WELCOME SIXTH GRADERS

 Great sci-fi book about a boy called Rigg, his father, his best friend, and a mysterious background of his life that he never imagined.  Rigg’s dad talked to Rigg and taught him things he thought he would never need or use, only to find that everything his dad said was going to help him survive in a world he knows nothing about.  Pathfinder Extended Book Trailer Orson Scott Card Author

Mick is an 8th grader who has true talent in football.  He made the high school football team and really wants to play first string.  His dad was a huge football hero in high school and also had the opportunity to play for the NFL.  Mick wants to impress his dad and his friends, but at what cost?  He ends up getting into something that is way over his head.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I can see how easy it would be for teens to make the wrong choice that can lead to disasterous consequences.  Gym Candy Book Trailer

GIRL BOOK!  Not too many books are just for girls, but this is one of them.  This story is about 100 girls who get selected to attend a top-notch facility because they are the best of the best.  Obviously, if they are the best of the best, they are competitive and used to being looked upon as “idols”.  But at the new facility, all the girls are “Alphas”, so many are feeling inferior for the first time in their lives.  The series is a spinoff from the clique series, and if the clique series is as good as the first two of these books, I guess I’ll need to start reading them as well.

Alphas #1, Lisi Harrison

OK – found another one.  This was a book I could not put down.  It’s about a boy who gets placed in a box and sent to “The Glade”.  His memory is wiped clean and he has no idea what the world was like that he left behind.  Once he gets to The Glade, he realizes that all the boys that are there are in the same boat.  None of them remember anything, but they have to survive.  There are twists and turns throughout the book as the boys try to figure out how to get out of the maze.  (By the way, there’s a built in maze that runners have to go through everynight trying to find their way out).  Great book!

James Dashner THE MAZE RUNNER_ 2009 Book Video Awards Finalist

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

Oh Wow!  I am so glad I read the first book in this series before our unit on Mythology.   One of my sixth graders last year kept telling me that I would really enjoy this series, but I just never thought I would… I had too many new books to read.  Well, after I read Red Pyramid and Deuce told me this series was even better, I figured I needed to read at least the first book.  To say the least, I’m hooked!  I absolutely love Percy and can’t wait to go on the next quest with him.  The book was fast paced and an easy read.  It talked about many of the myths we’re going to be studying in a few weeks as well.  As for the friend who will deceive, I guessed it was that character as soon as he/she was introduced… I wonder if you will?  This book is a level 4.7 and it is worth 13 points.

the lightning thief book trailer

I just finished this girly-girl book.  It brought me back to sixth grade within the first two chapters.  I had completely forgotten the drama that unfolded for me once I hit middle school, but low and behold, after reading this book, it all came crashing back.  This book has helped me remember that there are a lot of things going on in a student’s sixth grade life, and I need to be aware and sensitive to those issues.  By the end of the book, you realize that even though some things seem so bad, everything happens for a reason and good things happen to good people.  I absolutely adore the main character, Kate.  I think we have a lot of Kates in this 6th grade group of girls.  This is a must read!  Level 5.2 and worth 5 points.

Being introduced to the Kane family has been a wonderful experience for me.  I’ve never really thought of myself as an ancient Egypt myth type of person, but Rick Riordan reeled me in… hook, line and sinker.  As I was looking for a book trailer, I found out that Rick Riordan was a middle school teacher for 15 years in San Franscisco Bay and in Texas.  How cool is that?  I wish he would have been my English teacher!  OK – anyway, on with the book.   Carter and Sadie are the main characters in the book.  They are brother and sister.  Carter lives with his dad and Sadie lives with her grandparents since her mom died.  Dr. Kane only gets to see his daughter once a year, and on this night, he decides to bring her and Carter together for a “research experiment”.  He states that he wants to make things “right” with the family, but in the end, he actually ends up waking up all the gods (good and bad), creating a dangerous journey for Carter and Sadie.

The Kane Chronicles, Book One_ The Red Pyramid

Level 5.8 AR points 9  This was a great “girl” read.  It’s a story about two girls who come from two completely different worlds.  They both live in Kentucky, but one lives in a home with four bathrooms and the other girl lives in a home with an outhouse.  The schools decide to participate in a 7th grade exchange program (meaning that each girl gets to visit the other) for a two-week period.  Many life lessons are learned throughout the book.  Girls, definitely a quick read that you shouldn’t pass up.

OK guys – just finished this one… it was really good.  Matt is a teenager whose life is perfect.  He’s the oldest of three, and his family is financially stable.  There’s only one problem.  He lives in a time when the government tells families how much money they can spend per month.  If the family goes over their limit, there are serious consequences to pay… like the first born.

The Limit Kristen Landon Book Trailer