Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Young Creel is the daughter of a horrible farmer / poor farmer.  And when she befriends a giant dragon, she ends up working for her enemy!  In the midst of that, she has a war to stop.  When she meets the prince and there are sparks between them, she knows everything will be all right, right?
Amber G.-P., grade 7

Warp Speed by Lisa Yee

This incoming 7th grader is ready to take on an average Marley Sandelski year.  You know, the geeky 2 friends kind.  Well, with a new student, new frenemies, and his first award ever, can he really expect what he had planned?  I recommend this for 7th graders.
Amber G-P., grade 7

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

A couple of the themes in Fablehaven are courage and responsibility.  The two main characters, Kendra and Seth, meet greedy trolls, mischievious satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies.  When some evil creatures enter Kendra and Seth's house, their family gets captured. Kendra and Seth must face the greatest challenge to save their family and perhaps even the world. One of the positive elements of the book was that it was suspenseful throughout the whole book.  I would recommend this book to ages 8- to 10.
Audrey L., grade 6

Maximum Ride: the Angel Experiment by James Patterson

The theme of this book is courage.  Max had a lot of courage when she fought the Erasers.  Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge and the Gasman saved Angel from the School, which is a dangerous science lab.  Even though they saved Angel from the School, the Erasers are still after them.  One of their parents are in Washington D.C., so they are going for help.  Will they be safe?  I recommend teenagers should read this book because it is so interesting.  There are many more series!
Kevin E., grade 6

Midnight by Erin Hunter

Midnight is the first book of the second series of Warriors.  I recommend you read the first series before this but you don't have to because this is a different story.  In this book Brambleclaw gets a message from Star Clan that he has to defeat the evil with three of the cats.  He has to find his way to meet these cats and try to work together.
Pieter W., grade 6

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Everybody knows the story of Cinderella, right? Well, this book is exactly the same ... with a twist.  Cinder is a cyborg made to look human.  She is owned by a human, of whom she despises.  When the plague strikes her sister, Cinder is blamed.  She is sent to a lab to get tested, when something is found.  To me, this book has no faults.  I recommend this book to ages 10 - to 13.
Olivia Y., grade 6

Steve Jobs: the Man Who Thought Different by Karen Blumenthal

Steve Jobs is a great man with lots of ideas and never stopped until they were at perfection.  I liked this book when Steve was fired and still didn't let go of his ideas.  This book sets a good example for teens who follow their dreams and go on like Steve Jobs did.  I recommend that 6th - 8th graders read this book.  It would appeal to people who like biographies and tech.
Michael J., grade 7

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Beatrice Prior goes to Erudite's headquarters, even though it is dangerous.  This shows that even though Erudite's headquarters are dangerous, Beatrice still does what needs to be done.  This book is very creative with all these different groups of people who have different personalities.  I recommend this book to 6th grade and up, because it's too romantic for elementary kids.  It would appeal to readers who like adventures.
Michael J., grade 7

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

One of the themes for this book is power.  Many of the evil things these villains are doing is because of power and greed.  I really liked this book because of the awesome story plot!  The characters are super interesting to read about.  The relationships between the characters are rich and complex, and it's a really great adventure read! I would recommend this book to 5th graders and up.
Aanji S., grade 7

Safekeeping by Karen Hesse

This is an extraordinary book about a young girl named Ridley, who returns home from volunteering in Haiti, only to find that the entire government has changed.  She has no money, no food, a dead phone, and absolutely no means of transportation.  Ridley only has her perseverance and Route 9 to lead her home.  But she finds there may not be what she had hoped.  A positive theme is the idea that someone with so little can have so much hope.  A negative theme is some adult themes.  Recommended for fans of adventure books and appeals to ages 12 and up.
Juliana A., grade 8

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Breathe is an action-packed novel about the idea that our world will run out of oxygen and the only way to survive this apocalypse is to live under the Dome, a place where oxygen is available.  Three teens venture outside the Dome and the entire book is based on their experiences with limited oxygen.  A positive element is that these teens use teamwork and perseverance in order to survive.  A negative element is the mature content.  I recommend fans of dystopic novels like The Giver to read this.  This appeals to ages 11 and up.
Juliana A., grade 8

The Land of Stories: the Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer

After sinking their grandmother's house, Alex and Conner Bailey find themselves in the Land of Stories.  Alex and Conner team up with Froggy, Red, Jack, Goldi, and Claudius to find their mom and defeat the Enchantress.  I recommend this book to ages 10 and up.
Katherine A., grade 6

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

During the last games, Katniss and Peeta used their love for each other as a television stunt.  In an attempt to save her beloved, she gives him poison berries to share with her, but the Capitol doesn't approve and will kill everyone Katniss loves.  What will happen next! This was my favorite book in the series.  If you like Divergent, you'll like Catching Fire.
Erin Rose A., grade 6

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Matt Alacran is a clone living in Opium, which used to be known as Mexico.  He is the clone of El Patron, the leader of Opium, which thrives of drugs.  Matt is treated lower than a beast, because he is a clone, except for the few that actually love him.  Soon, Matt discovers the secrets that can bring down the Opium empire.  This is a great book that received several awards and I would recommend this to sci-fi lovers.
Haelee K., grade 6

The Candy Makers by Wendy Mass

The theme of this book is to stay true to yourself and your friends.  This is showed when Logan helps his fellow contestants.  The story line is phenomenal and it is hard to put down.  This would be good for grades 4 and up.
Stella A., grade 6

The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome

Geraldine sends Gerald a mysterious letter.  The mysterious part:  Geraldine is Gerald's dead great-aunt.  And she gave him almost all her fortune.  With the help from Sam and Ruby Valentine, he finds the secret of his family crest, learns about a casket, and -- did I mention a rose growing out of a man's buttocks?  Recommend this book to ages 10 and up.
Katherine A., grade 6

Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger

Tommy and the gang make a new case-file.  This time to stop the school board from sending Dwight to CREF.  Harvey makes and origami Darth Vader and together they try to bring them to the Dark Side.  More like tries to get the truth our of Dwight, but whatever.  Recommend this book to ages 8 and up.
Katherine A., grade 6

A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

Mia Winchell is far from normal.  She has a case called Synesthia, where sounds, letters, and numbers have color for her.  She has been keeping this secret for a long time.  It finally slips out and the whole school knows.  Mia goes to groups of people with the same case.  I would recommend A Mango-Shaped Space to third-graders and up.
Talullah C., grade 6

Joyful Noise by Paul Fleischman

This book is filled with fascinating poems to be read aloud by two voices.  It is about the interesting world of insects like grasshoppers, water striders, mayflies, and more.  There are a lot of wits and fun facts of insects' lives.  Each poem of this book is resonating with fun rhythm, alliteration, and repetition of words.  Also, it mimics the sounds of insects and creates a real joyful noise.  I recommend this book to age 8 and older.
Jung Joy L., grade 6

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

It is a very well-written book that has big waves of excitement and sorrow.  This book is about Percy Jackson trying to save humanity and Earth from being destroyed by the goddess Gaea.  This novel is recommended for kids 10+ because of some complicated vocabulary.  If you like Greek mythology and action, this book is for you.
Uday S., grade 8

Hickory Dickory Death by Agatha Christie

At a student's residence, Celia Austin is murdered, soon followed by Mrs. Hubbard and Patricia Lane.  This book shows the murderer/murderess qualities everyone possesses.  This is a MUST READ!!!!!!  Anyone will be immediately sucked into the story line until the end of the book.

Miranda C., 8th grade

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

The theme in this book is to never give up.  This is showed by Ivan always trying to make the animals in the mall life better.  The writing is superb with an excellent plot.  This book would be good for grades 3 - 7, a large reading range, and a spectacular read.

Stella A., grade 6

Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is on a mission to find Daedalious, the creator of the labyrinth.  But first they have to go in the labyrinth to find him.  They are trying to convince him to take their side in a war against the Titan lord and a group of betrayed half bloods.

Suraj, grade 6

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith

After raging storms and the deadly Delta Fever sweep over Orleans, the government decides to quarantine Orleans from the Outer States!  Fen de la Guerre is an O-positive blood type in an O-positive tribe, despite the quarantine.  In fact, many people are living in Orleans in blood type tribes.  After a mass attack on her tribe, Fen is left with her tribe leader's baby and decides the safest place for the baby is the Outer States.  Will they escape from the dangerous Orleans?  This book is very intriguing.  Teenagers would like it.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

Tommy and his classmates make a case file with adventures all about Origami Yoda and his creator Dwight. Yoda gives amazing advice to most of the sixth grade.  This book is an exciting, funny, and amazing book. One of my favorite parts of this book / case file is there are little comments by Harvey and Tommy.  I recommend this book to ages eight and up.

Katherine A., 6th grade

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller

This book is one of my favorites.  One of the themes is friendship and bands.  The six Irregulars: Kiki, Ananka, Oona, Betty, Luz, and Deedee, share a bond as friends that is not easily broken.  The girls are all incredibly different, but they form an indestructible team when joined.  I really liked this book because of the clever uses of humor and the amazing storyline.  I would recommend this book to kids 4th grade and up, preferably girls, but also boys.

Aanji S., 7th grade