ROYSTER SUMMER READING
Royster Summer Reading Program
Welcome to the Royster Summer Reading program! Each book on our summer reading list has been hand-picked by a middle school teacher. Each student in the middle school will need to read THREE books from this list over the summer. As you choose your books, please keep these guidelines in mind:
1.Students and parents should look over the list together to select books that are a good fit for the student’s interests and abilities.
2.If you will be in the 7th grade next year, you will need to choose books listed for grades 7-9. Rising 8th graders may choose books for grades 7-9 or 8-9. Rising ninth graders may choose any books on the list.
3.We ask that you select books that you have not read before.
Students will use each book within the first month of school.
Group Discussion Selection: In August, a group of students who read the same book will meet with the sponsoring faculty member for a discussion and an activity based around the book. In the fall you will be assigned to a discussion group for one of the books you've signed up to read. You may choose which of your other two books will be used for English class.
English Class Selection: When they return to school, students will use one summer reading book to complete a writing exercise in English class. The specifics of the assignment will vary depending on the student’s class. Any of the books on the list will work for this activity.
How Do I Submit My Book Choices?
Current Bulldogs
All book selections will be submitted through Canvas. You will receive instructions from Mr. Robertson about book submissions.
New Bulldogs: You will get a link from Mrs. Hopkins.
How do I get copies of my books?
You can order all books through the Norfolk Academy Book Store. You are also welcome to acquire the book from the library or bookstore of your choice.
I have a question about Summer Reading that is not answered here. What should I do?
Contact the Middle School Office at 757.452.6829 and we will help you find an answer!
1919 was a world-shaking year. America was recovering from World War I and black soldiers returned to racism so violent that that summer would become known as the Red Summer. The suffrage movement had a long-fought win when women gained the right to vote. Laborers took to the streets to protest working conditions; nationalistic fervor led to a communism scare; and temperance gained such traction that prohibition went into effect. Each of these movements reached a tipping point that year.
THEAGATHAS
Last summer, Alice Ogilvie’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. She's not talking, so where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve’s girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex–best friend. And it doesn’t look like Brooke will be coming back. . .
THE ALCHEMIST
The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.
The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.
ALL WE WERE PROMISED
Philadelphia, 1837. After Charlotte escaped from the crumbling White Oaks plantation down South, she’d expected freedom to feel different from her former life as an enslaved housemaid. After all, Philadelphia is supposed to be the birthplace of American liberty. Instead, she’s locked away playing servant to her white-passing father, as they both attempt to hide their identities from slavecatchers who would destroy their new lives.
BLACKBIRD GIRLS
*Note-visiting author next year. 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?
THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE
Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister, Lizzie, share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they’re living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find themselves amid one of the greatest secrets of World War II Britain’s eccentric codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins Bletchley’s top minds to crack the Nazi's Enigma cipher, fourteen-year-old Lizzie embarks on a mission to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother.
THE CLOCKWORK UNIVERSE
At a time when the world was falling apart in an age of religious wars, plague, and the Great Fire of London a group of men looked around them and saw a world of perfect order. Chaotic as it looked, these earliest scientists declared, the universe was in fact an intricate and perfectly regulated clockwork. This was the tail-end of Shakespeare’s century, and these were brilliant, ambitious, confused, conflicted men. They believed in angels and alchemy and the devil, and they believed that the universe followed precise, mathematical laws. This is the story of the bewildered geniuses who made the modern world.
CODEOF HONOR
Kamran Smith has it all. He's the star of the football team, dates the most popular girl in school, and can't wait to join the Army like his big brother, Darius. Although Kamran's family hails from Iran, Kamran has always felt 100% American. Accepted. And then everything implodes.Darius is accused of being a terrorist. Kamran refuses to believe it, but the evidence is there -- Darius has been filmed making threats against his country, hinting at an upcoming deadly attack. Kamran's friends turn on him -suddenly, in their eyes, he's a terrorist, too.Kamran knows it's up to him to clear his brother's name. In a race against time, Kamran must piece together a series of clues and codes that will lead him to Darius -- and the truth.But is it a truth Kamran is ready to face? And is he putting his own life at risk?
Whatever her name is, it won’t last long. Katrina doesn’t know any of the details about her past, but she does know that she and her parents are part of the Witness Protection Program. Whenever her parents say they have to move on and start over, she takes on a new identity. A new name, a new hair color, a new story. Until their location leaks and her parents disappear. Forced to embark on a dangerous rescue mission, Katrina and her new friend Parker set out to save her parents and find out the truth about her secret past and the people that want her family dead.
CORALINE
When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous. But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.
Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.
DEEPBLUE
When a deadly attack shatters her undersea kingdom, young mermaid princess Serafina must flee for her life. Guided by a haunting prophecy, she joins five other mermaids from distant realms on a quest to stop an ancient evil from rising again. This is where the sisterhood begins and where the fate of the oceans will be decided.
DRAGONHOOPS
Gene understands stories comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins.
But Gene doesn’t get sports. As a kid, his friends called him “Stick” and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it's all anyone can talk about. The men’s varsity team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that’s been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championships..
Many of us insist the main impediment to a full, successful life is the outside world In fact, the most common enemy lies within: our ego. Early in our careers, it impedes learning and the cultivation of talent. With success, it can blind us to our faults and sow future problems. In failure, it magnifies each blow and makes recovery more difficult. At every stage, ego holds us back.
Ego Is the Enemy draws on a vast array of stories and examples, from literature to philosophy to history. We meet fascinating figures such as George Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Katharine Graham, Bill Belichick, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who all reached the highest levels of power and success by conquering their own egos. Their strategies and tactics can be ours as well.
THEFELLOWSHIPOF THERING
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task in this classic tale of good vs evil, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care.
GHOST BOYS
Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better.
Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that's been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.
Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father's actions.
THEGIRLINTHE BLUECOAT
Amsterdam, 1943. Hanneke spends her days procuring and delivering black market goods to paying customers, her nights hiding the true nature of her work from her concerned parents, and every waking moment mourning her boyfriend, who was killed on the Dutch front lines when the Germans invaded. She likes to think of her illegal work as a small act of rebellion. On a routine delivery, a client asks Hanneke for help. Expecting to hear that Mrs. Janssen wants meat or kerosene, Hanneke is shocked by the older woman's frantic plea to find a person a Jewish teenager Mrs. Janssen had been hiding, who has vanished without a trace from a secret room.
THE GOD OF THE WOODS
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
HARD HAT
From the moment Jon Gordon heard about George Boiardi and the Hard Hat he was intrigued and captivated. Over the years he visited George’s coaches, attended several “21
Dinners” held in his honor, met his family, talked to his teammates and observed how he inspired all who knew him
The Hard Hat is an unforgettable true story about a selfless, loyal, joyful, hard-working, competitive, and compassionate leader and teammate, the impact he had on his team and program and the lessons we can learn from him.
HATCHET
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, haunted by his secret knowledge of his mother’s infidelity, is traveling by single-engine plane to visit his father for the first time since the divorce. When the plane crashes, killing the pilot, the sole survivor is Brian He is alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present.
THE KINGDOM OF BACK
Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish--to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she'll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age--her tyrannical father has made that much clear.
And as Nannerl's hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true--but his help may cost her everything.
KINGDOM COME
In the near-future world of Kingdom Come, superheroes are found everywhere, but heroism is rare. After decades as Earth's champions, the members of the Justice League have all retreated out of the public eye, replaced with a new generation of crime-fighters whose brand of justice leaves humanity terrified, rather than inspired. But with the planet's future in jeopardy, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman must come out of retirement to make one last stand for truth and justice...
KISSES FROM KATIE
At the height of her senior year class president, homecoming queen, and college-bound Katie Davis felt called to something radically different. During a Christmas mission trip to Uganda, her heart was transformed by the poverty and spiritual hunger she witnessed. What began as a short-term visit became a lifelong commitment.
THELASTONE
It begins with a reality TV show. Twelve contestants are sent into the woods to face challenges that will test the limits of their endurance. While they are out there, something terrible happens but how widespread is the destruction, and has it occurred naturally or is it man-made? Cut off from society, the contestants know nothing of it When one of them a young woman the show’s producers call Zoo stumbles across the devastation, she can imagine only that it is part of the game.
OMARRISING
When Omar gets a scholarship to the prestigious Ghalib Academy, it’s a game changer It will give him, the son of a servant, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a better future and his whole village is cheering him on. Omar can’t wait to dive into his classes, play soccer, and sign up for astronomy club but those hopes are dashed when he learns first-year scholarship students can’t join clubs or teams; instead, they must earn their keep by doing chores. Even worse, it turns out the school deliberately “weeds out” scholarship kids by requiring them to get grades that are nearly impossible. Omar is devastated to find such odds stacked against him, but the injustice of it all motivates him to try to do something else that seems impossible: change a rigged system.
OUTOFTHE DUST
A terrible accident has transformed Billie Jo's life, scarring her inside and out. Her mother is gone. Her father can't talk about it. And the one thing that might make her feel better -- playing the piano -- is impossible with her wounded hands.
To make matters worse, dust storms are devastating the family farm and all the farms nearby. While others flee from the dust bowl, Billie Jo is left to find peace in the bleak landscape of Oklahoma -- and in the surprising landscape of her own heart.
OUTLIERS
In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers" the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.
PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG
*Note-visiting author next year. Gretchen Müller grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her uncle Dolf who has kept her family cherished and protected from that side of society ever since her father sacrificed his life for Dolf's years ago. Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command.
When she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen, who claims that her father was actually murdered by an unknown comrade, Gretchen doesn't know what to believe. She soon discovers that beyond her sheltered view lies a world full of shadowy secrets and disturbing violence.
PROJECTHAIL MARY
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
REBELLION1776
In the spring of 1776, thirteen-year-old Elsbeth Culpepper wakes to the sound of cannons. It’s the Siege of Boston, the Patriots’ massive drive to push the Loyalists out that turns the city into a chaotic war zone. Elsbeth’s father her only living relative has gone missing, leaving her alone and adrift in a broken town while desperately seeking employment to avoid the orphanage. Just when things couldn’t feel worse, the smallpox epidemic sweeps across Boston. Now, Bostonians must fight for their lives against an invisible enemy in addition to the visible one. While a treatment is being frantically fine-tuned, thousands of people rush in from the countryside begging for inoculation.
RESTART
Chase's memory just went out the window. Chase doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't remember hitting his head. He doesn't, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name.
He knows he's Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return. Some kids treat him like a hero. Some kids are clearly afraid of him.
One girl in particular is so angry with him that she pours her frozen yogurt on his head the first chance she gets.
Pretty soon, it's not only a question of who Chase is--it's a question of who he was . . . and who he's going to be.
STAYDEAD
In the aftermath of a car accident that claimed the life of her senator father, sixteen-year-old Milan finds herself adrift, expelled from her third boarding school. Milan’s mother, who has assumed the senate seat, diverts her private plane to pick up her daughter. But on their way home, a bomb rips off a wing and the plane crashes in the mountains. In her final moments, Milan’s mother entrusts her with a key. She reveals it will unlock the evidence that so many people have already died for including Milan’s father. The only way Milan can survive, her mom tells her, is to let everyone believe she died with the other passengers.
THEOOF GOLDEN
One spring morning, a stranger named Theo arrives in the small Southern city of Golden. He doesn't explain much about where he came from or why he's there but when he visits the local coffeehouse, where pencil portraits of the people of Golden hang on the walls, he begins purchasing them, one at a time, and giving each portrait to the person depicted. In exchange, he asks only for the person's story. And so portrait by portrait, person by person, secrets are revealed, regrets are shared, and ordinary lives are profoundly altered.
THREE WILD DOGS (AND THE TRUTH)
What happens when the Zusak family opens their home to three big, wild, street-hardened dogs
Reuben, more wolf than hound; Archer, blond, beautiful, destructive; and the rancorously smiling Frosty, who walks like a rolling thunderstorm?
The answer can only be chaos: There are street fights, park fights, public shamings, property damages, injuries, hospital visits, wellness checks, pure comedy, shocking tragedy, and carnage that must be read to be believed.
There is a reckoning of shortcomings and failure, a strengthening of will, but most important of all, an explosion of love and the joy and recognition of family.
THE UNWANTEDS
Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds who go to university, hardy Necessaries who take on menial tasks, and the artistic Unwanteds who are sent to their deaths
In a nearly unprecedented verdict, thirteen-yearold twins Alex and Aaron are separated. Alex can barely keep it together as he’s led away from his Wanted brother to his own Unwanted fate. But when Alex reaches the death farm, he discovers it’s really a mirage hiding a stunning secret: the land of Artimé.
THE VIRTUES OF WAR
I have always been a soldier. I have known no other life.
So begins Alexander’s extraordinary confession on the eve of his greatest crisis of leadership By turns heroic and calculating, compassionate and utterly merciless, Alexander recounts with a warrior’s unflinching eye for detail the blood, the terror, and the tactics of his greatest battlefield victories. Whether surviving his father’s brutal assassination, presiding over a massacre, or weeping at the death of a beloved comrade-inarms, Alexander never denies the hard realities of the code by which he lives: the virtues of war.
WAR STORIES
There are two things Trevor loves more than anything else: playing war-based video games, and his great-grandfather Jacob, who is a trueblue, bona fide war hero. At the height of the war, Jacob helped liberate a small French village, and was given a hero's welcome upon his return to America Now it's decades later, and Jacob wants to retrace the steps he took during the war - from training to invasion to the village he is said to have saved. Trevor thinks this is the coolest idea ever. But as they get to the village, Trevor discovers there's more to the story than what he's heard his whole life, causing him to wonder about his greatgrandfather's heroism, the truth about the battle he fought, and importance of genuine valor.
