Summaries - 7th Grade

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

By Mark Twain (Historical Fiction - Adventure)

The adventures and pranks of a mischievous boy growing up in a 19th-century Mississippi River town as he plays hooky on an island, witnesses a crime, hunts for pirate's treasure, and becomes lost in a cave.

 

 


 

Ashes of Roses

By Mary Jane Auch (Historical Fiction)

Sixteen-year-old Margaret Rose Nolan, newly arrived from Ireland, finds work at New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory shortly before the 1911 fire in which 146 employees died.

 

 

 

 

The Breadwinner

By Deborah Ellis (Realistic Fiction)

Because the Taliban rulers of Kabul, Afghanistan, impose strict limitations on women's freedom and behavior, eleven-year-old Parvana must disguise herself as a boy so that her family can survive after her father's arrest.

 

 



 

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

By Jordan Sonnenblick (Realistic Fiction)

* Starred Reviewed Book

When his younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family.

 

 


 

 

Elsewhere

By Gabrielle Zevin (Fantasy)

* Starred Reviewed Book

After fifteen-year-old Liz Hall is hit by a taxi and killed, she finds herself in a place that is both like and unlike Earth, where she must adjust to her new status and figure out how to "live."

 

 


 

Esperanza Rising

By Pam Munoz Ryan (Realistic Fiction)

Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.










Fever: 1793

By Laurie Halse Anderson (Historical Fiction)

In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.

 

 

 




Freak the Mighty

By Rodman Philbrick (Realistic Fiction)

* Starred Reviewed Book

At the beginning of eighth grade, learning disabled Max and his new friend Freak, whose birth defect has affected his body but not his brilliant mind, find that when they combine forces they make a powerful team.

 

 

 




Gregor the Overlander

By Suzanne Collins (Fantasy)

* Starred Reviewed Book

When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.

 







How Angel Peterson Got His Name

By Gary Paulsen (Realistic Fiction - Humor)

* Starred Reviewed Book

Author Gary Paulsen relates tales from his youth in a small town in northwestern Minnesota in the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as skiing behind a souped-up car and imitating daredevil Evel Knievel.

 

 

 




The Mozart Season

By Virginia Euwer Wolff (Realistic Fiction)

* Starred Reviewed Book

Allegra Leah Shapiro spends her twelfth summer practicing a Mozart concerto of a violin competition and finding many significant connections in her world.

 

 

 




Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin

By Liesl Shurtliff  (Fantasy/Fairy Tale)

* Starred Reviewed Book

Relates the tale of Rumpelstiltskin's childhood and youth, explaining why his name is so important, how he is able to spin straw into gold, and why a first-born child is his reward for helping the miller's daughter-turned-queen.

 







Uglies

By Scott Westerfeld (Science Fiction/Dystopian)

* Starred Reviewed Book

Just before their sixteenth birthdays, when they will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to have a great time, Tally's best friend runs away and Tally must find her and turn her in, or never become pretty at all.

 

 

 



The Underdogs

By Mike Lupica (Realistic Fiction - Sports)

Seventh-grader Will Tyler has been itching to redeem himself for the fumble that cost his team a championship win last year. But when his struggling hometown can't come up with the money to finance youth-league football, it seems as though Will won't get that chance -- at least not without a little help. Will writes a letter to the chairman of a major sneaker company, asking for (and getting) corporate sponsorship...but with so many families leaving town to find jobs, will there even be enough kids to play?



Ungifted

By Gordon Korman (Realistic Fiction - Humor)

When one of Donovan's thoughtless pranks accidentally destroys the school gym during the Big Game, he knows he's in for it. But through a strange chain of events, his name gets put on the list for the local school for gifted students. Donovan knows he's not a genius, but he can't miss this chance to escape. Now, he has to figure out a way to stay at ASD and fit in with the kids there.

 

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