1984 by George Orwell* (Fantasy/Science Fiction)
suggested for grade(s) 8 9
Written in 1949 and set in a grim London of the future, Orwell's now-classic novel of Big Brother and the Thought Police is still chilling. Winston Smith, a worker at the Ministry of Truth, is gravely endangered simply because he has a memory.
A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz (Mystery/Suspense)
suggested for grade(s) 5 6 7
Maud can hardly believe her luck when two elegant ladies adopt her from a ghastly orphanage and bring her to live in an attractive house. Soon she discovers their hidden motive for adding her to the household.
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (Classic)
suggested for grade(s) 9
This is Hemingway's classic love story about a wounded soldier and his nurse during the First World War in Italy.
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (Historical Fiction)
suggested for grade(s) 8 9
Mattie has a gift for writing and has won a scholarship to Barnard, but her ambition conflicts with her loyalty to her family and her courtship with the boy next door. Mattie's African-American friend Weaver has similar ambitions and faces different challenges. Their story is interwoven with a celebrated murder case of 1906.
A Taste of Salt by Frances Temple (Realistic Fiction)
suggested for grade(s) 7 8
Set in the early 1990s, when social reformer Jean-Bertrand Aristide had just been elected president of Haiti, this is at its heart the very personal story of seventeen-year-old Djo, seriously injured by firebombing, and Jeremie, who records his lively story while, at the same time, revealing her own very different one.
A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman (Mystery/Suspense)
suggested for grade(s) 8 9
Navajo Tribal Policemen Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee solve the mystery surrounding murders at an ancient Indian burial site. Beautiful, valuable Anasazi clay pots are among the few clues.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Classic)
suggested for grade(s) 7 8
Growing to womanhood in an atmosphere of poverty and alcoholism, a young girl is buoyed by hope, optimism, and ambition. Smith provides us with a close look at early twentieth century Brooklyn and the lives of immigrants.
A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson (Poetry)
suggested for grade(s) 8 9
This memorial to the teen-age victim of a racially motivated murder is composed in the strict form of a heroic crown of sonnets. The last line of each poem becomes the first line of the next. The illustrations echo the dignified and somber tone of the poems.
Acceleration by Graham McNamee (Mystery/Suspense)
suggested for grade(s) 7 8
Duncan's summer working underground in the Toronto Transit System's Lost and Found Department turns unexpectedly suspenseful when he discovers the diary of a stalker. Duncan becomes convinced that the unidentified writer of the diary fits the profile of a serial killer and is on the verge of committing a horrible act.
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (Historical Fiction)
suggested for grade(s) 8
Left to run the family farm when his older brothers go off to fight in the Civil War, Jethro experiences, through letters and conversations, the heartache and horrors of the war. Drawing on personal family records, Hunt realistically depicts battle scenes as well as the trials of life in a war-torn border state.
