Battle of the Books 2023-2024

  • Are You Ready to Test Your Wits?
    A fierce battle will rage as middle battles middle school for book-knowledge supremacy. Be a part of the action to make sure HSMS Riverhawks take home the trophy.

    How to Participate

    • Form a team of four dedicated readers. (Teams are limited to four students.)
    • Divide up the eight books below to decide which team member reads which book. (This is usually three books per person.)
    • Prepare for the school-wide competition in February. The winning team will advance to the county competition March 27, 2024, in Aiken.
Maisy Chen

  • Maizy Chen’s Last Chance
    by Lisa Yee
    In Last Chance, Minnesota, with her family, Maizy spends her time at the Golden Palace, the restaurant that's been in her family for generations. Here, she makes some shocking discoveries that require her to search for answers about her family and the community.
Rivals

  • Rivals
    by Tom Greenwald
    In basketball-crazed Walthorne, rival middle school stars Austin Chambers and Carter Haswell are both feeling the pressure when school sports reporter Alfie Jenks reveals scandals that jeopardize the whole season. 
Across the Desert

  • Across the Desert
    by Dusti Bowling
    When her hero, a girl known as the Desert Aviator, crashes during her livestream, 12-year-old Jolene, armed with a hand-drawn map and a stolen cell phone, races against time across the treacherous Arizona desert to save her.
Worst-Case Collin

  • Worst-Case Collin
    by Rebecca Caprara     
    Ever since his mom died two years ago, Collin has been preparing for other disasters. He carefully writes down what to do in case of an avalanche, encountering someone choking, riptides, and even bad breath to deal with his anxiety. Meanwhile, Collin's father grows more distant by the day and has started hoarding things throughout their house. Can Collin learn to be vulnerable around those he loves, even when he can't control every possible scenario?
Wild River

  • Wild River
    by Rodman Philbrick 
    When a dam fails and rushing waters sweep away their adult supervisors, five middle schoolers on a white-water rafting adventure are left alone with few supplies and the opportunity to forge powerful bonds as well as develop dangerous disagreements.
Lines of Courage

  • Lines of Courage
    by Jennifer Nielsen 
    From the assassination that triggered World War I in 1914 to Armistice Day in 1918, the story follows the fates of young people on both sides of the conflict, each facing their portion of the war with courage until the end of the war brings them together.
What Lives

  • What Lives in the Woods
    by Lindsay Currie 
    Ginny is unhappy when her family moves from Chicago to upstate Michigan for the summer. Her father has a job restoring a 1930s mansion, but there are rumors about Woodmoor and the forest next to it: rumors about strange mutant creatures. Ginny, an aspiring mystery writer, is soon half-convinced that the rumors are true.
Lion

  • The Lion of Mars
    by Jennifer L. Holm 
    Bell has spent his whole life, all eleven years of it, on Mars. But he's still just a regular kid: he loves cats, any kind of cake, and is curious about the secrets the adults in the U.S. colony are keeping. Like, why don't they have contact with anyone on the other Mars colonies? Why are they so isolated? When a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, Bell and the other children are the only ones who can help. 
Playing the Cards

  • Playing the Cards
    You’re Dealt
    by Varian Johnson 
    Hoping to measure up to his father's expectations at the card table, Anthony Joplin of Columbia, South Carolina, keeps his strategy a secret until he discovers his father has been hiding one that could tear their family apart. 
Linked

  • Linked
    by Gordon Korman 
    When swastikas begin appearing all over town, Link, Michael, and Dana, the only Jewish girl in town, must face crimes both past and present to find the truth.