Pick of the Decade 1995-2005:
7th Grade

Best Fiction

Quarles, Heather. A Door Near Here , 1998.

Four siblings struggle to maintain a semi normal home life when their single mother's alcoholism becomes debilitating.

Rees, Celia. Witch Child , 2001.

In 1659, fourteen-year-old Mary Newbury keeps a journal of her voyage from England to the New World and her experiences living as a witch in a community of Puritans near Salem , Massachusetts .

Rees, Douglas. Vampire High , 2003.

When his family moves from California to New Sodom, Massachusetts and Cody enters Vlad Dracul Magnet School , many things seem strange, from the dark-haired, pale-skinned, supernaturally strong students to Charon, the wolf who guides him around campus on the first day.

Reeve, Phillip. Mortal Engines , 2003.

In the distant future, when cities move about and consume smaller towns, a fifteen-year-old apprentice is pushed out of London by the man he most admires and must seek answers in the perilous Out-Country, aided by one girl and the memory of another. (Sequel: Predator's Gold .)

Rennison, Louise. Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging . 2000.

Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie. (Sequels: On the Bright Side ; I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God ; Knocked Out by My Nunga Nungas ; Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants ; Away Laughing on a Fast Camel ; and Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers .)

Ritter, John H. Choosing up Sides , 1998.

In 1921 thirteen-year-old Luke finds himself torn between accepting his left-handedness or conforming to the belief of his preacher-father that such a condition is evil and must be overcome.

Schmidt, Gary D. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy , 2004.

In 1911, Turner Buckminster hates his new home of Phippsburg , Maine , but things improve when he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from a poor, nearby island community founded by former slaves that the town fathers--and Turner's--want to change into a tourist spot.

Sedgwick, Marcus. Dark Horse , 2003.

Having risen to power as chief of his people, the Storn, sixteen-year-old Sigurd leads them as they try to resist the bloodthirsty invaders known as the Dark Horse and makes a shocking discovery about his foster sister Mouse.

Shusterman, Neal. Downsiders , 2001.

When fourteen-year-old Lindsay meets Talon, who lives in the secret Downsider community that evolved in the subterranean passages of the subway built in New York in 1867, she and her new friend try to bridge the differences between their two cultures.

Shusterman, Neal. The Schwa Was Here , 2004.

A Brooklyn eighth-grader nicknamed Antsy befriends the Schwa, an "invisible-ish" boy who is tired of blending into his surroundings and going unnoticed by nearly everyone. Anthony, also known as "Antsy," is fascinated by "The Schwa Effect"-the fact that no one ever sees Calvin Schwa. Even when acting weird and dressed like a total freak, The Schwa is only barely noticed. The two boys form a partnership and get away with all kinds of mischief, from conducting experiments at school to confounding opponents on the basketball court. When The Schwa senses that even Antsy is beginning to lose sight of him, he vows to do something that will make him so visible, no one will ever forget him.

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Rain Is Not My Indian Name , 2001.

Tired of staying in seclusion since the death of her best friend, a fourteen-year-old Native American girl takes on a photographic assignment with her local newspaper to cover events at the Native American summer youth camp.

Spinelli, Jerry. Crash , 1996.

Seventh-grader John "Crash" Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family.

Staples, Suzanne. Dangerous Skies , 1996.

Hypocrisy and prejudice twist events in such a way as to implicate two children, one from a prominent white family and the other an African-American family, in a murder.

Staples, Suzanne. Shiva's Fire , 2000.

In India , a talented dancer sacrifices friends and family for her art.

Stroud, Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand : The Bartimaeus Trilogy , 2003.

Nathaniel, a magician's apprentice, summons up the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful magician Simon Lovelace. (Sequel: The Golem's Eye .)

Tashijan, Janet. The Gospel According to Larry , 2001.

Seventeen-year-old Josh, a loner-philosopher who wants to make a difference in the world, tries to maintain his secret identity as the author of a web site that is receiving national attention. (Sequel: Vote for Larry .)

Taylor, Mildred. The Land , 2001.

After the Civil War Paul, the son of a white father and a black mother, finds himself caught between the two worlds of colored folks and white folks as he pursues his dream of owning land of his own. (Prequel to: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry .)

Tingle, Rebecca. The Edge on the Sword , 2001.

In ninth-century Britain , fifteen-year-old Aethelflaed, daughter of King Alfred of West Saxony , finds she must assume new responsibilities much sooner than expected when she is betrothed to Ethelred of Mercia in order to strengthen a strategic alliance against the Danes.

Torrey, Michele. To the Edge of the World , 2003.

In 1519, after the death of his parents, fourteen-year-old Mateo Macias becomes cabin boy to Ferdinand Magellan on a dangerous journey in search of a route to the fabled Spice Islands .

Trueman, Terry. Stuck in Neutral , 2000.

Fourteen-year-old Shawn McDaniel, who suffers from severe cerebral palsy and cannot function, relates his perceptions of his life, his family, and his condition, especially as he believes his father is planning to kill him.

Turner, Megan Wheeler. The Thief , 1996.

Gen flaunts his ingenuity as a thief and relishes the adventure which takes him to a remote temple of the gods where he will attempt to steal a precious stone. (Sequel: The Queen of Attolia .)

Updale, Eleanor. Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman? 2004.

In Victorian London, after his life is saved by a young physician, a thief utilizes the knowledge he gains in prison and from the scientific lectures he attends as the physician's case study exhibit to create a new, highly successful, double life for himself. (Sequel: Montmorency and the Rocks: Doctor, Aristocrat, Murderer? )

Voigt, Cynthia. Bad Girls , 1996.

After meeting on the first day in Mrs. Chemsky's fifth-grade class, Margalo and Mikey help each other in and out of trouble, as they try to maintain a friendship while each asserts her independence. (Sequels: Bad, Badder, Baddest ; It's Not Easy Being Bad and Bad Girls in Love .)

Watkins, Yoko. My Brother, My Sister and I , 1996.

Living as refugees in Japan in 1947 while trying to locate their missing father, thirteen-year-old Yoko and her older brother and sister must endure a bad fire, injury, and false charges of arson, theft, and murder.

Westerfeld, Scot. Midnighters: The Secret Hour , 2004.

When 15 year-old Jessica Day moves from Chicago to Bixby , OK , she begins to have strange dreams. The dreams take a dark turn and Jessica discovers that she has the magical ability of all of those born at the stroke of midnight: she can function in a mysterious twenty-fifth hour. But the midnight hour holds not only teen friends who share her abilities, but dangerous slithers who have increased since her arrival. Together the companions must solve the mystery of Jessica or midnight might never be safe for them again. (Sequel: Touching Darkness .)

Williams, Carol Lynch. My Angelica , 1999.

Fifteen-year-old Sage is enthusiastic about submitting her historical romance novel to the school creative writing contest, but her would-be boyfriend George thinks that it is awful and tries to stop her.

Williams-Garcia, Rita. Like Sisters on the Homefront , 1995.

Troubled fourteen-year-old Gayle is sent down South to live with her uncle and aunt, where her life begins to change as she experiences the healing power of the family.

Woodson, Jacqueline. Hush , 2002.

Twelve-year-old Toswiah finds her life changed when her family enters the witness protection program. (See also: From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun .)

Zusak, Markus. Fighting Ruben Wolf , 2001.

Partly because of their family's poor finances and partly to prove themselves, brothers Ruben and Cameron take jobs as fighters and find themselves reacting very differently in the boxing ring.