A Quick Overview

of the

7th Grade Large-Group Novel Titles

The majority of seventh graders read five novels. These novels are chosen for the variety of genres (literature types) represented, the strength of their thought-provoking themes and settings, the critical acclaim they have received, and the connections to world geography and historical events covered in the middle school social studies curriculum.

We are excited to find that many parents wish to preview these books and read along with their children throughout our literature units. This is possible in most cases as we have a number of extra copies. When students or their parents have serious objections to any of our titles, we are willing to replace that title with a book of similar theme, genre and reading level.

The five novels read by seventh grade students are listed below, including a short review.

Having Our Say, Sarah and Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth

From Kirkus Reviews
In a memoir that's as much a historical record as a testimony to two extraordinary women, the Delany sisters recall their remarkable lives, spanning more than a century of the African- American experience. Daughters of the nation's first black Episcopal bishop, Sadie and Bessie Delany, born in 1889 and 1891 respectively, are a living record of the seismic changes that have affected black America since Emancipation.

Ryan White, My Own Story, Ryan White and Anne Marie Cunningham

Ingram
The late AIDS sufferer describes how he contracted the virus; the negative response of his friends and neighbors in his home town of Kokomo, Indiana; his battle to reenter school; and his fight to educate people about the disease. Reprint. NYT.

The Giver, Lois Lowry

Amazon.com
In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.

Forbidden City, William Bell

Book Description (Amazon)

Seventeen-year-old Alex Jackson comes home from school to find that his father, a CBC news cameraman, wants to take him to China's capital, Beijing. Once there, Alex finds himself on his own in Tian An Men Square as desperate students fight the Chinese army for their freedom. Separated from his father and carrying illegal videotapes, Alex must trust the students to help him escape.

Waiting for the Rain, Sheila Gordon

Ingram
Frikkie and Tengo have been friends since childhood. Frikkie is a white, landowner's nephew. Tengo is black and works on Frikkie's uncle's farm. Tengo has dreams of freedom, and soon the two friends are torn by the dictates of South African apartheid.

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