist playing the occasional practical joke on the invading soldiers. When it becomes clear that the trouble isn't just going to pass them by, the people of Denmark decide to take action and Bamse and his eccentric family are about to take part in one of history's most dramatic rescues.

Generation One by Pittacus Lore - Taylor Cook thought of the invasion as just a bad dream. It had ended over a year ago, and none of the fighting happened anywhere near her small town. She'd heard about teens who were suddenly developing incredible abilities, but she had never really believed it. Not until the day she discovered she was one of them - a human with Legacies. The first book in an electrifying new series set in the world of the number one New York Times bestselling I AM NUMBER FOUR.

The Loop by Ben Oliver - Luka Kane has been inside hi-tech prison the Loop for over two years. A death sentence is hanging over his head but his day to-day routine is mind-numbingly repetitive, broken only by the books brought to him by the sympathetic warden, Wren. Then everything starts to change: rumours of war are whispered in the courtyard and the government-issued rain stops falling.

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas - Catherine House is a university like no other. Into its celebrated world steps Ines, a young woman who welcomes the school's isolation rather than its illustrious past. As the gates close and Ines finds herself start to be inevitably seduced by its magnetic power, she begins to realise the question isn't why she chose to come to Catherine House; but why Catherine House chose her.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - When Richard Mayhew helps a mysterious girl he finds bleeding on the pavement, his boring life changes in an instant. Her name is Door, she's on the run from two assassins in black suits and she comes from London Below. His act of kindness leads him to a place filled with monsters and angels, a Beast in a labyrinth and an Earl who holds Court in a Tube train. It is strangely familiar yet utterly bizarre .

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland - The Hollow sisters - Vivi, Grey and Iris - are as seductively glamorous as they are mysterious. They have black eyes and hair as white as milk. The Hollow sisters don't have friends - they don't need them. They move through the corridors like sharks, the other little fish parting around them, whispering behind their backs. A thrilling, twisting, novel that is as seductive and glamorous as the Hollow sisters themselves....

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers - Trained as an assassin by the god of Death, Ismae is sent to the court of Brittany, where she finds herself underprepared - not only for the games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death's vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart? A dangerous romance full of intrigue, poison and finding one's path.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams - Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary . Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women's experiences often go unrecorded. She begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words

The Disconnect by Keren David - Could you disconnect from your phone for six weeks? An eccentric entrepreneur has challenged Esther's year group to do just that, and the winners will walk away with GBP1,000. For Esther, whose dad, sister and baby nephew live thousands of miles away in New York, the prize might be her only chance to afford flights for a visit ... But can she really stay disconnected for long enough to win?

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - One of the best-loved adventure stories ever written, Treasure Island's timeless tale of pirates, lost treasure maps, mutiny and derring-do has appealed to generations of readers ever since Robert Louis Stevenson penned it in 1881 with the claim: 'If this don't fetch the kids, why, they have gone rotten since my day.'

Waterwise (Graphic Novel) by Joel Orff - This is the story of two old friends who are reunited for one night and wander together through a surreal, vaguely apocalyptic landscape, pondering life, griping about their circumstances, and trying to connect. Along the way they explore the nature of dreams, the fragile facade of civilization and the tenderness of a true friendship.

Warcross by Marie Lu - For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn't just a game - it's a way of life. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. When Emika hacks into the game illegally, she's convinced she'll be arrested, and is shocked when she gets a call from the game's creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer.

Map of Days by Rob Hunter - Richard can’t stop thinking about the clock. He lies in bed each night listening to its tick- tocking, to the pendulum’s heavy swing. Why does his granddad open its old doors in secret and walk into the darkness beyond? One night, too inquisitive to sleep, Richard tiptoes from his bed, opens the cherry wood doors, and steps inside . . .

Circe by Madeline Miller - In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is a strange child - not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. Scorned and rejected, Circe grows up in the shadows, at home in neither the world of gods nor mortals. But Circe has a dark power of her own: witchcraft .

Small Island by Andrea Levy - It is 1948, and England is recovering from a war. But at 21 Nevern Street, London, the conflict has only just begun. Queenie Bligh's neighbours do not approve when she agrees to take in Jamaican lodgers, but Queenie doesn't know when her husband will return, or if he will come back at all. What else can she do? Possibly the definitive fictional account of the experiences of the Empire Windrush generation.

Spy X Family by Tatsuya Endo - An action-packed comedy about a fake family that includes a spy, an assassin and a telepath! Master spy Twilight is unparalleled when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions for the betterment of the world. But when he receives the ultimate assignment — to get married and have a kid — he may finally be in over his head! Not one to depend on others, Twilight has his work cut out for him procuring both a wife and a child for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn’t know is that the wife he’s chosen is an assassin and the child he’s adopted is a tel epath!

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne - In this thrilling adventure tale by the 'Father of Science Fiction', three men embark on an epic journey under the sea with the mysterious Captain Nemo aboard his submarine the Nautilus . Over the course of their fantastical voyage, they encounter the lost city of Atlantis, the South Pole and the corals of the Red Sea, and must battle countless adversaries both human and monstrous.

The Marrow Theives - Humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming, but now an even greater evil lurks. The indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream. In this dark world, Frenchie and his companions struggle to survive as they make their way up north to the old lands. For now, survival means staying hidden but what they don't know is that one of them holds the secret to defeating the marrow thieves.

Created by Head Librarian, Sarah Eldred

June 2023

for St Edward’s School, Oxford

eldreds@stedwardsoxford.org

Social media: @teddieslibrary