Love teaching this age group! I teach the same grade and subject and I also came from a high school background. These are four tips:
CLEAR expectations + relationships. These two things are major! You can’t have one without the other.
Variety. I find most kids get bored with ELA when it is samey (reading the same type of texts, writing the same types of stories) encourage them to read and write out of their comfort zone!
Connect their interest to reading. In my mind, finding them a book comes after you get to know them. Does he like cars? Recommend some non-fiction vehicle books. Does she like cartoons? Introduce her to manga. Find what makes them tick and make book recs off that.
Be patient: this group can be a handful sometimes. And they may annoy you some days. But keep trying with them. Middle schoolers like to act big and tough but so many of them are insecure. Just be yourself, let them be themselves, and show you care. They’ll surprise you :)
Good luck! You got this!