Seventh Grade Book List

Girl Stuff by Lisi Harrison – J F HAR

As BFFs Fonda, Drew, and Ruthie enter Poplar Middle School as seventh graders, they wonder what their new life has in store. They have every intention of keeping their friendship intact, but seventh grade has other plans for them. Harrison brings her trademark humor and heart to this friendship story.
Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson – J F WOO

ZJ’s friends Ollie, Darry, and Daniel help him cope when his father, a beloved professional football player, suffers severe headaches and memory loss that spell the end of his career.
Curse of the Night Witch by Alex Aster – J F AST

After changing the fate he has known since birth, twelve-year-old Tor Luna, accompanied by his friends Engle and Melda, must visit the notorious Night Witch to break the curse he now faces.
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk – J F WOL

When twelve-year-old Ellie and her family lose livelihood and move to a mountain cabin in 1934, she quickly learns to be an outdoorswoman and, when needed, a healer.
Fly On the Wall by Remy Lai – J F LAI

Henry Khoo’s family treats him like a baby, so he does the only natural thing in response. He buys a ticket and hops a plane to Shanghai.
Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! by Sarah Kapit – J F KAP

Eleven-year-old knuckleball pitcher Vivy Cohen, who has autism, becomes pen pals with her favorite Major League baseball player after writing a letter to him as an assignment for her social skills class.
The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf – J F ALK

Retells a Malaysian folk tale in which a lonely girl, Suraya, inherits from her grandmother a pelesit, a ghostly demon, who proves to be a good companion, bringing both danger and hope.
Second Dad Summer by Benjamin Klas – J F KLA

Jeremiah just wants a normal summer with his dad, but it’s clear that isn’t happening. His dad just moved to an apartment near downtown Minneapolis to live with his new boyfriend, Michael. Michael serves weird organic foods and is constantly nagging Jeremiah to watch out for potholes and stay hydrated. Worst of all, Michael rides the Uni-cycle. Okay, it’s a bicycle decorated to look like a unicorn! It’s going to be a long summer!
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells – J F GRE

To the amazement and disbelief of his colleagues and other experts, a young scientist has perfected a machine that lets him live one of humanity’s oldest dreams–to live in times other than his own.
Call of the Wild by Jack London – TWEEN F LON

Follows the adventures of an unusual dog, part St. Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, that is forcibly taken to the Klondike goldfields, where he eventually becomes the leader of a wolf pack.
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Andres Vera Martinez – GRAPHIC J MAR

The world is changing for two girls in China in the 1970s. Da Qin—Big Piano—and her younger sister, Xiao Qin—Little Piano—live in Wuhan with their parents. For decades, China’s government had kept the country separated from the rest of the world. When their country’s leader, Chairman Mao, died in 1976, new opportunities began to emerge.
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier – GRAPHIC J TEL

Catrina and her family have moved to the coast of Northern California for the sake of her little sister, Maya, who has cystic fibrosis–and Cat is even less happy about the move when she is told that ghosts inhabit her new town. Maya sets her heart on meeting one.
Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse – GRAPHIC J ESC

Effie moves to Brooklyn to live with her strange aunt and soon discovers that she might be a witch.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman – GRAPHIC J GAI

When Coraline steps through a door in her family’s new house, she finds a strangely similar place to her own (only better). At first, things seem marvelous. But there’s another mother and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.
Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen – YA B WAG

Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here, Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular?
The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories Of The Americas by Maria Garcia Esperon – J 398.2 SEA

Originally published in Mexico, this beautifully illustrated collection gathers stories from Argentina to Alaska, retelling indigenous and Native cultures.
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, And The Fight For Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin – YA 940.5453 SHE

Presents an account of the 1944 civil rights protest involving hundreds of African-American Navy servicemen who were unjustly charged with mutiny for refusing to work in unsafe conditions after the deadly Port Chicago explosion.
Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift’s “Chocolate Pilot” by Michael O. Tunnell – J B HAL

This book describes the efforts of U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen to aid the children in Russian-blockaded West Berlin by dropping packages filled with candy from the air.