Crawford Middle School’s

Summer Reading List

8^th Grade

Please select two books from the list below to read during summer break.  Be prepared for an assessment activity when school begins in the fall. If you have already taken an AR quiz on any of these books, you will not be able to use the AR quiz as your assessment.

The Battle of Jericho by Sharon Draper

A high school junior and his cousin suffer the ramifications of joining what seems to be a "reputable" school club.

Gym Candy by Carl Deuker

Groomed by his father to be a star player, football is the only thing that has ever really mattered to Mick Johnson, who works hard for a spot on the varsity team his freshman year, then tries to hold onto his edge by using steroids, despite the consequences to his health and social life.

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt

Abandoned by their mother, four children begin a search for a home and an identity.

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patron, the one hundred forty-two-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.

Rosa Parks: My Story by Rosa Parks Non-fiction

Rosa Park's life story reveals the deliberate choices she made that earned her the title "Mother to a Movement."

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman. This unusual book provides an insider's look at the life of Birdy, 14, the daughter of a minor English nobleman. The year is 1290 and the vehicle for storytelling is the girl's witty, irreverent diary. She looks with a clear and critical eye upon the world around her, telling of the people she knows and of the daily events in her small manor house.

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers. This is the story of Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for    the service during the Vietnam War when his dream of attending college falls through.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates to the hardships of living on her family’s wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher. An obese boy and a disfigured girl suffer the emotional scars of years of mockery at the hands of their peers. They share a hard-boiled view of the world until events in their senior year hurl them in very different directions. A story about a friendship with staying power, written with pathos and pointed humor.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. The novel is told in the form of an extended flashback. After a visit to his strange landlord, a newcomer to the area desires to know the history of the family--which he receives from Nelly Deans, a servant who introduces us to the Earnshaw family who once resided in the house known as Wuthering Heights. It was once a cheerful place, but Old Earnshaw adopted a "Gipsy" child who he named Heathcliff. And Catherine, daughter of the house, found in him the perfect companion: wild, rude, and as proud and cruel as she. But although Catherine loves him, even recognizes him as her soul mate, she cannot lower herself to marry so far below her social station. She instead marries another, and in so doing sets in motion an obsession that will destroy them all.

The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker by Cynthia DeFelice.  Lucas' entire family has died, one

    by one, of tuberculosis, known as consumption in the mid-1800s. Wandering through the

    Connecticut countryside in grief, Lucas ends up becoming the new apprentice to Dr. Uriah M.

    Beecher, also the local dentist, apothecary, barber, and undertaker. Lucas' new community is

    being decimated by consumption, and the local people want to try a technique rumored to work:

    digging up the remains of the first family member to die, removing and burning the heart, and

    breathing in the smoke. Dr. Beecher is certain this is useless at best, but Lucas feels sure it is

    worth a try. DeFelice skillfully gives readers enough historical information to see the reasoning

    behind the macabre practice.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. In the spring of 1776, Isabel, a teenage slave, and her sister, Ruth, are sold to ruthless, wealthy loyalists in Manhattan. While running errands, Isabel is approached by rebels, who promise her freedom (and help finding Ruth, who has been sent away) if she agrees to spy. Using the invisibility her slave status brings, Isabel lurks and listens as Master Lockton and his fellow Tories plot to crush the rebel uprisings. Isabel finds that both patriots and loyalists support slavery.

The Rifle by Gary Paulsen. A priceless, handcrafted rifle carried throughout the American Revolution is passed down through the years until it fires on a fateful Christmas Eve of 1994.

The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox. In this spellbinding novel of suspense and survival, young Jessie, a musician, is hired to play for the slaves aboard a ship bound for America.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare. Puritan neighbors regard Kit Tyler with suspicion, fear, and anger when she befriends an old woman accused of witchcraft.

Note: Book descriptions have been taken from a variety of sources including Amazon.com, “The School Library Journal”, Titlewave, and the jackets of the books themselves.