The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
A Flavia de Luce Mystery
by Alan Bradley

"I would recommend this book for a school library collection, as well as for summer reading. The intelligence and independence of the story's protagonist will certainly keep readers interested, and the unravelling mystery will keep them engaged." —Jameelah R. Wright, Wahlstrom Academy, East Orange, NJ

READING LEVEL: 7th Grade

World War Z
An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks

"This infectious and compelling book will have nervous readers watching the streets for zombies. Recommended." —Library Journal

READING LEVEL: 6th Grade

Sum
Forty Tales from the Afterlives
by David Eagleman

"Sum is an imaginative and provocative book that gives new perspectives on how to view ourselves and our place in the world." —Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams

READING LEVEL: 8th Grade

The Wild Things
by Dave Eggers

"Eggers, in this funny and touching novelization of Maurice Sendak's picture book, is brilliant at portraying the exuberance and chaos of a young boy's mind and heart." —San Francisco Chronicle

READING LEVEL: 5th Grade

Nightlight
by The Harvard Lampoon

"Bloody funny. . . . A pitch-perfect spoof [of Twilight]. . . . This comedic takedown . . . captures the hysteria of teenage longing and first love with just the appropriate amount of satire and quick wit." —The Observer's Very Short List

READING LEVEL: 6th Grade

Genghis
Birth of an Empire
by Conn Iggulden

" . . . [B]rilliantly imagined and addictive historical fiction. . . . Building on the fragment of Genghis's life, Iggulden weaves a spellbinding story of an exotic and 'unforgiving land' and the enigmatic young man . . . who sets out to tame it."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

READING LEVEL: 6th Grade

Lark and Termite
by Jayne Anne Phillips

"Lark and Termite is extraordinary and it is luminous. This is not simply classic Jayne Anne Phillips. This is something far more extraordinary. It is an astounding feat of the imagination. It is the best novel I've read this year." —Junot Díaz

READING LEVEL: 6th Grade

The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Didn't Have To
by DC Pierson

"In a smart, funny and endlessly imaginative debut, the voluminously talented DC Pierson shows keen insight into the rocky emotional terrain of adolescence and the nuances of geek culture." —Nathan Rabin, Head Writer, The A.V. Club

READING LEVEL: 7th Grade

On the Beach
by Nevil Shute

"The most haunting evocation we have of a world dying of radiation after an atomic war." —The New York Times

READING LEVEL: 6th Grade

Sweeping Up Glass
by Carolyn Wall

"This extraordinary debut novel . . . is filled with arresting images, bitter humor, and characters wtih palpable physical presence. The fresh voice of that clear-eyed narrator reminded me of Scout in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. I literally could not put it down." —The Boston Globe

READING LEVEL: 5th Grade

A Saint on Death Row
How a Forgotten Child Became a Man and Changed a World
by Thomas Cahill

"Though this is a book that ends in death, it does not end in despair. Read it and discover how even the obscenity of capital punishment can be transformed into an occasion of light and peace." —Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa

READING LEVEL: 10th Grade

The Complete Game
Reflections on Baseball and the Art of Pitching
by Ron Darling

"Incisive, in-depth. . . . The antithesis of the sordid baseball tell-all. . . . Darling's pitch-by-pitch descriptions . . . illustrate the complexity of baseball. . . . Fascinating." —Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

READING LEVEL: 6th Grade

Funny in Farsi
A Memoir of Growing up Iranian in America
by Firoozeh Dumas

"Often hilarious, always interesting . . . Like the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this book describes with humor the intersection and overlapping of two cultures." —The Providence Journal

READING LEVEL: 8th Grade

The Lost City of Z
A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
by David Grann

"Brilliant. . . . Impressively researched and skillfully crafted. . . . Grann makes abundantly clear in this fascinating, epic story of exploration and obsession, [that] the lethal attraction of the Amazon mystery remains strong." —The Boston Globe

READING LEVEL: 11th Grade

Look Me in the Eye
My Life with Asperger's
by John Elder Robison

"A wild rollercoaster ride through John Robison's life—from troubled teenage prankster to successful employment in electronics, music, and classic cars. . . . Should be on the reading list of anyone who is interested in the human mind."
—Temple Grandin

READING LEVEL: 6th Grade

Outcasts United
An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference
by Warren St. John

A "richly detailed, uplifting account of a young Jordanian immigrant who created a soccer program in Georgia for young refugees from war-torn nations . . . educational and uplifting."
—Kirkus Reviews

READING LEVEL: 8th Grade

Satchel
The Life and Times of an American Legend
by Larry Tye

"Satchel is a wonderful book. Larry Tye . . . does not just baseball fans but all of America a great service by showing us the real Leroy Paige and why he deserves his legendary status on and off the mound." —David Maraniss, author of Clemente and When Pride Still Mattered

READING LEVEL: 8th Grade

Traffic
Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us
by Tom Vanderbilt

"A surprising, enlightening look at the psychology of human beings behind the steering wheels. . . . Jammed with delicious you've-got-to-be-kidding moments. . . . My solution to the nation's vehicular woes would be to make this good book required reading for anyone applying for a driver's license." —Mary Roach, The New York Times Book Review

READING LEVEL: 9th Grade

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel
by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
adapted by Tony Lee
illustrated by Cliff Richards

"Jane Austen isn't for everyone. Neither are zombies. But combine the two and the only question is, Why didn't anyone think of this before? The judicious addition of flesh-eating undead to this otherwise faithful reworking is just what Austen's gem needed." —Wired

READING LEVEL: 10th Grade

Bayou
by Jeremy Love

"A visceral, spooky tale that unsettles more than a conventional novel about the injustices of living under Jim Crow." —School Library Journal

READING LEVEL: 10th Grade