Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst

Eve is being chased by a serial killer.  To make matters worse, she has no idea why he’s chasing her and can’t even remember her past.  Her dreams at night are filled with circus images and an old woman who tells stories.  Could this be a clue to her past?  Eve must navigate between the real and the imagined to find her way to safety.

 

Content Notes:

This book would be rated PG if made into a movie.

Teacher Notes:

This book is appropriate for all middle school students. 
Book Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5b4nQKM-YE

 

Variant By Robison Wells

Looking for a fresh start, Benson Fisher is excited to be starting at the private school, Maxfield Academy.  This changes the moment Benson steps foot inside the school and realizes there are no adults and the students are locked inside school grounds surrounded by razor wire.  What is going on?  As Benson understands the truth about the school, he becomes even more desperate to escape.  But do the other students want him to succeed?

Content Notes:

When students get in trouble they are sent to “Detention” and never return.  There is also some violence between students.  For this reason, the book would be rated PG-13 if made into a movie.

Teacher Notes:

This book is appropriate for all middle school students. 

Wanted! by Caroline B. Cooney

When 15 year old Alice’s dad calls and tells her to grab a file and drive his shiny red corvette to meet him, Alice hesitates.  She’s only 15 and not legally able to drive.  Could he be serious?  After thinking it over she decides he sounded like he meant business.  But after the harrowing drive to meet him, Daddy never shows.  And the broadcast on the radio is saying her dad is dead…and Alice sent an email confession saying she killed him.  What is going on?  With the police, her mother, and all her friends out to find her, Alice begins the desperate search to uncover the truth and discover why her father was killed and how to clear her name.

Content Notes:

If made into a movie this book would be rated PG. 

 

Teacher Notes:

As with most Caroline B. Cooney books, this book is suitable for middle school kids and up.  An interesting component to this book is how the author writes the thoughts of the main character, Alice, and her internal conflicts as the story continues.  Students may want to take notice of this as it helps the reader to understand how the main character contributes to the plot of the story.

The Pearl Wars: Skyship Academy by Nick James

Set in the future, this action packed novel written by Nick James explores the possibilites of a world struggling to survive.  Following several wars, the earth has been divided into three factions, a ruthless surface government, the Skyship dwellers, and the Fringers.  The groups spend their time competing for Pearls, giant mysterious orbs fallling from space that are used as electricity.  When Jesse Fisher, a Skyship dweller, and Cassius Stevenson, a Surface operator, compete over an orb strange things begin to happen and they quickly discover that not everything in their world is exactly how it appears.

Content Notes:
There is some slight language and fighting in this text which would earn it a PG rating. 

Teacher Notes:
This book has a lexile level of 640.  Struggling readers may want to create Somebody Wanted But So summary statements for each chapter or create a summary picture book as they read to comprehend the text.

Similar Books:
I honestly haven't read anything exactly like this book!  Another mystery/dystopian book I would suggest is Ashes Ashes by Jo Treggiari.  Other space books would be the Star Wars series of books.