2025 Summer Reading Program: Grades 8-9

Updated March 5, 2025
South Pasadena Public Library South Pasadena Public Library
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2025 Summer Reading Program: Grades 8-9

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The crossover
Alexander, Kwame.
Paper Book
Series streaming now on Disney+, with executive producers including NBA great LeBron James! The Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning middle grade bestseller! Basketball and heartache share the court in this slam-dunk novel in verse. "With a bolt of lightning on my...
The inheritance games
Barnes, Jennifer
Paper Book
She came from nothing. Avery has a plan- keep her head down, work hard for a better future. Then an eccentric billionaire dies, leaving her almost his entire fortune. And no one, least of all Avery, knows why. They had everything. Now she must...
We are not free
Chee, Traci
Paper Book
* NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * PRINTZ HONOR BOOK * WALTER HONOR BOOK * ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE HONOR BOOK * From New York Times best-selling and acclaimed author Traci Chee comes We Are Not Free, the collective account of a tight-knit group of young...
Caraval
Garber, Stephanie
Paper Book
Welcome, welcome to CARAVAL, Stephanie Garber's enchanting, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling fantasy debut about two sisters swept up in a mysterious competition filled with magic, heartbreak, and danger Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved...
Refugee
Gratz, Alan
Paper Book
The award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novel from Alan Gratz tells the timely--and timeless--story of three different kids seeking refuge. A New York Times bestseller! JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration...
The reason I jump : one boy's voice from the silence of autism
Higashida, Naoki
Paper Book
The No. 1 Sunday Times and internationally bestselling account of life as a child with autism, now an award-winning documentary film. 'It will stretch your vision of what it is to be human' Andrew Solomon, The Times What is it like to have autism?...
Skyhunter
Lu, Marie
Paper Book
Praise for the instant New York Times bestseller Skyhunter "Riveting." --POPSUGAR "Action-packed." --BuzzFeed "Fresh." --Los Angeles Times "Exhilarating...a rollercoaster of a reading experience." --The Nerd Daily"My favorite...
Lei and the Fire Goddess
Maunakea, Malia
Paper Book
Malia Maunakea's thrilling Hawaiian debut-now in paperback! Curses aren't real. At least, that's what twelve-year-old, part-Hawaiian Anna Leilani Kamaʻehu thinks when she listens to her grandmother's folktales about sacred flowers and family guardians....
Heartstopper. Volume 1
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out. This edition features beautiful two-color artwork. Now streaming on Netflix! Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to...
Heartstopper. Volume 2
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
*Acclaimed live-action Netflix series* 'Absolutely delightful. Sweet, romantic, kind. Beautifully paced. I loved this book.' - Rainbow Rowell, author of Eleanor & Park 'The queer graphic novel we wished we had at high school.' - Gay Times ...
Heartstopper. Volume 3
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
*Acclaimed live-action Netflix series* 'Absolutely delightful. Sweet, romantic, kind. Beautifully paced. I loved this book.' - Rainbow Rowell, author of Eleanor & Park 'The queer graphic novel we wished we had at high school.' - Gay Times ...
Heartstopper, Vol. 4
Oseman, Alice.
Paper Book
*Acclaimed live-action Netflix series* *Shortlisted for Book of the Year at the British Book Awards* 'Absolutely delightful. Sweet, romantic, kind. Beautifully paced. I loved this book.' - Rainbow Rowell, author of Eleanor & Park ...
Heartstopper. Volume 5
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
*Now an acclaimed live-action Netflix series!* Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. The bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between: this is the fifth volume of the much-loved Heartstopper series, featuring gorgeous...
Orbiting Jupiter
Schmidt, Gary D.
Paper Book
In this riveting novel, two boys discover the true meaning of family and the sacrifices it requires. Two-time Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt delivers the shattering story of Joseph, a father at thirteen, who has never seen his daughter, Jupiter. After spending time in a...
I must betray you
Sepetys, Ruta
Paper Book
Trapped by an evil dictatorship, will Cristian be forced to betray his family or will he risk everything he loves to resist? A powerful, heart-breaking thriller based on real events. *Winner of the Yoto Carnegie Shadowers' Choice Medal for Writing 2023*
Salt to the sea
Sepetys, Ruta
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestseller and winner of the Carnegie Medal!  "A superlative novel . . . masterfully crafted."--The Wall Street Journal Based on "the forgotten tragedy that was six times deadlier than the Titanic."--Time...
Nimona
Stevenson, Noelle
Paper Book
Nimona is an impulsive young shape-shifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius...
This one summer
Tamaki, Mariko
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller A 2015 Caldecott Honor Book A 2015 Michael L. Printz Honor Book An Eisner Award Winner Rose is always excited for summer. It means the lake house with her parents, but most importantly, it means she gets to spend the summer with...
The hate u give
Thomas, Angie
Paper Book
8 starred reviews · Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best  ·  William C. Morris Award Winner · National Book Award Longlist · Printz Honor Book · Coretta Scott King Honor Book · #1 New York Times Bestseller! "Absolutely riveting!" --Jason Reynolds "Stunning." -...
The prince and the dressmaker
Wang, Jen
Paper Book
A fairy tale for any age, Jen Wang's The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart. Winner of the Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens Winner of the Harvey Award for Best Children or Young Adult Book Paris, at the...
The extraordinary adventures of Alfred Kropp
Yancey, Richard.
Paper Book
Includes an excerpt from "Alfred Kropp: the seal of Solomon."
Find this list online: https://librarian.syndetics.com/syndeticsunbound/lp/1918.2384/list/5133

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