BOUNDLESS by Kenneth Oppel

2015 LoneStar Book

William Everett was a young boy, whose dad was a worker on the railroad tracks. They started out very poor, but Everett worked hard and made a top position for the new train, The Boundless. On its maiden voyage, William Everett is riding across country in first class. Little does he know, he is about to dive into a huge adventure.

The circus people are also on board the train, and William befriends the tight rope walker. Treasure is hidden in the caboose, and people are willing to murder to get to the treasure. William must save his father by joining the traveling circus and disguising himself. Can William save his father?

This is an exciting book and hard to put down. It has so much to offer: trains, circus, murder, sasquatch. There is something for everyone.

You can find this book on the LoneStar display in the Lyles Middle School library, as well as download the book from the eBook collection.

Oppel, Kenneth. 2014. THE BOUNDLESS. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781442472884.

BUZZ KILL by Beth Fantasy

Fantaskey, Beth. 2014. BUZZ KILL. New York:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780547393100.

A 2015 Texas Lone Star Book

Millie Ostermeyer plans to coast through her senior year of high school. Plans change when she stumbles upon the dead body of a hated football coach, Hollering Hank Killdare. Millie is determined to investigate, no matter the dangers. The mysterious loner, but extremely handsome, football quarterback, Chase, becomes her partner, and together they set out to learn the truth. Millie finds herself defending her dad, who is the prime suspect in the murder. While investigating, she uncovers secrets about Coach Killdare, as well as secrets about her dad, her librarian, and Chase.  

This book is hard to put down, filled with humor and mystery. You will find yourself solving the crime along with Millie, who strives to be like Nancy Drew. Bee-lieve me!! 

This book is available for check-out and download through Lyles Middle School eBook collection.

WEDNESDAY WARS by Gary Schmidt

Available as an eBook through the Lyles Middle School eBook Collection

Jacket Art by Jonathan Gray 2007

The year is 1967, and Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader at Camillo Junior High in a New York
suburb.  Holling has to spend every Wednesday with Mrs. Baker, while others have religious classes.  Holling is absolutely sure that Mrs. Baker hates him because she is making him read the plays of Shakespeare.  But, there are much bigger things to worry about, such as the Vietnam War and the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy.  His father is insistent that Holling and his sister be on their best behavior, as the success of his father's architecture business depends on it.  Gary D. Schmidt tells a fabulous tale of Holling's troubles of growing up as a pre-teen in the 60s, with bullies, his sister turning into a flower child, and tights for a costume!




Schmidt, Gary D. The Wednesday Wars. New York: Clarion Books, 2007.  ISBN  9780618724833

Awards for The Wednesday Wars

2008 Newberry Honor Book

2008 ALA Notable Childrens Books

2008 ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Reviews for The Wednesday Wars

"Schmidt has a way of getting to the emotional heart of every scene without overstatement, allowing the reader and Holling to understand the great truths swirling around them on their own terms…another virtuoso turn…”
 — Kirkus

[A] quietly powerful coming-of-age novel. . . . [Schmidt] offers a gentle, hopeful, moving story of a boy who, with the right help, learns to stretch beyond the limitations of his family, his violent times, and his fear, and leap into his future with his eyes and his heart wide open.”
 — Booklist

LIAR & SPY by Rebecca Stead

Jacket Art 2012 Yan  Nascimbene

Stead, Rebecca. Liar & Spy. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2012. ISBN 9780385737432


The award winning author Rebecca Stead writes a story about a seventh grader, Georges (the s is silent), who is not popular at school.  He is a little of a geek, but very likable.  His family is forced to move out of their house into a Brooklyn apartment after his father is laid off from his job.  Georges meets a boy named Safer, who has appointed himself the building spy.  He recruits Georges to spy on Mr. X, who leaves the buildings with a large suitcase often and always wears black.  Safer gets more and more serious about spying, and Georges has to decide how far he will go to help out his new friend.

I loved this book and the characters.  You wonder through the entire book, who is the spy and who is the liar.  There are many surprises through the book, you find out things aren't really as they seem to be.  The message is subtle, but a very good message for all ages. Georges learns that sometimes people lie because they are afraid.  There is also quite a bit of humor throughout the book and puns.  Some might be harder for students to understand, but this would be a good classroom lesson.

This book is available through the Lyles eBook collection!

THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander

2015 Newbery Medal Winner

2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Award

Alexander, Kwame. 2014. THE CROSSOVER. Harcourt Brace and Company. ISBN 9780544289598.

If you love basketball, you will love this book.  

If you don't like basketball, you will love this book. 

This is an amazing story, written in verse, about Josh Bell. Josh is a 13 year old, star basketball player. His twin brother is also a star basketball player, and his dad is a former Olympian basketball player and the middle school principal.  Josh's voice is heard through the book, as he is angry, excited, cocky, confused, vulnerable, and mostly real. This is a must-read for any middle school student.

Download it today from the Lyles Middle School eBook collection!

THIS STAR WON'T GO OUT by Esther Earl

Earl, Esther and Lori and Wayne Esther. 2014. THIS STAR WON'T GO OUT. New York: Dutton Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780525426363.

Available through your Lyles Middle School eBook Library.

If you liked THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, by John Green, then you must read THIS STAR WON'T GO OUT. It is a collection of diary entries and sketches by Esther Grace Earl.  John Green's award winning, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, is based on Esther Earl's life. Through letters, blog posts, diary entries, poems, and sketches, readers get to see inside Esther's life, and get to know the woman that John Green dedicated his book to. This book is inspiring for any young adult. 

Download it today from the eBook library.

TESTING by Joelle Charbonneau

Charbonneau, Joelle. 2013. THE TESTING.
New York: Houghton Mifflin ISBN 9780547959108

Available through the eBook collection!

This dystopian novel takes place after the Seven Stages War, which has left the planet useless and charred. The planet must be rebuilt by the next generation, but to be a part of the rebuilding you must pass The Testing in order to get a chance at a college education.

Cia wants nothing more than to be chosen as a Testing candidate. She is chosen, and looks forward to being a part of the future of her planet. Just before her departure, her father warns her that she can trust no one.

Can Cia trust her childhood friend Tomas? Will she survive the difficult, and sometimes deadly Testing? Will Cia have to choose between her life and her love?


Joelle Charbonneau does a wonderful job of creating this new world for us. Cia is a beautiful heroine that you will fall in love with immediately. This book is amazing, and you will find the themes of survival, friendship, and love abundant throughout the book.