In the Middle
Terrific Titles for Teens, grades 6-8

City of the Beasts
Isabel Allende (YA ALLENDE) 416p
Alex’s trip to the Amazon becomes a thrilling & unforgettable journey to the ultimate discovery.

Down the Rabbit Hole
Peter Abrahams (YA ABRAHAMS) 375p
Funny how looking for a pair of shoes leads to murder!

Estrella’s Quinceañera
Malin Alegria (YA ALEGRIA) 272p
Estrella thinks leaving behind her old barrio life for an elite private school is the best move she’s made. Oops!

Crispin: The Cross of Lead
Avi (YA AVI) 256p
Why has orphaned Asta been delcared a "wolf's head," which means he can be killed on sight?

Hope Was Here
Bauer, Joan (YA BAUER) 192p
"Addie never promised that life would be easy, but she did promise that if I hung with her the food would be good."

Fall of a Kingdom
Hilari Bell (YA BELL) 422p
Stories are told of a hero who will come to Farsala’s aid when the need is greatest. Now Farsala is being invaded & the lives of 3 young people will never be the same.

Code Talker
Joseph Bruchac (YA BRUCHAC) 240p
The native language Ned is forbidden to speak at school helps win the war & make him a hero.

Teen Idol
Meg Cabot (YA CABOT) 302p
Jenny’s great at keeping secrets; secrets have a way of getting out.

Artemis Fowl
Eoin Colfer (YA COLFER) 277p
Teenage criminal mastermind vs. fairies!

Code Orange 200p
Caroline Cooney (YA COONEY)
Who knew doing homework could give you a deadly disease?!

The Named
Marianne Curley (YA CURLEY) 332p
Ethan lives a secret life as a Guardian & battles the Order of Chaos by preventing them from altering history.

Runner
Carl Deuker (YA DEUKER) 216p
Destitute Chance jumps at a new job offer. He knows how much he’ll earn; what he doesn’t know is how much he’ll pay….

City of Ember
Jeanne DuPrau (YA DUPRAU) 270p
When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city before the lights go out forever.

Sea of Trolls
Nancy Farmer (YA FARMER) 480p
If only Jack hadn't accidentally made the troll queen's hair fall out, he wouldn't be on this quest full of monsters & other hazards, with his little sister's life depending on him.

Once Upon a Marigold
Jean Ferris (YA FERRIS) 266p
Christian falls for Princess Marigold via telescope and P-mail, & discovers the Queen’s devious scheme to rule the kingdom.

Lady Grace Mysteries
Patricia Finney (YA FINNEY) 194p
Queen E’s Maid of Honor turns detective!

Blood Red Horse
K.M. Grant (YA GRANT) 277p
Will & Gavin join the Crusades. Blood will be shed. Lives lost. But 2 things will be constant: Fair Ellie, & a horse named Hosanna.

The Witch’s Boy
Michael Gruber (YA GRUBER) 377p
Can brutalized Lump learn love & forgiveness—or only hatred?

The Shadow Children series
Margaret P. Haddix (YA HADDIX) 160p
What happens when you live in a world where 3rd children are forbidden—and you’re a 3rd child?

Invisible
Pete Hautman (YA HAUTMAN) 149p
“I guess you could say that I’m not only disturbed, I’m obsessed.”

Shock Point
April Henry (YA HENRY) 192p
Cassie’s stepdad is prescribing Socom to teens. And it’s killing them. When Cassie tries to stop him, she’s sent to a sadistic “camp.”

Flush
Carl Hiaasen (YA HIAASEN) 272p
No one believes that the boat their dad sank was dumping
sewage. Noah & Abbey vow to get proof.

Silverfin
Charles Higson (YA HIGSON) 347p
What was James Bond like at 14? Suave? Smart? Um, yeah, sure.

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
Kimberly Holt (YA HOLT) 192p
Nothing much happens in Antler, TX, until “The Fattest Boy
in the World” comes to town.

Ark Angel
Anthony Horowitz (YA HOROWITZ) 324p
Teen spy Alex Rider must stop eco-terrorists from sabotaging the launch of the first outer space hotel.

Warriors: The New Prophecy series
Erin Hunter (YA HUNTER) 303p
The wild cat Clans have lived in peace. Now their warrior ancestors speak of terrifying new prophecies & mysterious danger.

Son of the Mob
Gordon Korman (YA KORMAN) 262p
What do you do when the girl you like has an FBI agent dad, & your whole family is who he’s after.

Day of Tears
Julius Lester (YA LESTER) 176p
During the biggest slave auction in American history families are torn apart, character is tested, greed rules & souls are lost.

The Giver
Lois Lowry (YA LOWRY) 180p
How can a world with no poverty, crime or sickness be a nightmare?

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie
David Lubar (YA LUBAR) 279p
Starting high school’s hard enough without a stupid baby sibling on the way.

Heat
Mike Lupica (YA LUPICA) 220p
Will Michael get to pitch for the Little League World Series before anyone finds out he & his brother are living on their own?

Monster
Walter Dean Myers (YA MYERS) 281p
What if you were on trial for murder?

Jade Green
Phyllis R. Naylor (YA NAYLOR) 176p
What do green, a severed hand, and a ghost have in common?

Keys to the Kingdom series
Garth Nix (YA NIX) 361p
Seven days. Seven keys. Seven sins & virtues. One boy to unlock a mysterious world & fantastical secrets.

Maximum Ride
James Patterson (YA PATTERSON) 432p
Will their avian DNA & will to survive save them from evil?

East
Edith Pattou (YA PATTOU) 498p
So, a bear shows up at your door & asks you to go with him, in exchange for the health & prosperity of your family. You go. And each night, you’re confronted with a new mystery.

The Teacher’s Funeral
Richard Peck (YA PECK) 190p
“If your teacher has to die, August isn’t a bad time for it.”

First Test (Protector of the Small series)
Tamora Pierce (YA PIERCE) 216p
Girl warrior kicks boy butt to become the first female page.

Pirates
Celia Rees (YA REES) 379p
Captain Jack & Bluebeard ain’t got nothing’ on these two fearsome females!

Percy Jackson & the Olympians series
Rick Riordan (YA RIORDAN) 384p
The adventures of Poseidon’s demigod son.

Holes
Louis Sachar (YA SACHAR) 233p
“If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy.” Yeah, right!

Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare
Darren Shan (YA SHAN) 266p
When Darren & Steven get caught up in a deadly trap, Darren must make a deal with evil itself.

The Safe-Keeper’s Secret
Sharon Shinn (YA SHINN) 240p
It’s a challenge growing up when your mom knows the secrets of everyone in town…including yours.

The Boy Who Couldn’t Die
William Sleator (YA SLEATOR) 176p
Ken makes a bargain so that he can’t die. But the price may be too much to pay.

Cryptid Hunters
Roland Smith (YA SMITH) 348p
Orphaned twins play a high stakes game where the prize is a dinosaur egg & the penalty...death.

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
Sonya Sones (YA SONES) 272
“Everyone loves my father. Everyone but me.”

Accidental Love
Gary Soto (YA SOTO) 192p
Marissa’s tough; Rene’s a geek. They’re total opposites. So why can’t Marissa stay away from him?

Bartimeus trilogy
Jonathan Stroud (YA STROUD) 464p
An apprentice magician bent on revenge summons a powerful djinni. Not a good move.

Now You See It...
Vande Velde, Vivian (YA VANDE) 275p
It all starts with a weird pair of glasses….

Uglies
Scott Westerfeld (YA WESTERFELD) 448p
Everyone in Tally’s world gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?

Homeless Bird
Whelan, Gloria (YA WHELAN) 216p
Koly: 13 and married...widowed...homeless.

MS = Most appropriate for middle schoolers
MS/HS = Most appropriate for middle/high schoolers
HS = Most appropriate for high schoolers

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