This World We Live In

by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Lexile: 670
Genre: Science Fiction

If you've read Life As We Knew It, then this is a must read as the story of Miranda Evans continues as her family struggles to survive in a world that has completely changed. Things intensify when Miranda's father, stepmother, baby and 3 strangers arrive and are in need of food and shelter. How will there be enough for everyone? Will life ever return to "normal"?

Soldier's Heart

by Gary Paulsen
Lexile: 1000
Genre: Historical Fiction

It's June of 1861, and Charley Goddard is living in Minnesota. He's heard about the "shooting war" going on in the south and he's eager to get in on some of the excitement. Everybody said the war would be over by fall, so Charley felt he had no time to waste. He enlisted at Fort Snelling, went through training and before he knows it, finds himself on the battlefield. What he sees, feels, and hears there will change who he is forever.

Slob

by Ellen Potter
Lexile: 740
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Summary: Twelve year old Owen Birnbaum is the fattest kid in school. He also happens to be a genius who is intent on inventing a new tv that will help him answer some mysteries of the past. As he and his sister work to uncover the secret of what happened the day their parents die, he learns some pretty important lessons about himself.

Speak

by Laurie Halse Anderson
Lexile: 680
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Summary: "It is the first morning of high school. I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomachache." So begins Melinda's entrance to high school. Her best friend has abandoned her and the entire school views her as an outcast. Melinda made a phone call to the police that ended a big summer party. And now no one will speak to her. However, she's not speaking either. Something terrible happened that night that she is trying desperately to forget. Maybe, for her, silence is the best thing right now.

Wintergirls

by Laurie Halse Andreson
Lexile: 730
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Summary: Cassie and Lia were best friends. But now Cassie's body has been found. Alone. In a motel room. Lia checks her phone and learns that Cassie tried to call her 37 times the night she died. Cassie thinks that if she continues to starve herself this problem as well as many others will go away. Everything would be perfect if she could just be a little bit thinner.

In a Heartbeat

by Loretta Ellsworth
Lexile: 580
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Eagan and Amelia...two separate lives that converge together in a way that neither of them would have planned. Eagan is a champion figure skater who dies in a skating accident just after she turned 16 and checked the organ donor box on her driver's license application. Amelia is 14 and is in desperate need of a donor heart if she is to survive. One day she gets the call and hurries to the hospital to get her transplant. Waking up after the surgery brings with it the realization that she is non longer the girl she used to be. What will life with someone else's heart be like?

After Ever After

by Jordan Sonnenblick
Lexile: 820
Genre: Realistic Fiction

If you wondered what happened after you read the final page of Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, then this book is for you! The story continues as cancer survivor Jeff hits the 8th grade. He still worries about a relapse and struggles with the issues the chemo left behind, but he's also struggling with regular 8th grade problems too. And to make matters worse, his brother is in the midst of an early mid-life crisis and has fled to Africa in escape. And then there's this new girl Lindsey...and his best friend Tad seems to be keeping something from him... and not to mention now the mandatory statewide test he needs to pass in order to get to high school..is 8th grade really supposed to be this hard? Really?