Belmont Middle School Grades 7 and 8 Summer 2025

REQUIRED READING

Entering seventh and eighth graders are to read the required book for their grade and one book they choose. Near the bottom of the doc are some suggestions for books students in both grades may want to try. 

Entering seventh graders - choose ONE of the four choices for required reading listed below.

Entering eighth graders - All students will read The Giver by Lois Lowry. This required text will be used in the fall to begin the school year.  Students may want to purchase their own copies to mark up.  

SEVENTH GRADE CHOICES FOR REQUIRED READING

Starfish by Lisa Fipps

Publisher’s Summary

”Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she’s been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules — like “no making waves,” “avoid eating in public,” and “don’t move so fast that your body jiggles.” She’s found her safe space — her swimming pool — where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the pool, she starfishes. Stretches out. Takes up all the room she wants, instead of living by the fat girl rules society taught her. The pool is also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie’s weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who love Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life — by unapologetically being her own fabulous self.”

This might be the book for you if you like themes of gaining confidence, family relationships, friendship, and characters you care about.

Legend by Marie Lu

Publisher’s Summary

“What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

“From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.” 

This might be the book for you if you like action-packed, dystopian novels.

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

Publisher’s Summary

“All light in Chattana is created by one man — the Governor, who appeared after the Great Fire to bring peace and order to the city. For Pong, who was born in Namwon Prison, the magical lights represent freedom, and he dreams of the day he will be able to walk among them. But when Pong escapes from prison, he realizes that the world outside is no fairer than the one behind bars. The wealthy dine and dance under bright orb light, while the poor toil away in darkness. Worst of all, Pong’s prison tattoo marks him as a fugitive who can never be truly free.

Nok, the prison warden’s perfect daughter, is bent on tracking Pong down and restoring her family’s good name. But as Nok hunts Pong through the alleys and canals of Chattana, she uncovers secrets that make her question the truths she has always held dear. Set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world, Christina Soontornvat’s twist on Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a dazzling, fast-paced adventure that explores the difference between law and justice — and asks whether one child can shine a light in the dark.”

This might be the book for you if you like compelling fantasy that looks at issues of privilege, protest, and justice.

Becoming Muhammad Ali by Alexander, Kwame and Patterson, James

Publisher’s Summary

Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay was a kid with struggles like any other. Kwame Alexander and James Patterson join forces to vividly depict his life up to age seventeen in both prose and verse, including his childhood friends, struggles in school, the racism he faced, and his discovery of boxing. Readers will learn about Cassius' family and neighbors in Louisville, Kentucky, and how, after a thief stole his bike, Cassius began training as an amateur boxer at age twelve. Before long, he won his first Golden Gloves bout and began his transformation into the unrivaled Muhammad Ali.

Fully authorized by and written in cooperation with the Muhammad Ali estate, and vividly brought to life by Dawud Anyabwile's dynamic artwork, Becoming Muhammad Ali captures the budding charisma and youthful personality of one of the greatest sports heroes of all time.”

This might be the book for you if you like humor, sports-related books, and friendship issues.

SUGGESTED READING FOR BOTH GRADES

The following list includes fiction and non-fiction (*) which may appeal to a wide variety of readers.  This list is meant to encourage students to read during summer vacation.  Children should consult parents, friends, and librarians about these and other books when looking for suggestions.  This list is distributed to students entering grades seven and eight in the fall of 2023.  This list is also posted on the district’s website and the Belmont Public Library’s teen page, belmontpubliclibrary.net/teens-at-the-library/.

Abdel-Fattah, Randa

Does My Head Look Big in This?

Adams, Douglas

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Adeyemi, Toni

Children of Blood and Bone

Alcott, Mary Louisa

Little Women

Angleberger, Tom

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Balliett, Blue

Chasing Vermeer; Hold Fast

Bieschke, Marke

Into the Streets

Bloor, Edward

Tangerine

Bradley, James with Ron Powers

Flags of Our Fathers: The Story of Iwo Jima*

Braff, Joshua

The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green

Callahan, Steven

Adrift *

Cartaya, Pablo

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

Colbert, Brandy

The Voting Booth

Colfer, Eoin

The Reluctant Assassin (series)

Cooper, Susan

Dark Is Rising (series)

Crane, Stephen

The Red Badge of Courage

Creech, Sharon

Absolutely Normal Chaos, Ruby Holler

Curtis, Christopher Paul

Bucking the Sarge

Dickens, Charles

Oliver Twist; David Copperfield (adapted versions available)

Dowd, Siobhan

London Eye Mystery

Doyle, Arthur Conan

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

DuPrau, Jeanne

City of Ember

Ende, Michael

The Neverending Story

Farmer, Nancy

The Lord of Opium (sequel to House of the Scorpion)

The Sea of Trolls trilogy

Ferris, Jean

Love Among the Walnuts

Gantos, Jack

Hole in My Life* Norvelt series

Hickam, Homer

Rocket Boys: A Memoir*

Hobbs, Will

Bearstone; Downriver; Far North

Holt, K.A.

House Arrest

Holt, Kimberly Willis

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town

Houston, Julian

New Boy

Hughes, Dean

Soldier Boys

Jenn Bigelow, Lisa

Drum Roll Please

Johnson, Angela

Toning the Sweep

Johnson, Leah

You Should See Me in a Crown

Jones, Diana Wynne

Howl's Moving Castle Dark Lord of Derkholm, Chrestomanci series

Katz, Jon

Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet out of Idaho*

Key, Watt

Alabama Moon

Kherdian, David

The Road Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl*

Konigsburg, E.L.

Silent to the Bone

Knowles, Jo

See You at Harry’s

Krakauer, Jon

Into Thin Air*

Lee, Stacey

Outrun the Moon

LeGuin, Ursula

The Wizard of Earthsea (series)

Lobel, Anita

No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War*

Lord, Cynthia

Rules

Maetani, Valynne E.

Ink and Ashes

Magoon, Kekla

The Rock and the River; How It Went Down

Mah, Adeline Yen

Chinese Cinderella: True Story of an Unwanted Daughter*

McCall, Guadalupe Garcia

Summer of the Mariposas

McCormick, Patricia

Never Fall Down: A Boy Soldier’s Story of Survival

Meyer, Marissa

Cinder

Mikaelsen, Ben

Tree Girl

Myers, Walter Dean

The Greatest: Muhammed Ali*; Bad Boy*

Naidoo, Beverley

The Other Side of Truth

Nye, Naomi Shihab

Tree is Older than You Are; Habibi

O’Reilly, Bill

Hitler's Last Days*

Paolini, Christopher

Eragon; Eldest (Inheritance series)

Parks, Rosa

Rosa Parks: My Story *

Paterson, Katherine

The Same Stuff

Perkins, Lynne Rae

Criss Cross

Perkins, Mitali

You Bring the Distant Near

Pierce, Tamora

Protector of the Small (series)

Philbrick, Rodman

Freak the Mighty; The Last Book of the Universe

Pullman, Philip

His Dark Materials trilogy; Sally Lockhart trilogy

Reeve, Philip

Mortal Engines (series)

Rinaldi, Ann

The Fifth of March; Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons

Salisbury, Graham

Prisoners of the Empire series

Sanderson, Brandon

Steelheart

Senzai, N.H.

Shooting Kabul

Sheinkin, Steve

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon*

Smith, Betty

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Smith, Roland

Edge (sequel to Peak) Beneath

Sonnenblick, Jordan

Drums Girls & Dangerous Pie; Zen and the Art of Faking It

Spinelli, Jerry

Crash

Staples, Suzanne Fisher

Under the Persimmon Tree

Stone, Nic

Clean Getaway

Tolkien, J.R.R.

The Hobbit

Van Draanen, Wendelin

Running Dream

Volponi, Paul

The Final Four

Williams, Michael

Now Is the Time for Running

Yang, Gene Luen

The Shadow Hero

Yolen, Jane

Briar Rose; Sword of the Rightful King

This list was compiled by English teachers and reviewed by librarians at Belmont Middle School and Belmont Public Library, These and other books are available from the school library, the public library, and bookstores. Hoopla is a digital library platform linked to the public library that is also helpful.

View Reading List as PDF