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Pre-IB Recommended
Summer Reading List
The content of some of the titles may be more mature than
younger students may have previously encountered.
Please recognize that this is a voluntary reading list.
Not every book selected will suit every student. In a
democratic society, a variety of ideas must find voice. As
readers, teens have the choice to read the more mature
titles or to close the book.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Scythe is a science fiction book
set in the future where the human
population is immortal. The only way to
die is to be randomly killed or gleaned
by professional reapers known as
“scythes.” Citra and Rowan are two
teenagers who have been selected to
apprentice as scythes. They must learn
the art of killing and understand the
need. But, in a twist of fate, only one
will be chosen to become a scythe and
the winner will have to glean the loser.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
“Childhood memories are sometimes covered
and obscured beneath the things that come later,
like childhood toys forgotten at the bottom of a
crammed adult closet,” Neil Gaiman writes in his
slim, dark dream of a new novel. “But they are
never lost for good.” Who we used to be sometimes
seems like a faint shadow of who we are now, but
Gaiman helps us remember the wonder and terror
and powerlessness that owned us as children.
None of us ever really knows whether the
people we become as adults are worth the love and
protection given to us when we were too yount to
repay it in kikd. This novel manages to balance
frenetic action with wistful
self-knowledge-never missing a beat.
All We Have Left by Wendy Mills
Sixteen-year-old Jesse's brother
died on 9/11 in the Towers. She was only
two and it seems as though all of the
memories of Travis died when he did.
Surely, dying isn't the most important
thing about his life. Sixteen-year-old
Alia is Muslim and her parents just
grounded her. She is headed to her dad's
office on September 11, 2001 to discuss
the situation, even if it means she'll be
late to school. The background story is
on the news.
The real story is Jesse finally
learning what happened there and how
that impacts her life now.
The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas
One lie told by two little girls
who were almost certain that their
neighbor had to be the Ohio River
Monster. That’s all it took to convict
Wyatt Stokes. Tessa and Callie have
gone their separate ways and never
talked about the trial. Now Tessa has to
return to her hometown and another
body is found that bears the mark of the
serial killer they thought was behind
bars.
What if they were wrong? What if
the killer is still at large? What if
things aren’t always what they seem?
Don’t read this one before bed.
The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas
Graham and his best friend, Roxy, are
uber geeks. They’ve been best friends since
they were eight, bonding over Harry Potter.
They’ve joined a lot more fandoms since then,
but their true love is for The Chronicles of
Althena, The Greatest Comic Ever- the one
that inspired them to make their own comics.
They’ve never gotten to meet the creator,
because he’s a J.D. Salinger-level recluse.
But they get a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to score tickets, and it will
provide the most perfectly epic setting for
Graham to confess his true feelings to
Roxy…if he can pull it off.
If you’ve ever slaved for hours on the
perfect cosplay or cried way too much over
fictional characters, this book is for you!
Holding up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
Libby Strout lost her mother
unexpectedly when she was ten years
old. She ate her grief away, becoming
morbidly obese and a social media
spectacle. Jack Masselin is a popular
guy, with lots of cool friends, but he’s
working hard to hide a secret: he can’t
recognize any of them from day to day as
the result of a neurological condition
that causes facial blindness.
Jack and Libby’s worlds intersect
after a bullying incident, and their
resulting relationship ultimately
enriches both their lives in
surprising and wonderful ways.
My Lady Jane by Jodi Meadows
If you want to read the true story of
Lady Jane Grey, cousin to the king in 16th
century England, check a history book or
Wikipedia. But if you want to read a
hilarious, ridiculous, and delightful
story of a reluctant bride who becomes a
reluctant queen in a world where some
people may or may not have the ability to
shapeshift into animals, then give this
book a try.
My Lady Jane is a lighthearted
historical comedy, perfect for
Anglophiles who don’t take themselves too
seriously or fans of The Princess Bride or
Monty Python. Caution: contains puns,
ferrets, and alternate history.
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
The paths of four teenagers
from different homelands converge
during their escape from the
violence of WWII. Follow their
journey in this rich historical
fiction novel as it retells one of
the greatest and least known
maritime tragedies of this time
through the eyes of these diverse
characters.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
In seventeen-year-old Mare’s
world, the Reds serve at the pleasure of
the Silvers, only because of the color
of their blood. Mare faces a life of
servitude until she finds herself
working in the Silver’s Royal Palace.
Once her hidden powers are discovered,
she is passed off as a long-lost Silver
princess against her will and forced
into an engagement to a Silver prince.
As she begins to work for the covert
Silver Guard resistance, she enters a
world of secrets and the betrayal of her
heart.
The Truth about Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
Alice Franklin of Healy High
was popular enough. That’s why she
was invited to Elaine’s party.
However, rumors can change
reputations quickly in a small
town, especially if the rumors
include sleeping with two guys in
one night and causing the death of
the most popular jock in the
school. Alice’s truth is revealed as
one student after another tells
what they “know.”
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
In this suspenseful novel,
Cadence Sinclair Eastman, 17 and
heiress to a fortune, returns to the
island of her childhood summers.
She hasn’t been to the island since
she was fifteen and suffered a
brain injury in a horrific
accident. As Cadence regains
snippets of her memory, readers
will be taken on an incredible ride
full of unexpected twists. Few will
see this ending coming!
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of
hero.
But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado
- taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along,
you know?
Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I
know the song about the rainbow and the happy little
bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be
a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked
Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can
be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow
brick road - but even that's crumbling.
What happened? Dorothy.
They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say
she seized power and the power went to her head. And now
no one is safe.
My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of
the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
In her debut Dreamology, Keating
explored what happens when we fall in
love with our dreams, and then they
become reality. She remains as
inventive as ever-maybe more so!-with
this wonderfully meta follow-up in
which the perfect-lifed Anabelle
discovers she’s the new protagonist in
the next novel from author Lucy
Keating (yes, you read that right!).
In Keating’s fun and whimsical
voice, the book questions how much our
life we really want plotted out, and how
much we’d like our story to be purely
ours.