Summer is a great time to get outdoors and enjoy western North Carolina. Here in Haywood County, we are surrounded by the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and plenty of natural wonders. Within a short distance from Waynesville, you can explore hundreds and even thousands of miles of hiking trails, drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, or swim in waterfalls and cool mountain lakes. Families can spend their vacation season whitewater rafting and kayaking or backpacking in the backcountry. The weather is often beautiful, with warm temperatures but not the extreme highs experienced in the foothills and piedmont. 

Summer is also the perfect time to dive into a book. For your middle schoolers, they may eventually get tired playing outside all day, but they can still learn to enjoy sitting on the porch or swinging in a hammock with a great book. Reading during summer break is an excellent way to keep their minds engaged and learning. You do not want them to spend the entire summer watching television and playing video games, so we have developed a summer reading list to help parents of middle schoolers.

Summer Reading for Middle Schoolers

Here are eight great books for middle schoolers in the summer:

1. The Giver by Lois Lowry | Follow along with 12-year-old Jonas as he is assigned his new job in the community as the Receiver of Memory. Jonas will receive memories from an old man named The Giver. How does this boy help the community for the better? 
2. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle | This book is a collection of short stories that shows how Sherlock Homes and Dr. Watson use logic and observation to dissolve many mysteries. 
3. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis | Screwtape the devil is trying to train his nephew demon, Wormwood, on the ways of tempting humans. Read the many letters of instruction and encouragement to sin that Screwtape gives to this novice demon. How can one man resist the attacks of temptation? 
4. Harriet Tubman, Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Petry | This is an interesting biography of the brave woman who helped over 300 slaves find their freedom. After escaping slavery, she developed a secret pathway to lead others to places where there were no slaves.
5. What’s So Amazing About Grace by Phillip Yancy | Dive into this book to learn the life-changing power of the Grace of God.
6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott | This a wonderful book of four sisters who learn how to survive during the Civil war while their father is away.
7. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
8. The Call of the Wild by Jack London | Buck, a half St. Bernard and half sheepdog, is the lead dog of the fastest sled team in Klondike. Away from civilization and in the wilderness allow new feelings to arise in Buck. 

You will never regret encouraging your children to read throughout the summer. If you would like to know more about our school, Haywood Christian Academy, the only Christian private school in Waynesville, NC, please contact us.