Middle School Summer Reading List for Grades 6-8

Just because summer is upon us doesn’t mean your kiddo shouldn’t continue reading during the holiday — try this middle school summer reading list!

Your kiddo will need a break from the sun and get some downtime during the long summer days.

Curl up with a great book, keep their minds sharp and create some fun family memories with this wonderful summer reading list!

A special thanks to the Association for Library Service to Children for the wonderful summer reading inspiration.

You can find these books at your local library or purchase through the affiliate links provided for your convenience.

Middle School Summer Reading List for Grades 6-8

My boys favorite books were Drama and Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life.

Summer Reading for Tweens

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

A New York Times best-selling series * A USA Today best seller * A Kids’ Indie Next List Selection * A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age * An ILA Young Adult Choice Book * An ILA Children’s Choice Winner 

Nicholas Flamel appeared in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter – but did you know he really lived? And his secrets aren’t safe!

Discover the truth in book one of the New York Times best-selling series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. 

Bad Island

Something on this island is up to no good.

When Reese is forced to go on a boating trip with his family, the last thing he expects is to be shipwrecked on an island-especially one teeming with weird plants and animals.

But what starts out as simply a bad vacation turns into a terrible one, as the castaways must find a way to escape while dodging the island’s dangerous inhabitants. 

Better Nate Than Ever

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year * A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year* A Slate Favorite Book of the Year

Tim Federle writes a warm and witty debut that’s full of broken curfews, second chances, and the adventure of growing up – because sometimes you have to get 400 miles from your backyard to finally feel at home.

Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (Newbery Honor Book)

2012 National Book Awards finalist for Young People’s Literature * 2012 Washington Post Best Kids Books of the Year

This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and genius that created the world’s most formidable weapon.

This is the story of the atomic bomb.

Counting by 7s

A New York Times Bestseller.

In the tradition of Out of My Mind, Wonder, and Mockingbird, this is an intensely moving middle grade novel about being an outsider, coping with loss, and discovering the true meaning of family.

Does My Head Look Big In This?

 Australian Book Industry Awards 2006 – Australian Book of the Year for Older Children

When sixteen-year-old Amal decides to wear the hijab full-time, her entire world changes, all because of a piece of cloth..

Dogs of War

Sheila Keenan’s captivating stories paired with Nathan Fox’s stunning art bring the heroic military actions of man’s best friend to life!

The Dolphins of Shark Bay (Scientists in the Field Series)

Beautiful photos of dolphins in their natural habitat and a funny, friendly, and fast-paced text make this another winner in the Scientists in the Field series.

Drama

Following the success of Smile, Raina Telgemeier brings us another graphic novel featuring a diverse set of characters that humorously explores friendship, crushes, and all-around drama!

Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends

At Ever After High, an enchanting boarding school, the children of fairytale legends prepare themselves to fulfill their destinies as the next generation of Snow Whites, Prince Charmings and Evil Queens… whether they want to or not.

The Great Greene Heist

Jackson Greene swears he’s given up scheming.

Then school bully Keith Sinclair announces he’s running for Student Council president, against Jackson’s former friend Gaby de la Cruz. Gaby wants Jackson to stay out of it — but he knows Keith has “connections” to the principal, which could win him the presidency no matter the vote count. 

The Grimm Legacy

Elizabeth has just started working as a page at the New York Circulating Material Repository – a lending library of objects, contemporary and historical, common and obscure.

But the magic mirrors and seven-league boots and other items are starting to disappear.

And before she knows it, she and her fellow pages are suddenly caught up in an exciting, and dangerous, magical adventure.

Legend

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

The Lions of Little Rock

Everything’s changing for twelve-year-old Marlee. Her brother’s gone off to college and her sister’s moved out of the room they’ve shared since Marlee was born.

To Marlee, it feels like her whole world’s falling apart.

The Mark of the Dragonfly

Fans of The City of Ember will love The Mark of the Dragonfly, an adventure story set in a magical world that is both exciting and dangerous.

Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life

Blockbuster author James Patterson delivers a genuinely hilarious – and surprisingly poignant – story of a wildly imaginative, one-of-kind kid that you won’t soon forget.

This middle-grade novel addresses some of middle schoolers’ biggest issues: bullies, first crushes, and finding out what makes each of us special, all with a hilarious main character and fantastic in-text illustrations that are sure to have young readers begging for more!

One Crazy Summer

Newbery Honor novel * Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction * Coretta Scott King Award * National Book Award Finalist

New York Times bestselling author Rita Williams-Garcia tells a moving and funny story of three sisters who travel to Oakland, California, in 1968 to meet the mother who abandoned them.

Road Trip

With alternating chapters from both Ben and his dog, Atticus, this fast-paced book takes listeners on an unpredictable ride that’s all about family, friendship, and surprises.

Lockwood & Co. The Screaming Staircase

Readers who enjoyed the action, suspense, and humor in Jonathan Stroud’s internationally bestselling Bartimaeus books will be delighted to find the same ingredients, combined with deliciously creepy scares, in his thrilling and chilling Lockwood and Co. series.

A Song for Bijou

Told in alternating viewpoints against the vibrant backdrop of Haitian-American culture, Alex and Bijou take their first tender steps toward love in this heartwarming story.

The Accelerati Trilogy Book One Tesla’s Attic

Fans of intrigue, action, humor, and nonstop surprises are guaranteed a read unlike any other in Tesla’s Attic, Book One of the Accelerati Trilogy.

Titanic: Voices From the Disaster

In this award-winning book, critically acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson weaves together the voices and stories of real Titanic survivors and witnesses to the disaster.

Packed with heart-stopping action, devastating drama, fascinating historical details, loads of archival photographs on almost every page, quotes from primary sources, and painstaking back matter, this gripping story, which follows the Titanic and its passengers from the ship’s celebrated launch at Belfast to her cataclysmic icy end, is sure to thrill and move readers.

The Wednesday Wars

A Newbery Honor Recipient.

Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. 

The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967–68 school year in Long Island, New York.

When You Reach Me (Yearling Newbery)

Winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Fiction * A New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book * A Junior Library Guild Selection

It would be easy to ignore the strange messages, except that whoever is leaving them has an uncanny ability to predict the future.

If that is the case, then six grader Miranda has a big problem — because the notes tell her that someone is going to die, and she might be too late to stop it.

Wonder

USA Today bestseller * Time Magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time * New York Times Book Review Notable Book * Washington Post Best Kids’ Book

In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope.

R.J. Palacio has called her debut novel “a meditation on kindness” — indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship.

Auggie is a hero to root for, who proves that you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.

Like this middle school summer reading list? Don’t miss out on other age-appropriate summer reading lists for all the kiddos – from Kindergarten all the way through 8th grade!