JTM 7th/8th Grade Book Recs! | Nashville Public Library

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1) Fallout: spies, superbombs, and the ultimate Cold War showdown

Author

Sheinkin, Steve

Description

"As World War II comes to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union emerge as the two greatest world powers on extreme opposites of the political spectrum. After the United States showed its hand with the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the Soviets refuse to be left behind. With communism sweeping the globe, the two nations begin a neck-and-neck competition to build even more destructive bombs and conquer the Space Race. In their battle for dominance,...

2) Fashionopolis: the secrets behind the clothes we wear

Author

Thomas, Dana, 1964-

Description

"A look at fast fashion and its impact on the environment and social justice, based on the adult nonfiction title Fashionopolis and adapted for young readers"-- Provided by publisher.

3) Packing for Mars for kids

Author

Description

"What is it like to float weightlessly in the air? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a spacewalk? How do astronauts go to the bathroom? Is it true that they don't shower? Can farts really be deadly in space? Best-selling Mary Roach has the answers. In this whip-smart, funny, and informative young readers adaptation of her best-selling Packing for Mars, Roach guides us through the irresistibly strange, frequently gross, and awe-inspiring...

4) Beyond possible

Author

Description

"Join Nepalese climber Nimsdai Purja as he recounts his journey to scale all 8,000 meter "Death Zone" mountains in seven months. In this action-packed memoir, young readers will not only learn how Nimsdai physically accomplished this incredible feat, but also how his attitude, leadership skills, and willingness to learn from mistakes took him to the top. From his childhood growing up in Nepal, to a career as an elite soldier in the British army, Nimsdai...

5) Pirate queens: dauntless women who dared to rule the high seas

Author

Description

"A collection of fact-filled profiles, poetry, and illustrations of women pirates who made their mark on the high seas. Each profile includes an original poem presented against a backdrop of full-color art by illustrator Sara Woolley Gomez. The profile is followed by information about the real life and times of these daring women"-- Provided by publisher.

6) Alias Anna: Zhanna Arshanskaya: a biography in verse : a true story of outwitting the Nazis

Author

Hood, Susan, 1954-

Description

"An inspirational nonfiction novel-in-verse about Zhanna Arshanskaya, a young Ukrainian Jewish girl using the alias Anna, whose phenomenal piano-playing skills saved her life and the life of her sister, Frina, during the Holocaust-from award-winning author Susan Hood, with Zhanna's son, Greg Dawson"-- Provided by publisher.

7) The last cuentista

Author

Higuera, Donna Barba

Description

"A girl named Petra Pena, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children -- among them Petra and her family -- have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person...

8) The ogress and the orphans

Author

Barnhill, Kelly Regan

Description

When a child goes missing from the Orphan House in the town of Stone-in-the-Glen, the mayor suggests the kindly Ogress is responsible, but the orphans do not believe that and try to make their deluded neighbors see the real villain among them.

9) Wave

Author

Description

When her best friend's cancer returns in the summer of 1987, none of her usual pursuits--surfing, singing, or reading poetry--can keep thirteen-year-old Ava afloat.

10) Across the rainbow bridge: stories of Norse gods and humans

Author

Crossley-Holland, Kevin

Description

"Step back into a sweeping landscape of green glades and glaciers where dwarves, frost giants, and ghosts roam and where gods and goddesses work their magic for Middle Earth, sometimes crossing the great rainbow bridge to come to the aid of humans"--Amazon.

11) The benefits of being an octopus

Author

Description

Seventh-grader Zoey has her hands full as she takes care of her much younger siblings after school every day while her mom works her shift at the pizza parlor. At school, Zoey tries to stay under the radar. Her only friend Fuchsia has her own issues, and since they're in an entirely different world than the rich kids, it's best if no one notices them. Unfortunately, she's not totally invisible, and one of her teachers forces her to join the debate...

12) Nyxia

Author

Reintgen, Scott

Description

Emmett accepts an interstellar space contract but learns en route that to win the promised fortune he and nine other recruits face a brutal competition, putting their very humanity at risk.

13) How to change everything: the young human's guide to protecting the planet and each other

Author

Klein, Naomi, 1970-

Description

"An empowering, engaging young readers guide to understanding and battling climate change from the expert and bestselling author of This Changes Everything and On Fire, Naomi Klein. Warmer temperatures. Fires in the Amazon. Superstorms. These are just some of the effects of climate change that we are already experiencing. The good news is that we can all do something about it. A movement is already underway to combat not only the environmental effects...

14) Miles Morales: Shock Waves

Author

reynolds, justin a

Description

An original middle-grade graphic novel from Graphix starring Brooklyn's Spider-Man, Miles Morales, by bestselling author Justin A. Reynolds and Eisner nominee Pablo Leon!

Miles Morales is a normal kid who happens to juggle school at Brooklyn Visions Academy while swinging through the streets of Brooklyn as Spider-Man. After a disastrous earthquake strikes his mother's birthplace of Puerto Rico, Miles springs into action

...

15) Miles Morales: Spider-Man

Author

Reynolds, Jason

Description

"Brooklyn Visions Academy student Miles Morales may not always want to be a super hero, but he must come to terms with his identity--and deal with a villainous teacher--as the new Spider Man"-- Provided by publisher.

16) Even more fantastic failures: true stories of people who changed the world by falling down first

Author

Reynolds, Luke, 1980-

Description

"There is a lot of pressure in today's society for kids to succeed, but failing is a part of learning how to be a successful person. In his teaching career, Luke Reynolds saw the stress and anxiety his students suffered, whether it was over grades, fitting in, or simply getting things right the first time. Even More Fantastic Failures is a second installment in Reynolds' personal campaign to show kids it's ok to fall down or make mistakes, just so...

17) The light at the bottom of the world

Author

Description

Great Britain, the last days of the twenty-first century. Sea creatures swim among the ruins of Big Ben and the Tower of London, and citizens waver between fear and hope; fear of what lurks in the abyss, and hope that humanity will soon discover a way to reclaim the Earth. Leyla McQueen is chosen to participate in the London Submersible Marathon, she sees is an opportunity to save her father, who has been arrested on false charges. When the race takes...