Isabelle King (Y12)
Now I’m not so sure how large a middle school reading base we have. Still, I was once a middle school student and have a little brother in Y9 who refuses to read any of my recommendations, so I’m hoping that someone reading this will finally take a recommendation. Seriously recommending books to people is like trying to fish in an empty pond.
- Percy Jackson
Disney took this over as well, huh. This is why we can’t have anything nice
(Cred: Goodreads)
I will recommend nothing more than this book to younger readers. I’m sure you’ve heard of this series many times before, especially in relation to must-reads. Moreover, this has been elected many times to be a so-called modern classic. I think that’s going a little far, though…
The Percy Jackson series, for anyone who does not know, is a book that follows the order of our world, but it has the difference of taking the belief that the gods and demigods are all there, just hidden by the mist. It follows Percy, who discovers that he is a demigod, and then goes on various adventures relating to Greek mythology.
I think that this is such a formative book because it gives insight into the world of greek mythoolgy in and, in my case, sparked an interest. To this day, even though I read these books maybe 7 years ago, I still remember the names of the 12 Olympians, and a myriad of ancient Greek stories that are bound to be a flexing point whenever you go to museums or old castles. Recently, I went to some random castle in France as a part of a long road trip, and one of the rooms was Eros and Psyche inspired having the story illustrated on the walls. I was then able to point at the illustrations and recite the story to my starstruck family. I recommend it made me feel very smart.
- The Land of Stories
The subtle foreshadowing on the cover
(Cred: Goodreads)
This continues with the idea of old stories and myths, but these will definitely be more familiar to you, as it is in the land of fairy tales. This follows two ordinary twins who don’t know about the alternate world hiding in the storybooks; they are then transported and have to navigate their way through a completely new and strange reality. I think that this is just a fun and silly read that is highly immersive and gives you a good understanding of old fairytales. Overall, it was a staple read in my childhood, and I think it could be in yours too! Actually, how do we define when our childhood ends? I guess I could still be experiencing my childhood till I die if I want to frame it that way…
- The Hunger Games
Did the minimalists call?
(Cred: Goodreads)
I debated about putting this on the list simply because it is quite dark in nature, but you know what, I’ve seen what you middle schoolers get up to, plus I also read this back in Y8 (and I tore my neck muscle while reading the third book, because of all the built-up stress). I think that this is a very topical book to read because it highlights the critique of authoritarian governments that use public displays of violence as a form of pacifying the masses. This can be related to things that have happened in our history, such as concentration camps in WW2, or the mass execution by guillotine in the French Revolution. Governments or those in charge tend to use violence and, in a sense, ritualise it as a way to quell rebellion and change.
Therefore, I think that The Hunger Games deserves a strong place on this list as it is truly eye-opening in terms of revolution and why that might be necessary in certain circumstances.
- Wonder
What do you wonder? About the socio-economic state of the world?
(Cred: Goodreads)
I’m sure you’ve all also heard of this book or read it. But it truly is important to read because it bestows the reader with the perspective of someone marginalized and different from all of his classmates. I know that most of the people reading this book have felt other at one point or another in their lives. This book shows how often kids can be very cruel to someone who looks fundamentally different from them in a way that might be scary. But how it is absolutely inexcusable to alienate them for that simple reason. Because Auggie in the book is suffering from Treacher Collins syndrome, which is a rare condition where the lower face is effected specifically the jaw, cheekbones, and ears. Because of this, Auggie is estranged from his school experience, which is seen as a real tragedy in the book
- Fish in a Tree
See the visual interpretation, that deserves applause
(Cred: Goodreads)
Continuing on the idea of acceptance in all realms, ” Fish in a Tree ” details a young girl’s experience with having undiagnosed dyslexia. I read this back in Y6, and maybe it was mandatory reading in your case as well, but even so, I think it’s valuable to think about the overall message of the book, being that often disabilities are hidden and that we need to be accepting of people, no matter if we understand or know what struggles they harbour. Moreover, this book portrayed dyslexia in a positive light, where it had its own superpowers instead of being villainised or shown as something that needs to be “fixed”. I think the best quote from this book that really stuck with me was, “…being lonely is never a choice. It’s not about who is with you or not. You can feel lonely when you’re alone, but the worst kind of lonely is when you’re in a room full of people, but you’re still alone. Or you feel like you are, anyway.” If that doesn’t convince you to read this, then I don’t know what will.