Seventh & Eight Grade

FICTION

Best of All Worlds — Kenneth Oppel (TEEN Oppel K.) Thirteen-year-old Xavier reluctantly joins his family at their lakeside cabin — and wakes up the next morning to find the lake is gone. A science fiction story about tribalism and what binds us together as humans.

Downfall — Marc J. Gregson (TEEN Gregson M.) The conclusion to the "Above the Black" trilogy finds Conrad exiled from the Skylands fleet after a brutal purge by his uncle, King Ulrich. He must rescue his friends, build new alliances, and face a final showdown for the fate of both the Skylands and the Below.

Eureka — Victoria Chang (J Chang V.) Promised safety outside San Francisco, twelve-year-old Mei Mei travels alone to Eureka, California, where she navigates escalating violence against her community in the lead-up to the expulsion of Chinese immigrants in 1885.

Fake Skating — Lynn Painter (TEEN Painter L.) A hockey player's estranged childhood friend moves back to town, and they decide to pretend they're a couple.

Fathom Fall — Matteo Cerilli (TEEN Cerilli M.) In a dystopian future where water is scarce, young gamer Wyatt is competing to make his name in the VR game Fathom Fall — until monsters from the game start appearing in real life.

The House Saphir — Marissa Meyer (TEEN Meyer M.) A retelling of the classic French fairytale Bluebeard, with ghosts, otherworldly creatures, and romance.

Imposter — Cait Levin (TEEN Levin C.) Sophomore Cameron Goldberg is the only girl in an all-boys computer science class with a teacher who does nothing to stop the hostility. A story about battling imposter syndrome, finding allies, and discovering an inner well of strength.

Red Star Rebels — Amie Kaufman (TEEN Kaufman A.) In 2067, a colony on Mars is hijacked and evacuated. Two people left behind — stowaway Cleo and Hunter, son of the station's founders — must work together to save the station after discovering a trap left by the intruders.

The Roach King of Raleigh — Shannon Stocker (TEEN Stocker S.) After his parents' divorce lands him in a crummy rental with his mother, high school sophomore Quill starts a roach-breeding side hustle to sell to the local pet shop in this coming-of-age story.

Sea Change — Susan Fletcher (TEEN Fletcher S.) Turtle is a fifteen-year-old Mer with both lungs and gills due to a genetic modification experiment. When she learns about the possibility of a "reset," she must choose between her life in the sea and a life on land with a human boy she rescued.

The Swan's Daughter — Roshani Chokshi (TEEN Chokshi R.) Prince Arris and Veritas swan Demelza attempt to change their fates during a tournament for the prince's heart and hand — while she tries to protect herself from a doomed love story.

Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire — Don Martin (TEEN Martin D.) Traveling witch-in-training Verity Vox finds a remote Appalachian town suffering under a curse laid by a huckster magician. To undo it, she must gain the townsfolk's trust and venture into the twisted forests to confront him.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

A Kid Like Me — Norman Feuti (J GRAPHIC Kid) Ethan Warwick lives in a trailer park next door to his best friend Ricky. With middle school starting, Ricky wants to assemble a crew of "kids who are like us" so neither of them feels alone.

Fruitcake — Rex Ogle (J GRAPHIC Four Eyes v.3) Eighth grade starts with all of Rex's friends paired off in couples, and he's confused about his own feelings for new student Charlotte and former BFF Drew.

The Cartoonists Club — Raina Telgemeier (J GRAPHIC Cartoonists) A group of students gather for an afterschool cartooning club led by their school librarian, who guides them in making mini comics — with the invaluable rule that there are no rules.

Gumshoe — Brenna Thummler (J GRAPHIC Gumshoe) When Willa is mistaken for the mail thief Two Gum Tilly, her dream of becoming a postal worker is threatened. She joins the Gumshoe Gang, a group of runaway girls on a mission to capture the real thief.

Inbetweens — Faith Erin Hicks (J GRAPHIC Inbetween) Twins Sloane and Ash have dreamed of becoming animators since childhood. The summer after eighth grade, they attend an eight-week animation course taught by a world-renowned animator — and discover it's not as magical as they imagined.

My Sister, the Freak — Dani Jones (J GRAPHIC My Sister) Two very different sisters are constantly at odds — until aliens invade their small town and a secret is revealed that forces them to go from brawling to bonding to save their home.

Outsider Kids — Betty C. Tang (J GRAPHIC Outsider v.2) After seven months on their own as undocumented immigrants, the Lin siblings have gotten settled in California — until their stuck-up violin prodigy cousin arrives and upends everything.

Winging It — Megan Wagner Lloyd (J GRAPHIC Winging) Twelve-year-old Luna never wanted to move from California to Virginia or live with a formal grandmother she barely knows. But a visit to the National Museum of Natural History sparks something unexpected when she encounters the luna moth she was named after.

Wrong Friend — Charise Mericle Harper (J GRAPHIC Wrong) A fresh and honest graphic novel about what happens when your BFF is no longer forever — and how friendships are lost and found.

NONFICTION

All the World's Your Stage — Farah Karim-Cooper (J f822.33 K146a) Eight of Shakespeare's most famous plays — including Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet — reimagined and given historical context, showing why his themes remain timely and fascinating today.

Beyond the Board — Maya Gabeira (TEEN 797.3209 G111a) Guinness World Record-breaking surfer Maya Gabeira shares her story of becoming one of the first female big wave surfers in a male-dominated sport.

An Illustrated History of Urban Legends — Adam Allsuch Boardman (TEEN 398.2 B63i) From folkloric monsters and legendary lost cities to the Y2K panic and beyond, a broad overview of urban legends, their origins, and their cultural impacts throughout history.

London: A History — Laura Carlin (J914.21 C194L) A breathtakingly broad history of London from the Pleistocene epoch to the postmodern day, brought to life through historical quotes, notes, and Carlin's striking, dreamlike illustrations.

Lost — Tom Adams (J f032 Ad195L) From Damascus steel production techniques to D.B. Cooper and Disney film reels, a collection of curious histories of missing objects, people, and places from around the world.

Malcolm Lives! — Ibram X. Kendi (JB X1k) A comprehensive narrative biography of Malcolm X, compiling definitive speeches, sermons, correspondence, and never-before-seen original material.

Understanding Manga — Mari Bolte (J741.5952 B639u) A broad but accessible look at manga's history, art, storytelling, production, and cultural impact.

Wildfire — Ferin Davis Anderson (TEEN 363.379 An235w) An examination of how Indigenous people, farmers, and forestry departments have used fire to manage resources — and how climate change is reshaping the future of fire.

A World Without Summer — Nicholas Day (J303.485 D332w) A narrative nonfiction account of how Mount Tambora's eruption in 1815 altered the global climate and inspired aspects of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.