Ten Books Loved by 7th Grade Readers (List 3)

This is the third of four book lists: “Ten Books Loved by 7th Grade Readers.” I asked my 7th-grade readers to tell me about a book they read this school year — a book they “loved” and worthy of recommending to other teen readers.

The book-I-most-loved-so-far-this-year lists are as diverse as the readers. Our readers love these books for a range of reasons because books offer us a range of experiences. Some want to escape. Some want to ponder the world. Some want to lean into a future self. Some want to go back to a younger, “easier” time in life. Some want to travel to another time or place. Some just want to learn. Books can do all of that.

Over the past two weeks, I have shared lists 1 and 2. (Next week, I will have the fourth and final list.) I share my seventh-grade students’ favorites along with their reviews in the hopes that we can offer you some ideas for your classroom library, Christmas gifts, or ever-growing to-read list. (But you can still text, tweet, or message me for recommendations!) Here is List 3:

1. Michael Vey Series by Richard Paul Evan: Michael Vey is about an ordinary kid, but he has one secret. He’s electric. After you know Michael’s secret, you will want to read it. And if you start reading, you can’t put the book down. This book is filled with danger, excitement, and trust. It will teach you what a true friend is supposed to do. (Recommended by Naruto.)  A teenager named Micheal Vey knows about his special powers that involve electricity and his ability to ‘surge’ or to send electricity throughout his body, but when he finds out that someone near him has a similar power everything changes. (Recommended by Kurt.) Michael Vey is a 14 year old boy who lives in Meridian Idaho when his whole world gets turned upside down. Since he was 8, he knew he had special abilities, but only this year has he really unleashed what he has been able to do. (Recommended by David.)  This story was about a guy in high school named Michael Vey, and he along with 17 others have electric power. He and his friends try to save his mom and friend Taylor from a Company called Elgin. SO if you hate reading this is the book for you. There are 7 other books in this series and they will be hard to put down. Can Michael Save his mom and Taylor or will save them? Find out in Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25. (Recommended by Ben.)
2. All We Have Left by Wendy Mills: This book is related to the 9-11 attacks. It is told from two perspectives with a 15 year difference between them. One of the characters, Alia, is trapped in the Twin Towers when the attacks were happening. The other character, Jesse, is 15 years after the attacks while her brother died in the Towers. No one knows why her brother, Travis, was there in the first place. It goes back and forth between Alia and Jesse’s experiences, putting together bits and pieces of information about Travis and the 9-11 attacks. (Recommended by Selina.) 
3. The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan: This book is about two brothers stuck in a cacao plantation, where they are forced to work at a decent quality in bad conditions, or they get beaten. Then, one day, a girl with a strong heart comes, and lifts the brothers’ spirits to run away again. This was my favorite book so far because the story flowed so well, so it was really hard to put down. Also, when I finished reading this book, I was very shocked to learn that some of the chocolate I have been eating came from places like this, so I decided to never waste chocolate again. (Recommended by Yejee.) 
4. Weregirl by C.D. Bell: Nessa, a girl on her track team, is always trying to get better at running. But one day, while running through the woods, she stops and finds a wolf in pain. She tries to free it, but is bit instead by another wolf. Now, Nessa is transforming into a half-human half-wolf creature. While transforming, she notices that her running times have gotten a lot faster. Although her running times are benefited, she still has to deal with her transformation. With the help of her friend Bree and many others, she finds out more about why she was chosen by the wolves to transform into a half-human half-wolf creature. (Recommended by Albert.)
5.  Warcross by Marie Lu: This story is perfect for everyone no matter which genre they like. For all those realistic fiction readers and for all those fantasy and action/adventure readers, this is the perfect pick. It is a mixed adventure based in the near future that will blow your mind and send you dreaming forever. So, here’s the short summary about it. First of all, you should know all the characters. The main character is Emika and she is a bounty hunter ever since her dad died and her mom moved away. She lives with her friend in a tiny house that she has to pay a huge debt for. She is always worried until one day, when she goes into Warcross, the VR game made by a English-Japanese man who made the game, she hacks it during a Warcross match happening and she becomes famous in a bad way because nobody was able to hack the game like Emika did. (Recommended by Krish.) Let me tell a little something about this book and why I am recommending it. This book called Warcross is about a girl living in New York in a near-futuristic world where a game called Warcross has taken the whole world by storm. This game is where people get points by doing regular things and dueling in VR or virtual reality. Emika is the main character who is a bounty hunter in the game and hunts down people who illegally gamble on the game. She is also a hacker and knows a lot about coding. One day the Warcross championship is live and she decides to hack into and steal a rare power up while the professional player and playing and the whole crowd sees her. The next day she gets a call from the creator of the game to offer her a job to track down a player who has been trying to destroy his game. This really captures your attention and you will never want to put the book down. The details described in it are especially amazing with good narrations and characters you feel like you know. Also, it really shows a good hint of realism because of how advanced our world is today and many people can see things like this happening in the future as well. (Recommended by Marcin.)
6. The Perfect Score by Rob Buyea: The story is basically about a group of kids whose school is about to have a Statewide Assessment Test. To make sure that the kids are ready for the tests, the school takes away many of the things that kids like to do. This includes recess, birthday parties, read aloud, and to top it all off, the PTA is probably going to ban the boys who get bad scores from trying out for the football team. These changes are so bad that even most of the teachers don’t like them. Then, one of the kids gets an idea about how to make sure that he and everyone else in his class pass the test. I recommend reading this story because it is a unique story with an interesting plot and a good ending. Have fun reading. (Recommended by Veer.)
7. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie: One day, a pretty rich dude named Roger Ackroyd is MURDERED during a calm house party. Luckily, Hurcule Poirot, a Belgian detective, is on the case! With the help of main character James Sheppard, he tries to uncover the secret murderer. This book is so good mainly because of the surprising ending. But it also features unique characters, and the writing of Mystery Queen Agatha Christie. 5/5 stars. (Recommended by Noah.)
8. Cracked by K.M. Walton: This book is about two kids one who gets bullied and the other kid who is the bully.The kid who gets bullied, Victor, belongs to a rich family, but his parents only use him to get their rank up in society, so if he gets a ninety-nine out of one hundred on a test, his parents scold him. Eventually, he gets sick of his parents when they go to Europe without him because he didn’t get a full score on the SAT test, so he takes twenty-five of his mom’s sleeping pills and gets taken to a hospital. Victor has to go to a suicide prevention group where he is forced to share his feelings. Bull is the bully who belongs to not so wealthy family. His mom says that he was an accident, and she hates him because she ruined her chance of being a yoga teacher after his birth.Bull’s grandpa is an alcoholic who physically abuses him. Bull tried to kill his grandpa when he got a hold of a gun, but his grandpa takes the gun and shoots his leg.Bull is taken to the hospital where he lies and says he tried to do suicide.Victor comes in after he does, and they both are stuck in the suicide group together with a few other kids — the bully and the bullied.I recommend this book to teenagers because suicide rates have been going up in teens. (Recommended by Zuhayr.)
9. The Body in the Woods by April Henry: The Body in the Woods is about a search and rescue team who go out to find an autistic man in the woods. The main characters, Alexis, Nick and Ruby, are around 15 years old. They ask a dog walker, a bird watcher and many other people if they had seen him, but none had. While looking, they find a young girl’s body hid in the bushes. They all get called back to look for clues until they can find the killer. Meanwhile, other girls are getting murdered. But little do they know that the killer is closer than they think… I love this book because it makes you want to keep reading and reading and reading. (Recommended by Grace.)
10. Monster by Walter Dean Myers: This book is great if you are into Realistic Fiction / Mystery. The writing in this book is dialogue, like a screenplay or script. This book is from the point of view of what the main character is seeing and experiencing. One thing you need to know is the main character is in jail and he really hates it there and wants to get out. For example the text states, ” I cant write it enough times to make it look the way I feel. I HATE, HATE, HATE this place!! ” Is he guilty? Was he in the wrong place at the wrong time? Does anyone care or want justice for him?(Recommended by Colin.)