SUMMER READING Students entering 8 th grade

13-yr-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he's never thought it was any big deal, until new friend, Chip, who's also adopted, begin receiving mysterious letters. Jonah, Chip, and Jonah’s sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery that involves the FBI, a vast smuggling operation, an airplane that appeared out of nowhere -- and people who seem to appear and disappear at will. The first one says, “You are one of the missing.” The second one says, “Beware! They’re coming back to get you.” The kids discover they are caught in a battle between two opposing forces. Do Jonah and Chip have any choice in the matter?

Hildy Biddle dreams of being a reporter for her high school newspaper and she's just waiting for a chance to prove herself. Something's rotten in the heart of apple country. Hildy is drawn to the town’s big story - a death and other spooky happenings near the abandoned Ludlow House. She is determined to find the true story behind who is really haunting Banesville and her reporting isn’t making her very popular.

Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacrán Estate is no guarantee of freedom…. Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium--a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster--except for El Patrón. As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patrón's power-hungry family, and a dangerous army of bodyguards. National Book Award Newbery Award Michael Printz Award

Ben, a young college student looking to make some money, offers to act as a guide for a rich executive who has been given the opportunity to hunt bighorn sheep. Things go wrong when the rich guy, Madec, claims to see horns over a ridge and takes a shot. When they find out what Madec really shot the two get into an argument that has Madec forcing Ben to try and survive in the desert with no clothing, no food and no water. “An exciting novel of suspense, based on a fight to the finish between an honest and courageous young man and a cynical business tycoon who believes that anything can be had for a price.” -Horn Book “An exciting novel of suspense, based on a fight to the finish between an honest and courageous young man and a cynical business tycoon who believes that anything can be had for a price.” -Horn Book In the desert without clothes, food or water and hunted by a madman with a.358 Magnum. Deathwatch is a novel that will leave the reader on the edge of their seat until the final chapter.

13-yr-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his 5-yr-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece. “What do you call a planet where bad guys stroll through life with success draped around their shoulders like a King’s cloak, while random horrors are visited upon the innocent heads of children? I call it Earth.”

Douglas Healy, a former juvenile delinquent himself, takes them into his halfway house, hoping to make a difference in their lives. Gecko, Terence, and Ajay are serving time in juvenile detention centers until they get a second chance. Afraid of being sent back to Juvie, the guys hatch a crazy scheme to continue on as if the group leader never left. But if the boys are found out, their second chance will be their last. One night there is a scuffle, and Healy is accidentally knocked unconscious. When he awakes in the hospital, he has no memory of them or of the halfway house.

Caitlin has Asperger's. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died, and Caitlin's dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful. Caitlin wants everything to go back to the way things were, but she doesn't know how to do that. Then she comes across the word closure- and she realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all.

Ouch! #June1to4 #bringsomecheddar