2. Sunshine State Young Readers Award MS Battle of the Books

3. Sunshine State Young Readers Award How do students participate? Students read from a list of 15 books that are nominated by media specialists and students from across the state. Students read at least 3 of the books from the list. In the Spring, students vote for their favorite book.

4. Middle School Battle of the Books How do students participate? Read at least 3 of the Sunshine State Young Readers Books during the school year. Take the Battle Qualifying Test in the Spring. If you score in the top 6, then you can be a member of your schools Battle Team!

5. Chomp By Carol Hiaasen Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he's grown up with all manner of gators, snakes, parrots, rats, monkeys, snappers, and more in his backyard. The critters he can handle. His father is the unpredictable one. When his dad takes a job with a reality TV show called "Expedition Survival!", Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himselfto keep his dad from killing Derek Badger, the show's boneheaded star, before the shoot is over.(RC & axis360) Click book to see trailer.

6. Cinder by Marissa Meyer In this first entry in the Lunar Chronicles series, author Meyer provides a new, futuristic twist on the classic Cinderella story. Living in New Beijing with her adoptive mother and two stepsisters, Cinder is a teenage cyborg with a penchant for mechanics. Quickly, her normal (if you can call it that) existence is turned upside down; first she meets and falls for the handsome Prince Kai ant then learns the evil Lunar Queen intends to marry the prince. (RC) Click book to see trailer

7. The Dead Boys by Royce Buckingham In the desert town of Richland, Washington, there stands a giant sycamore tree. Horribly mutated by nuclear waste, it feeds on the life energy of boys that it snags with its living roots. When Teddy Matthews moves to town, the tree trains its sights on its next victim. Teddy knows something is very wrong when every kid he meets disappears before his eyes. A trip to the cemetery confirms that the boys are dead and trying to lure him to the trees world, a dark version of Richland. (RC) Click book to see trailer.

8. Legend by Marie Lu The United States is home to the Republic, a nation at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the wealthiest districts, 15 year-old June is being groomed for success in the highest military circles. Born into the slums, 15 year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. (RC) Click book to see trailer.

9. Milo: Sticky Notes & Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg Ever since Milo's mother died nothing has gone right. Now, instead of the kitchen being full of music, his whole house has been filled with Fog. Nothing's the same. Not his Dad. Not his sister. And definitely not him. In love with the girl he sneezed on the first day of school and best pals with Marshall, the "One Eyed Jack' of friends, Milo copes with being the new kid (again) as he struggles to survive a school year that is filled with reminders of what his life "used to be." (RC) Click book to see trailer.

10. One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child, and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household. Despite her resistance, the Murphys eventually show her what it feels like to belong--until her mother wants her back and Carley has to decide where and how to live. (RC) Click book to see trailer.

11. Starters by Lissa Price The genocide spore wiped out everyone except the very young and the very old. Now 16 year old Callie and her little brother live as squatters. Hope comes via Prime Destinations, run by a mysterious figure known only as The Old Man. He hires teens to rent their bodies to seniors, known as enders, who get to be young again. Callie's neurochip malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her rich renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, even dating Blake, the grandson of a senator. It's a fairy-tale new life... until she uncovers the Body Bank's horrible plan. (axis360) Click book to see trailer.

12. Under the Green Hill by Laura L. Sullivan Meg and her siblings have been sent to the English countryside for the summer. The children are looking forward to exploring the ancient mansion and perhaps discovering a musty old attic. Never did they expect to find themselves in the middle of a fairy war. When Rowan pledges to fight for the beautiful fairy queen, Meg is desperate to save her brother. But the Midsummer War is far more than a battle between mythic creatures, everything that lives depends on it. (RC) No trailer available

13. Warp Speed by Lisa Yee Entering 7th grade is no big deal for Marley Sandelski: Same old boring classes, same old boring life. The only thing he has to look forward to is the upcoming Star Trek convention. But when he inadvertently draws the attention of Digger Ronster, the biggest bully in school, his life has officially moved from boring to far too dramatic... from invisible to center stage. (RC & axis360) Click book to see trailer.

14. wonder by R.J. Palacio Born with facial defects, Auggie Pullman has had 27 surgeries to correct the problems but still looks vastly different from other children. As such, his parents have homeschooled him his entire life; now, Auggie is ready to begin fifth grade at Beecher Prep. Although Auggie's father feels that sending him out into the real world is tantamount to bringing a lamb to the slaughter, Auggie holds his head up high and allows his smart, funny, and brave personality to lead the way. (RC & axis360) Click book to see trailer.

15. Circus Galacticus by Deva Fagan Fifteen-year-old Trix Ling is tough. She can deal with being an orphan charity case at a snobbish boarding school. She can even fight back against the masked stranger who tries to steal her parents' meteorite. But can she handle her life changing forever? The Circus Galacticus has come to town, and the young ringmaster has invited Trix aboard. Soon she discovers an entire universe of deadly enemies and potential friends, and she just might unravel the secrets of her own past-- if she can survive that long. (RC & axis360) Click book to see trailer.

16. The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well. (axis360) Click book to see trailer.

17. Free Thaddeus by John Gosselink Designed like a case file, chock- full of notes, journal entries, letters, e-mails, illustrations, and more, Free Thaddeus! is an uproarious middle-grade novel that argues why the irreverent Thaddeus should be released from his in-school suspension and explains the unbelievable circumstances that led to his punishment. Soon readers will be chanting, "Free Thaddeus!" Click book to see trailer.

18. Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane For an 8th grader, Molly Williams has more than her share of problems. Her father has just died in a car accident, and her mother has become a withdrawn, quiet version of herself. Molly doesn't want to be seen as "Miss Difficulty Overcome"; she wants to make herself known to the kids at school for something other than her father's death. So she decides to join the baseball team. The boys' baseball team. Her father taught her how to throw a knuckleball, and Molly hopes it's enough to impress her coaches as well as her new teammates. (RC & axis360) Click book to see trailer.

19. Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt In this companion novel to The Wednesday Wars, Doug struggles to be more than the "skinny thug" that some people think him to be. He finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer, who gives him the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with unusual characters and life lessons about love, creativity, and survival. (RC & axis360) Click book to see trailer.

20. Check out your favorite book and read it! You can also sign up to participate in the Middle School Battle of the Books Write a review of the books for the media center or morning show. Recommend books you like to others Read three books and then vote for your favorite book in the spring.

21. 2013 WINNER ! Lost in the River of Grass By Ginny Rorby