Lone Star Books 2014-2015

1. Lone Star Books 2014-2015 The Texas Lone Star list is a recommended reading list developed by librarians to encourage middle school students to explore a variety of current books. The Lone Star list is intended for recreational reading, not to support a specific curriculum. Every book is not for every reader – but you’ll find at least one you’ll like!

2. Theo is starting eighth grade six inches taller, and the school coach wants to transform him from invisible science geek into star basketball player. To make matters worse, all Theo’s time spent on training is starting to hurt his science club's chances of winning the school's trivia competition. Just when Theo thinks he can't handle any more pressure, he's accused of stealing. Can he find the real thief before he is kicked off the basketball and science club teams?

3. Four years ago Elliott refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing family duty over love. Now Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent out, including to renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, she soon discovers her old friend carries a secret—one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees

4. In a world where magic is beginning to fall by the wayside, 15 year-old Jennifer Strange has a hard time keeping Kazam Mystical Arts Management open. When she receives a vision foreshadowing the death of the world's last dragon by an unknown Dragonslayer, Jennifer decides she must act to keep her world changing forever.

5. A sister lost. A body found. The truth buried. “So it comes to this, I remember thinking... it was the day of my sister’s first funeral, and I knew it wasn’t her last — which is why I left. That’s the long and short of it. But surely you’d rather hear the long than the short.”

6. Colin Fischer has Asperger's – he carries flash cards with him with labeled facial expressions, a beat-up notebook in which he records the doings of the "very interesting" people around him. When a handgun goes off in the school cafeteria, Colin’s analytical mind and powers of perception are ideal for solving the case.

7. Fifteen-year-old Odilia and her younger sisters take a journey to return a dead man to his family in Mexico, and must outwit monsters and witches to make it back home again.

8. Navy SEAL and humanitarian Eric Greitens offers his life story, from working in relief organizations in dangerous situations to joining the Navy SEALS in the War in Iraq.

9. "Chia" is feeling so many things that she needs a mood ring to keep track of her emotions. She's happy when she hangs out with her friends and she's jealous of her genius little sister. She's passionate about the crushes on her Boyfriend Wish list. And when her mom is diagnosed with breast cancer, she feels worried and doesn't know what she can do to help.

10. Isolde Brannick comes from a long line of monster hunters. She is finally ready to solve a case on her own, a haunting at a local high school. With the help of her new friends, a cute boy, and a 400 year old warlock trapped in the mirror, Izzy will finally prove to herself and her mother that she has what it takes to be a true Brannick.

11. As Wild Chalklings threaten the American Isles and Rithmatists are humanity's only defense, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice.

12. Kyra is the only one who can save her kingdom, and faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom's future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend. But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart…misses. Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king's army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?

13. On Day 56 of a pandemic, Nadia's mother dies, leaving her responsible for her younger brother. Their father taught them to adapt and survive whatever comes their way. That's their plan as they trek across the country to their grandfather's compound, through death and destruction, and a few other survivors who are seldom what they seem.

14. Jaxter Grimjinx is the youngest of the Grimjinx clan, the swiftest and smartest thieves in in Vengekeep, but Jaxter’s first solo heist gets him and his family thrown in jail. Luckily, a tapestry that appears shows his family as heroes protecting their town from various disasters. Unluckily, the tapestry is made from fateskein, which means the fates depicted on it will come true…and that includes fire, flood, skeletons and lots of danger.

15. A true crime thriller -- the first book for teens to tell the nearly unknown tale of the brazen attempt to steal Abraham Lincoln's body! In 1876, a group of counterfeiters attempt to get their prized engraver out of jail by hatching an outrageous plan to steal President Lincoln’s body from his tomb and holding the body for ransom.

16. For more than 50 years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of psychic investigation agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions. Lucy arrives in London hoping for a notable career--instead she finds herself joining the most broken-down agency in the city. The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humor and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again ...  

17. Malencia hopes to be chosen for The Testing, a program for the brightest graduates and a great honor for her family. When chosen, her father hints that the honor may be more of a nightmare, than a dream come true.

18. Leon Leyson was only ten when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to a ghetto. With incredible luck and grit, Leyson was able to survive the Nazis; ultimately, it was Oskar Schindler who saved Leon’s life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to his list of workers in his factory—a list that became world renowned: Schindler’s List.This memoir captures the innocence of a boy who goes through the unthinkable, and is a legacy of hope.

19. After his mother dies, Jack Baker is sent to a boys’ boarding home in Maine where he meets an unusual boy named Early Auden. Drawn to Early for reasons he can’t explain, Jack joins him on a quest to find a legendary black bear in the mountains – a quest that will test their friendship and reveal new truths about one another.

20. ​Riley, the reluctant assassin, is a Victorian boy who is suddenly plucked from his own time and whisked into the twenty-first century, accused of murder and on the run. Riley is forced to flee terrifying assassin-for-hire Albert Garrick, who pursues Riley through time and will not stop until he has hunted him down. Barely staying one step ahead, Riley must stop Garrick returning to his own time with knowledge and power that could change the world forever.

21. The word gifted has never been applied to a kid like Donovan Curtis. But thanks to a mix-up, when Donovan pulls a major prank at school he’s sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction (ASD), a special program for gifted and talented students.It wasn't exactly what he had intended, but there couldn't be a more perfect hideout for someone like him - if he can manage to fool people whose IQs are above genius level. And, after an ongoing experiment with a live human (sister), an unforgettably dramatic middle-school dance, and the most astonishing come-from-behind robot victory ever, Donovan shows that his gifts might be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed.

22. Lone Star Books 2013-2014 Thanks to the Texas Library Association!