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Texas Lone Star List

Description: The Texas Lone Star list is a recommended reading list developed by public and school librarians in Texas to encourage students in grades 6, 7, or 8 to explore a variety of current books for pleasure reading. #kids #teens


Showing 101 through 122 of 122 results
 

A Night Divided

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

From NYT bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen comes a stunning thriller about a girl who must escape to freedom after the Berlin Wall divides her family between east and west. With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city. But one day, while on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Then, when she receives a mysterious drawing, Gerta puts two and two together and concludes that her father wants Gerta and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2016

Moving Target

by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

In this exciting and action-packed adventure by an award-winning author, a young girl discovers her secret ancient bloodline. The fate of her family, and the world, may rest in her hands . . . Cassie Arroyo, an American studying in Rome, has her world ripped apart when someone tries to kill her father, an art history professor at an Italian university. Is she their next target? Cassie sets out to uncover what is happening, only to learn that she is a member of an ancient bloodline that enables her to use the Spear of Destiny--a legendary object that can alter the future. Now running from a secret organization intent on killing those from her bloodline, Cassie must--with the help of some friends--decipher the clues that will lead her to the Spear. Christina Diaz Gonzalez has created a fast-paced thrill-ride of a book, rich with riddles and myth, that young readers will not want to put down.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2016

Lost in the Sun

by Lisa Graff

From the author of A Tangle of Knots and Absolutely Almost, a touching story about a boy who won't let one tragic accident define him.

Everyone says that middle school is awful, but Trent knows nothing could be worse than the year he had in fifth grade, when a freak accident on Cedar Lake left one kid dead, and Trent with a brain full of terrible thoughts he can't get rid of.

Trent's pretty positive the entire disaster was his fault, so for him middle school feels like a fresh start, a chance to prove to everyone that he's not the horrible screw-up they seem to think he is.

If only Trent could make that fresh start happen.

It isn't until Trent gets caught up in the whirlwind that is Fallon Little--the girl with the mysterious scar across her face--that things begin to change.

Because fresh starts aren't always easy.

Even in baseball, when a fly ball gets lost in the sun, you have to remember to shift your position to find it.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2016

Ink and Bone

by Rachel Caine

In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.... Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly--but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden. Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family's spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library's service. When he inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life--and soon both heretics and books will burn....

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2016

I Become Shadow

by Joe Shine

This debut thriller combines a pulse-pounding thriller (like False Memory or Starters) with a new adult coming-of-age story set at Texas A&M University. When Ren Sharpe was fourteen, she was kidnapped by a shadowy organization called FATE and trained to be a human weapon. Now, four years later, she receives her assignment: protect Gareth Young at all costs. Currently a student at Texas A&M, Gareth will someday change the world. FATE calls people like Gareth "FIPs"--future important people--and they're everywhere, each with a FATE-trained shadow. But when disaster strikes, Ren will have to turn on her maker. Together with Junie, a fellow abductee and the one person she trusts, Ren takes Gareth on the run. Because whatever else happens, failure is not an option.From the Hardcover edition. itself might be behind the attacks, even certain knowledge of the future may not be enough to save their kidnappers from the killing machines they created. From the Hardcover edition.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2016

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler

by Phillip Hoose

At the outset of World War II, Denmark did not resist German occupation. Deeply ashamed of his nation's leaders, fifteen-year-old Knud Pedersen resolved with his brother and a handful of schoolmates to take action against the Nazis if the adults would not.

Naming their secret club after the fiery British leader, the young patriots in the Churchill Club committed countless acts of sabotage, infuriating the Germans, who eventually had the boys tracked down and arrested. But their efforts were not in vain: the boys' exploits and eventual imprisonment helped spark a full-blown Danish resistance.

Interweaving his own narrative with the recollections of Knud himself, here is Phillip Hoose's inspiring story of these young war heroes.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2016

The Boy in the Black Suit

by Jason Reynolds

Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can't handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who's dealt with a lot more--and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down--in this wry, gritty novel from the author of When I Was the Greatest.

Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died--although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can't handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad's snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt's snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good.

Then Matt meets Lovey. She's got a crazy name, and she's been through more crazy than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She's tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he's drawn to her, and definitely why he can't seem to shake her. Because there's nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness--and who can maybe even help take it away.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2016

The Battle of Darcy Lane

by Tara Altebrando

For twelve-year-old Julia Richards, life just seems to be full of a lot of waiting. Waiting for the cicadas to emerge, waiting with her best friend, Taylor, for the summer to get interesting, even waiting for her parents to let her move into the much cooler room down the hall. It seems like the waiting might finally be over when new girl Alyssa and her plushy pink chair arrive across the street on Darcy Lane. However, when Alyssa challenges Julia for Taylor’s friendship and her crush starts hanging out with Alyssa and Taylor without her, Julia feels as if her once predictable summer is suddenly turning into one big, unexpected showdown. And beating Alyssa at a competitive street game called Russia may be the only way to win it all. Acclaimed author Tara Altebrando’s middle-grade debut features a voice that is pure to the adolescent experience of change, discovery, acute emotion, and endless possibility.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2016

Popular

by Maya Van Wagenen

A breakout teen author explores the true meaning of popularity in a hysterically funny, touchingly honest contemporary memoir. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help a shy girl become popular? Maya Van Wagenen is about to find out. Stuck near the bottom of the social ladder at "pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren't paid to be here," Maya has never been popular. But before starting eighth grade, she decides to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. The real-life results are hilarious, painful, and filled with unexpected surprises. Told with humor and grace, Maya's journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence, along with a better understanding of what it means to be popular.

Date Added: 01/15/2019


Year: 2015

Unbreakable

by Kami Garcia

2013 BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEE FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL.I never believed in ghosts.Until one tried to kill me.When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, she doesn't realize that paranormal forces are responsible--not until mysterious identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into her room and destroy a deadly spirit sent to kill her.Kennedy learns that her mother's death was no accident, and now she has to take her place in the Legion of the Black Dove--a secret society formed to protect the world from a vengeful demon. A society left in the hands of a misfit group of teens with unique skills: Jared, combat trained, with a temper to match; Lukas, rogue hacker and code breaker; Alara, whose attitude is as powerful as her voodoo protections; and Priest, an engineer capable of making a weapon out of a soda can.As the teens use their individual talents to battle paranormal entities, they earn their rightful places in the Legion--except for Kennedy, who is left wondering if she is truly one of them.Can she stay alive long enough to find out--without losing her heart in the process?Protect Yourself.What you can't see CAN hurt you.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

Steelheart

by Brandon Sanderson

The #1 New York Times bestseller that James Dashner called "fantastic," with "relentless" suspense and an "explosive" climax from Brandon Sanderson, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Words of Radiance, coauthor of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn trilogy. And don't miss the rest of the Reckoners series: Firefight and Calamity. How far would you go for revenge if someone killed your father? If someone destroyed your city? If everything you ever loved was taken from you? David Charleston will go to any lengths to stop Steelheart. But to exact revenge in Steelheart's world, David will need the Reckoners--a shadowy group of rebels bent on maintaining justice. And it turns out that the Reckoners might just need David too. Look for book two in the Reckoners series, Firefight, available now.Praise for the Reckoners series #1 New York Times Bestselling Series "The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive." --James Dashner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series "Another win for Sanderson . . . he's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Name of the Wind "Action-packed." --EW.com "Compelling. . . . Sanderson uses plot twists that he teases enough for readers to pick up on to distract from the more dramatic reveals he has in store." --The A.V. ClubFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

Proxy

by Alex London

Syd's life is not his own. As a proxy he must to pay for someone else's crimes. When his patron Knox crashes a car and kills someone, Syd is branded and sentenced to death. The boys realize the only way to beat the system is to save each other so they flee.

The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test the boys' resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

The Nethergrim

by Matthew Jobin

The Next Great Fantasy Epic is here! For fans of Ranger's Apprentice and the Chronicles of Narnia. Everyone in Moorvale believes the legend: The brave knight Tristan and the famed wizard Vithric, in an epic battle decades ago, had defeated the evil Nethergrim and his minions. To this day, songs are sung and festivals held in the heroes' honor. Yet now something dark has crept over the village. First animals disappear, their only remains a pile of bones licked clean. Then something worse: children disappear. The whispers begin quietly yet soon turn into a shout: The Nethergrim has returned! Edmund’s brother is one of the missing, and Edmund knows he must do something to save his life. But what? Though a student of magic, he struggles to cast even the simplest spell Still, he and his friends swallow their fear and set out to battle an ancient evil whose powers none of them can imagine. They will need to come together--and work apart--in ways that will test every ounce of resolve. In a story reminiscent of the Ranger’s Apprentice epic and the Chronicles of Narnia, Matthew Jobin weaves reality, magic, and adventure into the next great fantasy phenomenon. "Perfect for imaginative middle-grade readers craving a hearty magical adventure. "--Booklist

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

In the After

by Demitria Lunetta

Attack. Not isolated. Fate of Americans: unknown. Amy is watching TV when the world is attacked by Them. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to survive--and even rescue "Baby," a toddler she finds in an abandoned supermarket. Then, after years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream, with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, shell lose Baby--and much more. Youll tear through the pulse-pounding narrow escapes and horrifying twists of fate in this thrilling debut from author Demitria Lunetta.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe

by Dan Poblocki

Has Gabriel created a monster? Something sinister lurks in the woods outside of Slade. Gabe has seen it, or he thinks he has - a shadow standing at the tree line, watching Gabe's house with faintly glowing eyes. Despite Gabe's misgivings, his new friend, Seth, relishes the creepy atmosphere of the forest. It's the perfect setting for his imaginary struggle against the Hunter, a deformed child-eating creature said to leave the bones of his victims in his wake. It's just a game, but it's all a bit much for Gabe, who quickly loses interest as summer ends and the days grow shorter. But then strange things start to happen. Frightening things. And Gabe knows it has to do with the dark figure watching him from the edge of the woods. Is Seth out to teach Gabe a lesson? Or is the Hunter more than just a myth? Gabe isn't sure which option is more horrifying, but he's determined to learn the truth before someone gets hurt . . . or worse.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

The Great Greene Heist

by Varian Johnson

Saving the school -- one con at a time. Jackson Greene swears he's given up scheming. Then school bully Keith Sinclair announces he's running for Student Council president, against Jackson's former friend Gaby de la Cruz. Gaby wants Jackson to stay out of it -- but he knows Keith has "connections" to the principal, which could win him the presidency no matter the vote count. So Jackson assembles a crack team: Hashemi Larijani, tech genius. Victor Cho, bankroll. Megan Feldman, science goddess. Charlie de la Cruz, reporter. Together they devise a plan that will take down Keith, win Gaby's respect, and make sure the election is done right. If they can pull it off, it will be remembered as the school's greatest con ever -- one worthy of the name THE GREAT GREENE HEIST.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

Forget Me

by K. A. Harrington

Two names. One face. A dangerous secret exposed. Morgan never minded her boyfriend Flynn's dark and private nature. She found it mysterious and alluring. But now he's dead, and she can't move on. She feels much like her dying town, River's End, with its overgrown amusement park and abandoned houses: once happy . . . now fading away. Hoping for some closure, Morgan uploads her only picture of Flynn to the social media site FriendShare along with a note to say good-bye. But she's shocked when the facial recognition software suggests she tag him as Evan Murphy. She's never heard of Evan. A quick search reveals that he lives in a nearby town and looks exactly like Flynn. Same eyes, nose, jawline. Only this boy is very much alive. Digging through layers of secrets, Morgan questions everything she thought she knew about her town, her boyfriend, and even her parents' involvement in this massive web of lies. Forget Me is a heart-pounding novel that draws you in and keeps you guessing until the very end.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

The Fire Wish

by Amber Lough

A jinni. A princess. And the wish that changes everything. . . . Beautifully written and accessible fantasy for fans of Tamora Pierce, Rachel Hartman, and Laini Taylor. In this romantic and evocative fantasy, Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad--which she'll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form--as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered--enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

The Crossover

by Kwame Alexander

2015 Newbery Medal Winner

2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Award Winner

"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell.

He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander.

Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.

A New York Times Bestseller

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

Buzz Kill

by Beth Fantaskey

Putting the dead in deadlineTo Bee or not to Bee? When the widely disliked Honeywell Stingers football coach is found murdered, 17-year-old Millie is determined to investigate. She is chasing a lead for the school newspaper - and looking to clear her father, the assistant coach, and prime suspect. Millie's partner is gorgeous, smart--and keeping secrets Millie joins forces with her mysterious classmate Chase who seems to want to help her even while covering up secrets of his own. She's starting to get a reputation...without any of the benefits.Drama--and bodies--pile up around Millie and she chases clues, snuggles Baxter the so-ugly-he's-adorable bassett hound, and storms out of the world's most awkward school dance/memorial mash-up. At least she gets to eat a lot of pie. Best-selling author Beth Fantaskey's funny, fast-paced blend of Clueless and Nancy Drew is a suspenseful page-turner that is the best time a reader can have with buried weapons, chicken clocks, and a boy who only watches gloomy movies...but somehow makes Millie smile. Bee-lieve it. Pair with Fantaskey's best-selling Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

The Boundless

by Kenneth Oppel and Jim Tierney

All aboard for an action-packed escapade from the internationally bestselling author of Airborne and the Silverwing trilogy. The Boundless, the greatest train ever built, is on its maiden voyage across the country, and first-class passenger Will Everett is about to embark on the adventure of his life! When Will ends up in possession of the key to a train car containing priceless treasures, he becomes the target of sinister figures from his past. In order to survive, Will must join a traveling circus, enlisting the aid of Mr. Dorian, the ringmaster and leader of the troupe, and Maren, a girl his age who is an expert escape artist. With villains fast on their heels, can Will and Maren reach Will's father and save The Boundless before someone winds up dead?

Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015

A Blind Spot for Boys

by Justina Chen

Shana has always had a blind spot for boys. Can she trust the one who's right in front of her?Sixteen-year-old Shana Wilde is officially on a Boy Moratorium. After a devastating breakup, she decides it's time to end the plague of Mr. Wrong, Wrong, and More Wrong.Enter Quattro, the undeniably cute lacrosse player who slams into Shana one morning in Seattle. Sparks don't just fly; they ignite. And so does Shana's interest. Right as she's about to rethink her ban on boys, she receives crushing news: Her dad is going blind. Quattro is quickly forgotten, and Shana and her parents vow to make the most of the time her father has left to see. So they travel to Machu Picchu, and as they begin their trek, they run into none other than Quattro himself. But even as the trip unites them, Quattro pulls away mysteriously... Love and loss, humor and heartbreak collide in this new novel from acclaimed author Justina Chen.

Date Added: 05/31/2017


Year: 2015


Showing 101 through 122 of 122 results