Readalikes: The Labors of Hercules Beal
Here are some excellent books to read after you finish The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt
Simon sort of says
Author(s):
Description:
Two years after a tragedy saddles him with viral fame, twelve-year-old Simon O'Keeffe and his family move to Grin And Bear It, Nebraska, where the internet and cell phones are banned so astrophysicists can scan the sky for signs of alien life, and where, with the help of two new friends, a puppy, and a giant radio telescope, Simon plans to restart the narrative of his life.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Bow
Dust
Author(s):
Description:
When a boy with a terrible secret moves to town there is a sudden increase in dust storms, and asthmatic Avalyn theorizes the storms are linked to his emotions and tries to help as she struggles to breathe. (8/23)
Format:
Call Number:
J FIC Bow
Lily's Promise
Author(s):
Description:
Lily made her dad an important promise before he passed away; that she would...speak her mind at least five times. But speaking up one time, let alone five, is easier said than done. It'll be even harder now that Lily must attend public school for the first time. Fortunately, she meets curling-obsessed Hobart and quiet Dunya at the beginning of sixth grade. But when Lily and her friends are bullied by Ryan and his mean clique, she quickly discovers the true meaning of friendship and speaking out.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Ers
The probability of everything
Author(s):
Description:
When an asteroid has an 84.7% chance of colliding with the Earth in four days, eleven-year-old Kemi, who loves scientific facts and probability, assembles a time capsule to capture her family's truth as she tries to come to terms with saying goodbye.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Eve
Dead end in Norvelt
Author(s):
Description:
In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.
Format:
Audiobook
Call Number:
J FIC Gan
Dear Mothman
Author(s):
Description:
After the death of his best friend and the only other trans boy at school, Noah starts writing letters expressing his feelings to the humanoid creature Mothman and risks everything when he treks into the woods to prove Mothman's existence.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Gow
The storyteller
Author(s):
Description:
Ziggy's mother disappeared ten years ago, one of the many Native women who have mysteriously gone missing, and Ziggy believes a secret cave may hold the key--so with his sister, Moon, and friends Alice and Corso, he sets out to find the cave and solve the mystery of his family's origins.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Hob
Hope in the valley
Author(s):
Description:
Twelve-year-old Indian-American Pandita Paul deals with change, grief, friendship, and growing up in a community facing a housing crisis.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Per
The fire, the water, and Maudie McGinn
Author(s):
Description:
Follows thirteen-year-old neurodivergent Maudie during an eventful summer in California with her father, where she struggles with whether to share a terrible secret about life with her mom and stepdad.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Pla
Wishing season
Author(s):
Description:
"A moving middle grade story about the enduring bond between twins: Anders, who has recently died, and Lily, who has to balance her grief and confusion with a brother who isn't quite gone--and how to navigate a world that is moving forward without him"--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Ris
The Wednesday wars
Author(s):
Schmidt, Gary D.
Johnstone, Joel.
Description:
During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in.
Format:
Audiobook
Call Number:
J FIC Sch
Counting by 7s
Author(s):
Sloan, Holly Goldberg, 1958-
Miles, Robin.
Description:
Willow is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by sevens. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents. Suddenly Willow's world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief.
Format:
Audiobook
Call Number:
J FIC Slo
Control freaks
Author(s):
Thomas, J. E. (Children's author)
Description:
"The kids at Benjamin Banneker College Prep are a little... competitive. Okay. They're a LOT competitive. The minute Principal Yee announces an epic competition for the golden B-B trophy, seventh-grader Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows he has to win. But it won't be easy. The competition doesn't just include science, technology, engineering and math. It also has arts and sports. Not Doug's best subjects... With only a week to go, Doug launches a quest to turn his team of outcasts into winners... and maybe even friends."--
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Tho
Half Moon summer
Author(s):
Description:
Two seventh graders, Drew and Mia, spend their summer in Half Moon Bay, California, training for a half-marathon, and supporting each other as their families struggle with medical and financial problems.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Vic
Worser
Author(s):
Description:
William Wyatt Orser's life is turned upside down after his mother has a stroke, but the socially awkward, word-loving twelve-year-old finds glimmers of hope when he discovers friends who share his love of wordplay and books.
Format:
Book
Call Number:
J FIC Zie
