Iowa City Community School District
Summer Reading Program
K-6 Recommendations
7-12 Recommendations
| Genre & Author | Title | Curricular Connection: | Grade Recommendation | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narrative Nonfiction | ||||
| Fuller, Thomas | The Boys of Riverside: a Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory | Journalism; PE; ELA; Hero's Journey | 9+ | COLLEGE & CAREER FOCUS: sports journalism, education, coaching |
| Hirsch, Rebecca E. | A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants: Wicked Weeds and Sinister Seeds | Biology | 8+ | COLLEGE & CAREER FOCUS: environmental science, botany, criminal detection |
| Fleming, Candace | The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II | American Studies; World Studies | 7+ | COLLEGE & CAREER FOCUS: military intelligence, math, coding, computer science, history, journalism |
| Green, John | Everything is Tuberculosis | Biology; AP US History; World History | 10+ | COLLEGE & CAREER FOCUS: medicine, public health, infectious disease, history, global aid |
| Coates, Ta'Nehisi | The Message | AP Lang & Comp; AP US History; Advanced Journalism | 11+ | COLLEGE & CAREER FOCUS: journalism, writing, history |
| Dyson, Michael Eric & Marc Favreau | Represent : the Unfinished Fight for the Vote | American Studies | 8+ | COLLEGE & CAREER FOCUS: law, politics, history, education |
| Cooper, Candy J. | Shackled : a Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away | American Studies | 9+ | COLLEGE & CAREER FOCUS: law, criminal justice, juvenile justice |
| Historical Fiction | ||||
| Jahren, Hope | Adventures of Mary Jane | American Studies; ELA | 7+ | Huckleberry Finn |
| Sepetys, Ruta & Sheinkin, Steve | The Bletchley Riddle | History of WWII; ELA | 7+ | WWII, spies, military intelligence, siblings |
| Ribay, Randy | Everything We Never Had | American Studies; ELA | 9+ | immigration, Filipino heritage, family history, |
| Everett, Percival | James | US Lit; AP Lit | 10+ | Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Huckleberry Finn |
| Gidwitz, Adam | Max in the House of Spies | American Studies; World History; ELA | 7+ | WWII, spies, Kindertransport, Holocaust, espionage, Jewish people, fantasy, magic |
| Headen, Sandra W. | Warrior on the Mound | American Studies; ELA | 7+ | sports, baseball, civil rights, race relations, Little League |
| Hoffman, Alice | When We Flew Away : a Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary | American Studies; World History; ELA | 7+ | WWII, Jewish people, Holocaust |
| Rhodes, Jewell Parker | Will's Race for Home | American Studies; ELA | 7+ | Westward Expansion, fathers & sons, land rush, racism, African Americans |
| Nicholls, Sally | Yours From the Tower | ELA choice read | 9+ | Bridgerton fans, Edwardian England, romance |
| Realistic Fiction | ||||
| Van Wagenen, Maya | Chronically Dolores | ELA | 7+ | people with disabilities, |
| Galarza, Josh | The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky | Health; Guidance | 9+ | eating disorder in boys, alcoholism, friendship, loss, |
| Ancrum, K. | Icarus | ELA choice read | 8+ | art, forgery, revenge, thieves, families |
| Schu, John | Louder Than Hunger | Health; Guidance | 7+ | anorexia, eating disorder in boys, |
| Williams, Alicia | Mid-Air | PE | 7+ | grief, loss, identity |
| Harrell, Rob | Popcorn | Health; Guidance | 7+ | anxiety, OCD, humor, resilience |
| Choldenko, Gennifer | The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman | Guidance; ELA; Hero's Journey | 7+ | siblings, family problems, poverty, secrets, resilience, courage |
| Khan, Hena | We Are Big Time | PE; Social Studies | 7+ | sports, basketball, teamwork, hijab, Muslim girls, family, friendship, graphic novel |
| Nelson, Jandy | When the World Tips Over | ELA choice read | 9+ | families, siblings, disappeared persons, magical realism, LGBTQ+ |
| Relationships / Romance | ||||
| Meadows, Jodi | Bye Forever, I Guess | ELA choice read | 7+ | personal growth, gaming, changing friendships, crushes |
| Becker, Erin | Crushing It | ELA choice read | 7+ | sports; soccer, LGBTQ+ |
| Liang, Ann | I Hope This Doesn't Find You | ELA choice read | 9+ | email, crushes, Australia, friendship |
| Kelly, Erin Entrada & Kwame Mbalia | On Again, Awkward Again | ELA choice read | 9+ | rom-com, love at first sight, awkward mistakes, Filipino Americans, African Americans |
| Lord, Emma | The Rival | ELA choice read | 9+ | college & university, student newspapers |
| Selznick, Brian | Run Away With Me | ELA choice read | 9+ | Rome, LGBTQ+ |
| Reynolds, Jason | Twenty Four Seconds from Now | Health; ELA choice read | 9+ | sex, consent, families, friendships, male perspective |
| Thriller / Suspense / Horror | ||||
| White, Andrew Joseph | Compound Fracture | ELA choice read | 10+ | revenge, murder, ghost, families, trans people, power & corruption |
| Johnson, Maureen | Death at Morning House | ELA choice read | 9+ | accidents, fire, crime, secrets, LGBTQ+ |
| Ostertag, Molly Knox | The Deep Dark | ELA choice read | 9+ | Printz Honor Award, graphic novel, secrets, monsters, friendships, families, personal growth |
| Perrin, Kristen | How to Solve Your Own Murder | ELA choice read | 10+ | fortune telling, inheritance, fate, murder |
| Warga, Jasmine | A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall | ELA choice read | 7+ | art thefts, museums, ghosts & supernatural |
| Tran, Trang Than | They Bloom at Night | ELA choice read | 9+ | monsters, missing persons, fantasy |
| Soto, Julie | The Thrashers | ELA choice read | 8+ | mystery, paranormal thriller |
| Treuer, Anton | Where Wolves Don't Die | US History; ELA choice read | 8+ | bullies, family, criminial investigation, Indigenous communities, Indians of North America |
| Fantasy / Magic | ||||
| Lucier, Makiia | Dragonfruit | ELA choice read | 8+ | magic, dragons, kings & rulers, adventure |
| Rundell, Katherine | Impossible Creatures | ELA choice read | 7+ | mythical animals, magic, quests, adventure, first in a series |
| Taylor, Emily | The Otherwhere Post | ELA choice read | 9+ | magic, letters, cryptomancy, mystery & detective stories |
| Valenti, Karla Arenas | Lola | ELA choice read | 7+ | magical realism, Mexico, siblings, death, grief, trauma, love |
| Tahir, Sabaa | Heir | ELA choice read | 9+ | magic, murder, warring nations, teen heroes |
| Chee, Traci | Kindling | ELA choice read | 9+ | imaginary wars, elite warriors, heroes, magic |
| Williams, LaDarrion | Blood at the Root | ELA choice read; Hero's Journey | 9+ | missing mother, special powers, foster brother, trauma, hero's journey, conjurer |
| Gregson, Marc J. | Sky's End | ELA choice read; Hero's Journey | 9+ | competition, social classes, siblings, rescue |
| Science / Speculative Fiction | ||||
| Baptiste, Tracey | Boy 2.0 | ELA choice read | 7+ | invisibility, super heroes, foster children, African Americans, adventure |
| Reid, Ava | Fable for the End of the World | Science / ELA choice read | 9+ | climate change, capitalism, survival, class warfare, mutation, romance, LGBTQ+ |
| Kelly, Erin Entrada | First State of Being | ELA choice read | 7+ |
Newbery Medal, National Book Award finalist, time travel, Y2K, friendship, Filipino Americans, single-parent families |
| Ali, S.K. | Fledgling | ELA choice read | 9+ | pacts, wars, alliance, arranged marriage, tyranny, dytopian |
| Wibowo, Jes & Cin | Lunar Boy | ELA choice read | 7+ | coming of age, extraterrestrial beings, home, self-discovery, LGBTQ+ |
| Memoir | ||||
| Nehanda, Walela | Bless the Blood: a Cancer Memoir | AP Language & Comp; ELA; Hero's Journey; | 10+ | cancer, leukemia, people with disabilities, family history, medical oppression, LGBTQ+, healing and recovery |
| Mari, Christine | Halfway There | ELA choice read | 8+ | Japanese Americans, two worlds, identity, cartoonists |
| Shante, Angela | The Unboxing of a Black Girl | AP Language & Comp; ELA; | 10+ | childhood, African American girls, autobiographical poetry |
| Ogle, Rex | Pizza Face | Health; Guidance | 7+ | puberty, bullying, family, adolescence, graphic memoir, humor |
