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Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson

My name is Simone, I’m 13 years old and I’m going into 8th grade. I enjoy skiing, playing volleyball, skateboarding and I have a love for fashion.

Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life is about growing up, changing as a person and going through life. Rafe, the main character, and his best friend created the project RAFE (RULES AREN’T FOR EVERYONE) because they have a very long list of rules at school that their principal provided. Since they don’t like being bossed they decide they want to break every single rule. Rafe was quickly noticed by his crush, Jeanne, and was more inspired to continue. Rafe doesn’t mind his punishments unless he has to sit in detention with Ms. Donatello who’s always wondering why he’s pulling these pranks. Leo always sketches out what the next prank should be to keep on inspiring Rafe. After reading further into the book you find out something shocking about Rafe’s best friend.

Rafe’s mom starts to worry about his grades because he is more focused on pranking the principal than school. The only thing that’s saving Rafe from being held back a grade because of his grades are his art skills. One night while pulling another prank they see the principal doing something at school that could get him in trouble. Rafe could get the principal fired but then he couldn’t prank anymore, what will Rafe do? Read to find out!

Find it in print, ebook, eaudiobook, CD and DVD here.

The Hero Two Doors Down by Sharon Robinson

Hi, my name is Sebi. I am eleven years old and I am entering middle school. I do freestyle skiing, I also play soccer, lacrosse, baseball, and football.

Compelling is the first word I would use to describe this book.  Can you imagine having your hero live on your street? This is what happened to Steven Satlow in Brooklyn, New York in 1948. Steven is a huge baseball fan and is amazed when he finds that his hero, Jackie Robinson, a legendary African American baseball player and his family, moved two doors down from him while playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

A friendship builds between the families. Jackie helps Steven through some hard times with school. One example is when Steven faces bullying. Jackie tells Steven that he will always have to deal with bullies, he should ignore them, and do not let them win. The building of friendships and learning from his hero made lasting memories for Steven and helps him through hard times in the future.

Even if you are not a baseball fan, there are many interesting topics in this book. Steven is taught some valuable lessons on friendship, perseverance, racism, racial injustice, and religious difference. The book teaches you an understanding of what it was like to be an African American back at that time in everyday life and that friendship should not be based on the color of your skin.

Find it through Interlibrary Loan here.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

My name is Jamie. I love reading fantasy and realistic fiction books. My favorite book is Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Hockey is one of my favorite sports to play, and I’m in the 7th grade.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen is an incredible book that uncovers the surprising story of a native Mexican tribe that runs ultra-long distances at very fast speeds—without wearing shoes. 

The book starts with a team of five training for a 100-mile race who find out about a tribe of super athletes and become interested. The Tarahumara tribe is a hidden band of runners in Mexico’s dangerous Copper Canyons. They will run up to 500 miles barefoot in deathly desert heat without stopping. 

Micah True, known by the tribe as “Caballo Blanco,” is an American long-distance runner who watches how these special people survive in terrible conditions. Wanting to help them, he organizes an ultra-marathon in the horrendous heat. Word soon gets out and some of the best runners in the Northwest—Barefoot Ted McDonald, Ruth Heidrich, Luis Escobar, Scott Jurek and so on—come to train. 

All of these runners train and train until the race day arrives. A gunshot rings through the starting line and the runners are off. Ted McDonald even runs after his feet have been burned and blistered so badly by the desert heat. The Tarahumara runners were in front by miles—nobody thought they were that fast. The Tarahumara win the race easily,  3 hours before any other contestant. Everyone is amazed, but the tribe only wants everyone off their land.

Overall, this was an action-packed book that I would recommend to anyone who likes running or a good story. I enjoyed reading Born to Run.

Find it in print and ebook here.

My name is Mary. I live with my little sister and my parents. I have a dog and am in sixth grade. I moved to Idaho from Portland, Maine in August.

White Fang is a good book for kid’s ages eight and up. If you do not like sad books then you should definitely not read this book. The sadness and heartbreak White Fang goes through is painful and hard but worth it for the last part of the book. 

White Fang is a wolf who was born in a cave with his four siblings. When he and his mother are left alone with the other four cubs and his father’s remains are found by a lynx den, White Fang and his mother go to live with the Indians. The Indian puppies like to bully White Fang and all he wants is to return to the wild, but his mother has other plans. She wants to stay with the Indians because one of them knows her. Soon enough the cub and mother are separated and White Fang is left alone. That’s when bad things begin to happen. 

I liked White Fang because he is a strong pup that learns to survive on his own, even though his life is full of heartbreak. I don’t like him because he always takes fighting as a go-to move until he meets his love-master. Because of his terrible past it takes White Fang a while to get used to his new master who trains him using love and care.

I just love this book so much! If you like what you heard, then check out White Fang at The Community Library. Hope you like it!

Find it in print, ebook, eaudiobook and CD here.

Rebound by Kwame Alexander

Hi, I’m McCallen. I like skiing and basketball.

This is an awesome book called Rebound by Kwame Alexander. Rebound is definitely worth reading, especially if you love basketball or just sports in general. This book has a lot to offer like good rhyme schemes and an awesome story line. 

For a quick summary, this book is about two twins that love basketball, Josh and Jordan Bell. Their dad is a superstar so he has helped the twins with their basketball skills. Josh and Jordan are very good players. However, the twins have to work together to bring their team together and win! 

This book is super hip. This book definitely feels like a song with its rap-like writings and tempo.If you love  basketball this whole series is for you! It’s a pretty long book if you’re trying to challenge yourself. I also love the way this book has random awesome comic pages with extraordinary art. It is the sequel to an award -winning novel, The Crossover. If you haven’t read The Crossover, I would definitely recommend going and checking out as well.

Find it in print, ebook and eaudiobook here.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

My name is Rya. I am in middle school and I enjoy reading, writing, swimming, and backpacking.

Like all children in his society, Jonas has been raised with the notion of never telling lies. What Jonas doesn’t know is that the mortar that holds the very bricks of his house and town together is crafted from lies. The citizens living in this small, organized, and simple community carry no burdens on their shoulders. They know nothing more than the systematized life they were assigned rather than given. 

Only one extremely respected person is able to see beyond the simple life of the other citizens: The Giver. The burdens of billions become his own. The Giver is the only living person who has ever experienced starvation, wars, and pain. The only one who has ever known the feelings of love, family, and freedom. That was until Jonas came along, assigned a role as The Receiver of Memories. Jonas will be the sole other individual to hold these memories, until The Giver is Released. Then Jonas will be the only one. He will live the long, lonely, laborious life designated for him, all so that the arrogance and ambitions of the human race will not recreate history.

The Giver is another artful masterpiece by award-winning author Lois Lowry. Following this book are three others in The Giver quartet: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son. I would certainly recommend this eye-opening novel, which puts into perspective what we, as humans, take for granted, and what we take advantage of.

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.