Breakfast and Booktalks 2015 Recommendations

Every year book buyers from Wellesley Books (a local independent bookshop) booktalk the latest and greatest new titles for 6th, 7th, and 8th grader.

Books for Sixth Graders

​Historical Fiction
The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
war, disabilities, siblings, WWII, England
Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper
African American, civil rights, KKK, prejudice
The Bamboo Sword by Margi Preus
Japanese culture, samurais, friendship, seafaring
Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko
diseases, fathers & daughters, mystery, friendship
The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall
African American, street art, community service

Fantasy Fiction
Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski
ghosts, thriller, action & adventure, survival
Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley
circus, friendship, orphans, diseases
Arctic Code by Matthew Kirby 
mothers & daughters, scifi, action & adventure, aliens
The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable Fib by Adam Shaughnessy 
magic, norse mythology
The Marvels by Brian Selznick
action & adventure, England, actors, theater

Graphic Novels
Sunny Side Up by Jennifer Holm
family, Florida, secrets
Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula by Andi Watson
cooks, supernatural, princess
Drowned City by Don Brown
New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina
Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson
fathers & daughters, rescues, scifi

Realistic Fiction
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
Maine, Hispanic Americans, dogs, prejudice, courage
George by Alex Gino
transgender, bullying, middle school
Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff
brothers, disabilities, guilt, grief
Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
bullying, friendship, middle school, New York
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
friendship, grief, friendship
The Edge by Roland Smith
​action & adventure, survival, rock climbing, terrorism

Nonfiction
Big Top Burning by Laura A. Woollett
disaster, arson, circus
Eureka! by Dr. Mike Goldsmith
discoveries in science history
Boys in the Boat (young reader's adaptation) by Daniel James Brown
Olympics, rowing, Great Depression, adversity
Guts & Glory: the Vikings by Ben Thompson
Vikings, history

Books for Seventh and Eighth Graders

Historical Fiction
Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein
race relations, pilots, Ethiopia, brothers & sisters
The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
diaries, teen girls, Judaism, adversity
Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
action & adventure, wild west, gender roles, bandits
X: a Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kelka Magoon
Malcom X, black Muslims, race

Fantasy Fiction
Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
dystopian, artificial intelligence, survival, battles
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
magic, outlaws, law & crime
Accident Season* by Moira Fowley-Doyle
family, paranormal, accidents
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
WWII, government, motorcycle racing, reimagined history
The Rest of Us Just Live Here* by Patrick Ness
humor, dystopia, magic, muggles

Graphic Novels
Macbeth by Gareth Hinds
Shakespeare, Scotland
Honor GIrl* by Maggie Thrash
camp, GLBTQ
Baba Yaga's Assistant by Marika McCoola
witches, Russian folklore, fantasy
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
fantasy, scifi, shapeshifting, good & evil

Realistic Fiction
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt 
foster care, orphans, teens
Step Toward Falling* by Cammie McGovern
high school, community service, disabilities
Trouble is a Friend of Mine​* by Stephanie Tromly
detective, divorce, mystery, moving
Blue Voyage by Diana Renn
smuggling, travel, mystery, Turkey
Code of Honor by Alan Gratz
action & adventure, war, terrorism
​
Nonfiction
I Will Always Write Back by Martin Ganda
friendship, penpals, Zimbabwe, teenagers
Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson
performing arts, WWII, Russia
Most Dangerous by Steven Sheinkin
Pentagon papers, whistle blowers, Vietnam war
Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Philip Hoose
Denmark, WWII, resistance 


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