As much as I wish that Jack was a bookworm, he’s more of a video game… worm. However, I feel that it is important that he keeps up with some reading over the summers, so I typically “assign” reading as part of his daily chores. {His summer chore list typically includes actual chores – like emptying the dishwasher, cleaning his room, and vacuuming – and also ‘annoying mom chores’ like read for 20 minutes and create art with something.}
Before the school year ended, I reached out to his ELA teacher to see if she had any book recommendations for the summer and she said that the class was enjoying the Peak series. Well, apparently not my kid. When I asked him, he said it was “meh and boring”. Sigh. So, I asked my Instagram friends what their pre-teen/teen kids were reading and you all did not disappoint!
Here’s what I was looking for:
- Middle school reading level (8th grade)
- Likes: video games, adventures, cartoons
- Previously read: Last Kids on Earth series, Bad Guys series, Wimpy Kid series, Dogman series
In case you are looking for middle school reading level books, here is the list of books other teens are enjoying:
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau – 4 book series
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan – 8 book series (also, a couple votes for ANYTHING by Rick Riordan)
Aru Shah and the End of Time series by Roshani Chokshi – 5 book series
Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland – 16 book series
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates series by L. Pichon – 23 book series
The Treehouse Books by Andy Griffiths – 14 book series
The Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson – 7 book series
The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – 6 book series
The Maze Runner series by James Dashner – 5 book series
Hilo series by Judd Winick – 10 book series
Cat Kid Comic Club by Dav Pilkey – 5 book series
We previously read the Hilo series and the Cat Kid Comic Club series – both are graphic novels, which are a bit more approachable to ‘non-reader’ kids and we liked them both!
I narrowed down the list and gave Jack the task of looking up a few of the books on Amazon, reading the synopsis and letting me know which looked interesting to him to start with. The winner was: The Kingdom Keepers, starting with Disney After Dark.
Here’s the synopsis: Five young teens tapped as models for theme park “guides” (using a new hologram technology developed by the Disney Imagineers) find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls.
I ordered a paperback and it should arrive any moment now. Fingers-crossed that it’s a winner!
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