"Guys" Books for Middle School Readers

Check out these great "Guy" reads recommended for Teens, available at the Warren Township Library in the Somerset County Library system.

For middle school readers:

Change-Up: Mystery at the World Series by John Feinstein - In this high stakes sports mystery, two teen reporters covering the World Series discover a few contradictions in the life story of a hot new pitcher.

This is Feinstein's fourth mystery starring teen reporters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson. As in the previous books, the play on the field serves as backdrop for Stevie and Susan's adventures in journalism.

Silverfin: A James Bond Adventure by Charles Higson - This first book in the the Young Bond series introduces the adventures of James Bond, 007, when young James has started boarding school in England and is about to become involved in his first adventure.

The story opens with Bond's arrival as a teenager at Eton in the early 1930s, where, far from his suave later self, he is an outsider who soon makes enemies with a rich brute from America.

Stuck on Earth by David Klass - On a secret mission to evaluate whether the human race should be annihilated, alien snail named Ketchvar III takes over the body of a bullied fourteen-year-old boy. 

But even though he suffers high school at its worst, he is inspired by some people he meets-a lonely neighbor; his passionate environmental club adviser-and begins drawing another conclusion. The narrator's thoughtful, often wrenching book offers plenty to think about, from what's really going on in Tom's head to questions about human responsibility to the planet and each other. It takes "alienation" to a whole new level.

Death Cloud by Andrew Lane - In 1868, with his army officer father suddenly posted to India, and his mother mysteriously "unwell," fourteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes is sent to stay with his eccentric uncle and aunt in their vast house in Hampshire, where he uncovers his first murder and a diabolical villain.

Those already familiar with Holmes may find it hard to reconcile Lane's portrayal of an uncertain if perceptive teenager with the trademark inscrutability of the man he will become.

Peak by Roland Smith - This story introduces 14-year-old Peak Marcello (named by his mountaineering parents) as he's arrested for scaling Manhattan's Woolworth Building, in an attempt to graffiti his tag-a blue mountain peak-high on the side of it. Peak is headed for a long stint in juvie when his estranged father swoops into the courtroom with a solution that will get the media's newest darling-the papers have dubbed Peak "Spider Boy"-immediately and far out of sight. Peak will try to become the youngest person ever to scale Everest-overcoming Chinese bureaucrats, resentment of his father, rivalry with a Nepalese teen who has the same goal, avalanches, icy crevasses, howling winds, searing cold and many, many frozen corpses to reach the 29,028-foot summit.

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick - When his five-year-old brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family. 

After his brother, Jeffrey, is diagnosed with cancer, his mother must spend more time taking Jeffrey to treatment and the family's finances begin to suffer. Steven takes refuge in the basement, practicing the drums for hours.