Title: The Blackbird Girls
Author: Anne Blankman Genres: Historical Fiction Grade Level Interest: 6-8 Summary: On a spring morning, neighbors Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko wake up to an angry red sky. A reactor at the nuclear power plant where their fathers work--Chernobyl--has exploded. Before they know it, the two girls, who've always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina's estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. In their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life. Valentina must keep her grandmother's secret, one that could put all their lives in danger. And both of them discover something they've wished for: a best friend. But how far would you go to save your best friend's life? Would you risk your own? |
Title: Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation
Author: Stuart Gibbs Genres: Adventure Fiction Grade Level Interest: 6-8 Summary: Decades ago, Albert Einstein devised an equation that could benefit all life on earth--or destroy it. Fearing what would happen if the equation fell into the wrong hands, he hid it. But now, a diabolical group known as the Furies are closing in on its location. In desperation, a team of CIA agents drags Charlie Thorne into the hunt, needing her brilliance to find it first--even though this means placing her life in grave danger. In a fast-paced global adventure, Charlie must crack a complex code created by Einstein himself, struggle to survive in a world where no one can be trusted, and fight to keep the last equation safe once and for all. |
Title: Genesis Begins Again
Author: Alicia Williams Genre: Fiction Grade Level Interest: 6-8 Summary: Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is. There are ninety-six things Genesis hates about herself. She knows the exact number because she keeps a list. Like #95: Because her skin is so dark, people call her charcoal and eggplant--even her own family. But things aren't all bad. Genesis actually likes her new school; she's made a couple of friends, her choir teacher says she has real talent, and she even encourages Genesis to join the talent show. But how can Genesis believe anything her teacher says when her dad tells her the exact opposite? When Genesis reaches #100 on the list of things she hates about herself, will she continue on, or can she find the strength to begin again? |
Title: The Inheritance Games
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes Genre: Fiction/Mystery Grade Level Interest: 6-8 Summary: When Connecticut teenager Avery Grambs inherits vast wealth and an eccentric estate from the richest man in Texas, she must also live with his surviving family and solve a series of puzzles to discover how she earned her inheritance. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive. |
Title: Maybe He Just Likes You
Author: Victoria Schwab Genre: Novel, Young adult fiction Grade Level Interest: 6-8 Summary: When boys in her class start touching seventh-grader Mila and making her feel uncomfortable, she does not want to tell her friends or mother until she reaches her breaking point. It doesn't feel like flirting--so what is it? Thanks to a chance meeting, Mila begins to find solace in a new place: karate class. Slowly, with the help of a fellow classmate, Mila learns how to stand her ground and how to respect others--and herself. |
Title: Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe
Author: Josh Allen; Sarah Coleman Genre: Short stories, Fiction Grade Level Interest: 6-8 Summary: A collection of thirteen short stories that reveals frightening secrets lurking in everyday objects. A stray kitten turns into a threatening follower. The street sign down the block starts taunting you. Even your own shadow is out to get you! Spooky things love hiding in plain sight. |
Title: Skyhunter
Author: Marie Lu Genre: Science Fiction Grade Level Interest: 6-8 Summary: Talin is a Striker, a member of an elite fighting force that stands as the last defense for Mara, the only free nation in the world. When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the warfront to Mara's capital, Talin senses there is more to him than meets the eye. In this immersive world that is broken by war, danger waits around every corner and loyalty is life. |
Title: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
Author: Kwame Mbalia Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Science Fiction, Adventure fiction, Paranormal fiction Grade Level Interest: 6-8 Summary: Seventh-grader Tristan Strong tumbles into the MidPass and, with allies from African American folklore like John Henry and Brer Rabbit, must entice the West African trickster god Anansi to come out of hiding and seal the hole Tristan accidentally ripped in the sky. |
Title: When Stars Are Scattered
Author: Victoria Jamieson Genre: Graphic novel, Autobiographical comics, Non-fiction comics Grade Level Interest: 6-8 Summary: Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar knows his nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future . . . but it would also mean leaving his brother, the only family member he has left, every day. Heartbreak, hope, and gentle humor exist together in this graphic novel about a childhood spent waiting, and a young man who is able to create a sense of family and home in the most difficult of settings. |
Title: Wink: Surviving Middle School with One Eye Open
Author: Rob Harrell Genre: YA, Fiction, Middle Grade Grade Level Interest: 6-8 Summary: Ross Maloy just wants to be a normal seventh grader. He doesn't want to lose his hair, or wear a weird hat, or deal with the disappearing friends who don't know what to say to "the cancer kid." But with his recent diagnosis of a rare eye cancer, blending in is off the table. Based on Rob Harrell's real life experience, and packed with comic panels and spot art, this incredibly personal and poignant novel is an unforgettable, heartbreaking, hilarious, and uplifting story of survival and finding the music, magic, and laughter in life's weirdness. |
About KBA Books:
Each year, a KBA committee for each grade band chooses ten books that will be featured on each Master List (Preschool, K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12) through a year-long process that requires many volunteer hours. These committees include school librarians, public librarians, academic librarians and classroom teachers from across the state and represent both public and private schools. Master List committees are chaired by KASL members who report to the KBA Coordinator and the KASL Board.
Many schools suggest that students should read at least 2 suggested books from a Master List to be eligible to vote in the annual KBA awards. The specific voting process is determined at the individual school/library level. Schools, libraries, parents and community organizations participating in and promoting the KBA program should select books from these lists for inclusion in collections and programming that they feel are appropriate for the needs and interests of their patrons or students. The Kentucky Bluegrass Award is designed to encourage students to read widely from well-reviewed literature that reflects a variety of experiences and points of view.
Each year, a KBA committee for each grade band chooses ten books that will be featured on each Master List (Preschool, K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12) through a year-long process that requires many volunteer hours. These committees include school librarians, public librarians, academic librarians and classroom teachers from across the state and represent both public and private schools. Master List committees are chaired by KASL members who report to the KBA Coordinator and the KASL Board.
Many schools suggest that students should read at least 2 suggested books from a Master List to be eligible to vote in the annual KBA awards. The specific voting process is determined at the individual school/library level. Schools, libraries, parents and community organizations participating in and promoting the KBA program should select books from these lists for inclusion in collections and programming that they feel are appropriate for the needs and interests of their patrons or students. The Kentucky Bluegrass Award is designed to encourage students to read widely from well-reviewed literature that reflects a variety of experiences and points of view.