Advanced Middle School Books
I Am Number Four
By Pittacus Lore
Rating: 🙂
This is probably my 3rd favorite book that I've read. I don’t usually read sci-fi but this is such a great book. Once I started this book, I read the whole series. I would read 300 pages a day this book was so good. Although this is a great book, do not read it if you are in 3rd to 5th grade without parental approval. This book does curse quite a bit. If you love action, this book is for you. It has bombs, guns, car chases, and so much more.
John Smith is from the planet Lorien. Long ago, Lorien was attacked by an evil alien race called the Mogdorians. Only nine children and nine guardians escaped. The children try to train on Earth to get back to their home planet but the Mogdorians make sure to kill each one before they can grow too powerful. The children must be killed in order. The Mogdorians cannot kill you if you’re number five until they’ve killed the four before you. Each of the kids has powers far beyond belief and they must develop them to defeat the Mogdorians. John Smith is number four. Three have been killed, John is next. John lives like a normal kid until the Mogdorians come and start blowing things up and trying to shoot him. John tries to fight them off but can John continue to stay alive and fight off so many Mogdorians when he hasn’t even had training?
Normally I would give this a 😄 but because it curses an excessive amount gave it a 🙂.
Besides the cursing, I Am Number Four is a great book. Mr. Lore does such an excellent job of keeping you on your tippy-toes during fights. I bet that if you read this book you will beg your parents to get the next one. That is why I Am Number Four deserves the second-best emoji.
The Hunger Games
By Suzanne Collins
Rating: 😄
The Hunger Games is a page-turner fantasy that will make you so grateful for what you’ve got. Keep in mind this is a dystopian version of the USA that takes place in the year 2147. In The Hunger Games, there are 12 districts and one capital. The capital is a bizarre city where everyone wears strange clothing and eats unusual foods, such as rabbit stew and dandelion salad. While most of the people in the capital are wealthy, the people in the 12 districts are not so fortunate. They have to work to provide the capital with resources such as food and coal. Long ago the districts rebelled against the capital for their freedom. They unfortunately lost and as punishment for rebelling, The Hunger Games was born. In The Hunger Games, one boy and one girl from each district must go to the capital where they will fight to the death in an arena. The survivor of this battle is the winner and as a result, will become extremely wealthy.
Before you read this book keep in mind that the reason I put this in the advanced middle school section is not only because it is a difficult read, but also because it has lots of violence. Please ask your parents before reading this book. That being said it is still an exciting book with amazing detail. Ms. Collins did a thorough job describing the characters, setting, and storyline. Even though it has lots of violence, this is such a great book, so please try and get your parents' permission.
Let me introduce you to our main character Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is a girl who lives in district 12. Her family is very poor so even though it is illegal she hunts outside the boundaries. She is extremely brave and will do anything for her family. Katniss is one of the kids drafted into The Hunger Games. This bestselling book will make you feel like you are sitting next to Katniss when reading.
This book is so good I can’t find any flaws. If you have no idea what to read next, read The Hunger Games and you’ll be astounded by how good it is. Give The Hunger Games a chance and you will not regret it.
Legend
By Marie Lu
Rating: 😁
Legend is probably one of my all-time favorite books. I love action books and this one is definitely action-packed so that's one of the reasons why this is one of my all-time favorites. I also love the premise which I will get into soon. Overall this is a great book and I would absolutely recommend it.
Now, this book is about two characters - a girl named June and a boy named Day. They both live in a place called the Republic which is a portion of America in the future. The Republic is a country that is currently at war with the other country that takes up part of the USA, The Colonies. Both these countries have been fighting for a long time. June works for the Republic. She is a military officer, but not one that goes off to combat. She works behind the lines catching criminals. Day is a criminal. He is a boy that does anything he can to hurt the military. He blows up ships, delays shipments, and breaks into facilities. Both characters have entirely different perspectives on the Republic and throughout the book, you get to see how different yet similar these two characters are.
This book is great for anybody that loves action, dystopian universes, or multiple characters' perspectives. If you read this book, you are sure not to be disappointed. I'm so glad Marie Lu made this story into a series.
Seeker
By Douglas E. Richards
Rating: 😁
Just like The Devil's Sword, Mr. Richards has written another great book for sci-fi fans like me. In the book Seeker, Mr. Richards uses a great literary tool called imagery. Imagery is when an author describes something with all senses so you can picture it in your mind. In my opinion that is the right choice of literary tools for this book because it takes place in a complex and beautiful place, the Amazon Rainforest.
This book is about a secret agent from the US named Ben Kagan that is put on an important mission. He has to retrieve an alien probe from the Amazon Rainforest. There he must find the probe and bring it back to America without being killed. The dangers of the rainforest aren't the biggest problem though. The problem is that many other countries from around the world know about the probe too, and they have sent their best agents to retrieve it. Whichever country's agents get to the probe first will bring technological advances beyond belief to their country. The other countries will be left at the mercy of whichever country gets the probe.
This book is a mix of The Hunger Games and capture the flag. Small teams kill each other in a small area like in The Hunger Games. Whoever gets to the probe and brings it back to their base first wins like capture the flag. I personally loved the book The Hunger Games so when Mr. Richards came out with a more technologically advanced Hunger Games I was thrilled. If you liked The Devils Sword and The Hunger Games then you will love this book.
Departure
By A. G. Riddle
Rating: ☹️
I was intrigued by the plot of this book when I read the blurb but Mr. Riddle honestly let me down. I would not particularly recommend this book but I will still summarize and explain my reasoning so you guys can understand why I wouldn't recommend it.
This book is about passengers on a plane that have to survive in the wild because their plane crashed. Nick, one of the main characters of the story decides to take control so the survivors of the crash have order. He is forced to make many tough decisions to keep people alive. Not only that but he must also help figure out why the plane crashed and why some people seem to be holding out information about the crash.
This book had a great beginning. I loved how Mr. Riddle developed the settings and characters so early. It really gave a sense of urgency that a plane crash should have. Unfortunately the story did not become the story I thought it was going to be. It ended up straying very far from the ideas of a plane crash and it became very confusing. Overall I would not recommend this book but feel free to give it a try and see what you think.
The Extinction Trials
By A.G. Riddle
Rating: 🙂
The last book I reviewed by Mr. Riddle was Departure. To me, Departure was a disappointment but Mr. Riddle made up for it with The Extinction Trials. This book had a plot similar to The Maze Trials and I loved it.
The Extinction Trials is about 6 people that all wake up in a strange underground bunker that is far from their homes. There they are told that they are participants in a global science experiment called The Extinction Trials.
The only reason I didn’t give this book a 😁is because the beginning and end were slightly confusing. Overall, this was a great book that I would recommend you read.
