Recommended Book List: Upper Grades
Guest post by Rebecca Redinger, Redwood’s Librarian
The previous post, Recommended Book List: Middle Grades, was a list of reading materials suggested for students in middle grades, 3rd-8th. This final list in the series provides suggested books for the upper grades, 7th-12th. In most libraries and booksellers this age is called Young Adult, and is distinctly separate from the children’s section. While the reading levels on this upper grade list are not that different from those on the middle grade list, you will find that the subject matter is more mature. Depending on a student’s reading level and interests, some young adults have already begun reading books in the main adult collection. The books on this list, however, have been selected because many fall into a unique category we call high/low.
High/low refers to books that are high interest and low readability. These are books that often won’t overwhelm students reading below their grade level, but will provide engaging stories and content. This is a perfect solution for students with dyslexia, and great resource to keep in mind as your Redwood students grow in both age and reading ability.
Below you will find fiction and nonfiction books that fall into a wide range of subjects and formats. As we mentioned in the Middle Grade Book List, some of these topics can be heavier than others. Use these as opportunities to talk with the young adults in your life about what they are reading and how it relates to the world around them. As you laugh at witty dialogue, wonder at hard questions, cheer on the champions, and grieve the oppressed, look back at how far your child has advanced as a confident reader. We are so proud of you!
And finally, a note about the leveling: as before, the books are listed in order according to their Lexile numbers (the most common leveling used by library catalogs and online retailers). The Lexile numbers with HL denote High/Low books. The records also include their corresponding Fountas & Pinnell letters and the general subject categorization. As you dig deeper and discover your child’s favorite books and authors, refer to the Reading A-Z correlation chart to switch between leveling systems. Enjoy, and happy reading!
FICTION
Title, Author, Lexile Range, Fountas & Pinnell, Subject/Format
Drama
Raina Telgemeier
GN 320
F-G
Graphic Novel/Comics
Nimona
Noelle Stevenson
GN 350
F-G
Graphic Novel/Comics
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Benjamin Alire Sáenz
HL 380
F-G
Realistic Fiction
LumberJanes
Noelle Stevenson
GN 390-790
F-O
Graphic Novel/Comics
Miss Marvel Volume 1: No Normal
G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
GN 420
F-G
Graphic Novel/Comics
Hey, Kiddo
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
HL 510
I-J
Graphic Novel/Comics
American Born Chinese
Gene Luen Yang
GN 530
J-L
Graphic Novel/Comics
Fight
Sherman Alexie
550
J-M
Fantasy
Salt to the Sea
Ruta Sepetys
HL 560
J-M
Historical Fiction
Crash
Jerry Spinelli
HL 560
J-M
Realistic Fiction - Sports
M.C. Higgins the Great
Virginia Hamilton
560
J-M
Historical Fiction
Fangirl
Rainbow Rowell
HL 570
J-M
Realistic Fiction
Eleanor & Park
Rainbow Rowell
HL 580
K-M
Realistic Fiction
The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas
HL 590
L-M
Realistic Fiction
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian
Sherman Alexie
600
K-M
Realistic Fiction
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Ann Brashares
HL 600
K-M
Realistic Fiction
We Were Liars
E. Lockart
HL 600
K-M
Realistic Fiction
Lifeboat 12
Susan Hood
610
K-M
Historical Fiction
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
630
L-M
Classic Fiction
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Jenny Han
630
L-M
Realistic Fiction
Mockingbird
Kathryn Erskine
630
L-M
Realistic Fiction
Harbor Me
Jacqueline Woodson
630
L-M
Realistic Fiction
Alex Rider series
Anthony Horowitz
630-780
L-M
Mystery
I am Alfonso Jones
Tony Medina, John Jennings, and Stacey Robinson
GN 640
L-M
Graphic Novel/Comics
Fake ID
Lamar Giles
HL 640
L-M
Realistic Fiction
The Sun is Also a Star
Nicola Yoon
HL 650
L-M
Realistic Fiction
House of the Scorpion
Nancy Farmer
660
L-N
Science Fiction
The Color Purple
Alice Walker
HL 670
L-N
Classic Fiction
Children of Blood and Bone
Tomi Adeyemi
HL 670
L-N
Fantasy
The True Meaning of Smekday
Adam Rex
670
L-N
Science Fiction
An Ember in the Ashes series
Sabaa Tahir
HL 670-680
L-N
Fantasy
Twilight series
Stephanie Meyer
670-720
L-N
Fantasy
City of Ember
Jeanne DuPrau
680
L-N
Fantasy/Science Fiction
Piecing Me Together
Renee Watson
680
L-N
Realistic Fiction
Matched
Ally Condie
HL 680
L-N
Science Fiction
The Selection series
Kiera Cass
HL 680
L-N
Fantasy/Science Fiction
All the Broken Pieces
Ann E. Burg
HL 680
L-N
Historical Fiction
Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson
690
L-N
Realistic Fiction
American Street
Ibi Zoboi
HL 690
L-N
Fantasy/Magic Realism
Shadowshaper
Daniel José Older
HL 690
L-N
Fantasy
The Raven Cycle
Maggie Stiefvater
HL 690-760
L-N
Fantasy
A Great and Terrible Beauty
Libba Bray
700
L-N
Fantasy
Fresh Ink
(various authors)
HL 700
L-N
Realistic Fiction
The Night Diary
Veera Hiranandani
700
L-N
Historical Fiction
Divergent series
Veronica Roth
HL 700-830
L-Q
Fantasy/Science Fiction
Miles Morales
Jason Reynolds
HL 710
L-N
Science Fiction
Eragon
Christopher Paolini
710
L-N
Fantasy
Seedfolks
Paul Fleischman
710
L-N
Realistic Fiction
Long Way Down
Jason Reynolds
HL 720
L-N
Realistic Fiction - Poetry
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chobosky
720
L-N
Realistic Fiction
A Long Walk to Water
Linda Sue Park
720
L-N
Historical Fiction
Pick-Up Game: A Full Day of Full Court
(various authors)
720
L-N
Realistic Fiction
The Missing series
Margaret Peterson Haddix
720-750
L-N
Science Fiction
Graceling
Kristin Cashore
730
L-N
Fantasy
The Book Thief
Markus Zuzak
730
L-N
Historical Fiction
I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
Erika L. Sánchez
HL 730
L-N
Realistic Fiction
The Devil's Arithmetic
Jane Yolen
730
L-N
Historical Fiction
The Diviners
Libba Bray
HL 730
L-N
Fantasy
A Monster Calls
Patrick Ness
730
L-N
Fantasy
Auma's Long Run
Eucabeth A. Odhiambo
740
L-N
Realistic Fiction
Orbiting Jupiter
Gary D. Schmidt
740
L-N
Realistic Fiction
Kira-Kira
Cynthia Kadohata
740
L-N
Realistic Fiction
The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton
750
L-N
Classic Fiction
Peak
Roland Smith
760
L-N
Adventure
Some Kind of Courage
Dan Gemeinhart
760
L-N
Adventure - Historical
The Truth About Forever
Sarah Dessen
770
L-N
Realistic Fiction - Romance
Tuck Everlasting
Natalie Babbitt
770
L-N
Fantasy/Science Fiction
The Maze Runner
James Dashner
HL 770
L-N
Science Fiction
All American Boys
Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
HL 770
L-N
Realistic Fiction
York: The Shadow Cipher
Laura Ruby
HL 780
M-N
Science Fiction
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card
780
M-N
Science Fiction
Leviathan
Scott Westerfeld
790
M-O
Fantasy/Science Fiction
The Green Glass Sea
Ellen Klages
790
M-O
Historical Fiction
Cinder
Marissa Meyer
790
M-O
Fantasy
Wolf Hollow
Lauren Wolk
800
M-P
Historical Fiction
The Poet X
Elizabeth Acevedo
HL 800
M-P
Realistic Fiction
Refugee
Alan Gratz
800
M-P
Historical Fiction
Inside Out & Back Again
Thanhha Lai
800
M-P
Historical Fiction
A Night Divided
Jennifer Nielsen
810
M-P
Historical Fiction
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith
810
M-P
Classic Fiction
Monster
Walter Dean Myers
810
M-P
Realistic
Fiction
Austin Family Chronicles
Madeleine L'Engle
810-1010
M-S
Realistic Fiction
The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
820
M-Q
Fantasy
All the Bright Places
Jennifer Niven
830
M-Q
Realistic Fiction - Romance
Wonderstruck
Brian Selznick
830
M-Q
Historical Fiction
Turtles All the Way Down
John Green
840
M-Q
Realistic Fiction
Cloud and Wallfish
Anne Nesbet
850
M-R
Historical Fiction
Looking for Alaska
John Green
850
M-R
Realistic Fiction
Fault in Our Stars
John Green
850
M-R
Realistic Fiction
The House on Mango Street
Sandra Cisneros
870
N-S
Classic Fiction
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
870
N-S
Classic Fiction
Midnight Without a Moon
Linda Williams Jackson
870
N-R
Historical Fiction
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr
880
N-S
Historical Fiction
Jacob Have I Loved
Katherine Paterson
880
N-S
Historical Fiction
Harry Potter series
J.K. Rowling
880-950
N-S
Fantasy
Our Only May Amelia
Jennifer L. Holm
900
N-T
Historical Fiction
Dead End in Norvelt
Jack Gantos
920
N-T
Historical Fiction
The Golden Compass
Phillip Pullman
930
N-X
Fantasy
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Rodman Philbrick
950
Q-T
Historical Fiction
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
John Boyne
1000
R-X
Historical Fiction
Hatchet
Gary Paulsen
1020
R-Y
Adventure
Code Name Verity
Elizabeth E. Wein
1020
R-X
Historical Fiction
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Mark Haddon
1090
Y
Mystery
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Pox Party
M.T. Anderson
1090
Y-Z
Historical Fiction
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
1100
Z
Classic Fiction
NON-FICTION
Title, Author, Lexile Range, Fountas & Pinnell, Subject/Format
Persepolis series
Marjane Satrapi
GN 380-500
F-J
Biography
Shackleton
Nick Bertozzi
620
K-M
History - Biography
Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case
Patricia Hruby Powell and Shadra Strickland
HL 720
L-N
History
March series
John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
GN 760-850
L-R
History
Turning Fifteen on the Road to Freedom
Lynda Blackmon Lowery
780
M-N
History
The Industrial Revolution
Lewis Hefland
GN 800
Graphic Novel/Comic - History
They Changed The World: Edison, Tesla, Bell
Lewis Hefland
GN 820
Graphic Novel/Comic - Science
I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)
Malala Yousafzai
830
M-Q
Biography
Unbroken (Young Adult Adaptation)
Laura Hillenbrand
850
M-R
History
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition
William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
860
N-R
Science - Biography
Survivors Club: The True Story of a Very Young Prisoner of Auschwitz
Michael Bornstein and Debbie Bornstein Holinstat
890
N-S
History
Vincent and Theo
900
N-T
Biographical
Code Talker
Joseph Bruchac
910
N-T
History
Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina And New Orleans
Don Brown
920
N-T
Geography
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
Steve Sheinkin
920
N-T
History - Military
Really, Really Big Questions About Space and Time
Mark Brake and Nishant Choksi
930
Science
Flags of Our Fathers
James Bradley and Ron Powers
950
Q-T
History
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia
Candace Fleming
950
Q-T
History - Biography
True Stories
(various authors)
970
R-X
History - Biography
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club
Phillip Hoose
970
R-X
History - Biography
Women in Science
Rachel Ignotofsky
990
Q-T
Science - Biography
The Glass Castle
Jeanette Walls
1010
R-W
Biography
When I Was Puerto Rican
Esmerelda Santiago
1020
S-W
Biography
Inventions in 30 Seconds
Mike Goldsmith
1020
S-W
Science/Technology
How to be a Math Genius
Mike Goldsmith
1020
S-W
Mathematics
Inventors, Makers, Barrier Breakers
Pendred Noyce
1030
S-Y
Science/Technology
Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
1040
T-X
History - Biography
Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults)
Bryan Stevenson
1040
T-X
Biography
This Land is Our Land
Linda Barrett Osborne
1080
U-X
History
1968: Today's Authors Explore a Year of Rebellion, Revolution, and Change
Marc Aronson
1100
Y-Z
History
The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth
Rachel Ignotofsky
1140
Z
Science/Technology