Realistic Fiction

Jacket	Title/Author	Annotation	Grade Level*
	An Abundance of Katherines by John Green	After being dumped by his 19th girlfriend, all of which have been named Katherine, Colin and his best friend, Hassan, take off on a road trip which leads them to Gutshot, Tennessee, a job at a factory which produces tampon strings and the beginnings of a mathematical theorem which explains why Colin keeps getting dumped.	11-12
	A Bad Boy Can be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone	Scribbled notes in the back of a copy of Judy Blume's Forever starts a chain reaction of understanding and sisterhood for three girls who all fall for the same sexy high school senior who uses each of them for one thing only.	11-12
	Bang! by Sharon Flake	After his younger brother is shot, Mann and his best friend, Kee-lee, are abandoned by Mann's father, so the boys will learn to survive and become men.	9-12
	Becoming Chloe by Katherine Ryan Hyde	Jordy and Chloe, two homeless teens, meet while living on the streets of New York City and decide to take a cross-country journey to find the beauty in life.	11-12
	Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn	In his journal Nick writes that going through life is like breathing underwater, or so it seems, after he beats his girlfriend, is sentenced to attend an anger management class, and faces up to his abusive father.	9-12
	A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt	Sixteen-year-old atheist Simon Turner-Bloom's life changes in unexpected ways when her parents convince her to contact her biological mother, an agnostic from a Jewish family who is losing her battle with cancer.	9-12
	Burned by Ellen Hopkins	Pattyn, raised in a religious yet abusive family, has questions about God, a woman's role, sex, and love. After being suspended from school and sent to live with an aunt she doesn't know, Pattyn finds love, only to end up in a living hell.	10-12
	Crunchtime by Mariah Fredericks	Four students who have formed a weekly study group to prep for the SAT, sustain each other through the emotional highs and lows of their junior year, only to find themselves under suspicion when the high school counselor learns that someone cheated on test day.	9-12
	Darkness Before Dawn by Sharon Draper	An ex-boyfriend's suicide, parental problems, and attempted rape threaten to destroy Keisha's senior year.	9-12
	Dear Zoe: A Novel by Philip Beard	Fifteen-year-old Tess De Nunzio attempts to work through her guilt and grief over the death of her three-year-old sister, Zoe, by writing letters to the child who was struck and killed by a car on September 11, 2001, while Tess was suppose to be watching her.	11-12
	Doll Baby by Eve Bunting	The hardships of teen parenthood are told in an honest and straightforward way, with watercolor and pencil pictures portraying the conflicts of this complex human issue.	9-12
\	Dough Boy by Peter Marino	Overweight Tristan, who lives happily with his divorced mother and her boyfriend Frank, suddenly finds that he must deal with intensified criticism about his weight when Frank's popular, nutrition-obsessed daughter moves in.	9-12
	Dreamland by Sarah Dessen	Caitlin goes through much of the day in a dream-like state and wants to remain that way because if she becomes fully awake, she will have to deal with the abusive relationship she has with her boyfriend.	9-12
	Every Time a Rainbow Dies by Rita Williams-Garcia	Shy and withdrawn, Thulani raises pigeons on the roof of a Brooklyn brownstone, where he witnesses the brutal rape of Ysa. His obsessive concern for her welfare nearly overwhelms his life, but with understanding and forgiveness, they both emerge as survivors.	10-12
	Inexcusable by Chris Lynch	High school senior and star football player Keir sets out to enjoy himself on graduation night. When he attempts to comfort a friend whose date has left her stranded, things go terribly wrong.	11-12
	Just Listen by Sarah Dessen	Isolated from friends who believe the worst of her because she won't be truthful with them, sixteen-year-old Annabel finds an ally in classmate Owen, whose honesty and passion for music help her to face and share what really happened at the end-of-the-year party that changed her life.	9-12
	Leslie's Journal: A Novel by Allan Stratton	Leslie's 10th grade teacher promises to keep her journal in a locked cabinet and not read it, but how can she ignore the need to know more about the abusive threats from Leslie's boyfriend, Jason?	10-12
	Love, Cajun Style by Diane Les Becquets	A trio of high school girls cope with the tensions of sexuality in their small Louisiana town.	9-12
	The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood	Out in the mid-West Wally Chubb really is eating a 747 that has landed in his cornfield to prove his undying love for lovely Willa. The Book of World Records sends John Smith to record the event. John, who thinks love is just a chemical reaction, discovers a record-breaking love himself while Wally grinds up the plane and eats it with Spaghetti-Os.	10-12
	Many Stones by Carolyn Coman	After her sister is murdered, Berry places as many stones as she can tolerate on her chest as a way of coping with her grief. She goes to South Africa with her emotionally distant father to attend a memorial for her sister, hoping she will find peace.	9-12
	Of Sound Mind by Jean Ferris	Tired of interpreting for his deaf family and resentful of their reliance on him, Theo tries not to get involved with Ivy because her father is also deaf. However, food and hormones keep dragging Theo back to Ivy through a tumultuous senior year.	9-12
	On the Head of a Pin by Mary Beth Miller	Helen, Michael, Josh, Andy, and Victor's lives are torn apart after a fatal shooting at a party. The killers have to live with their consequences, including their own guilty conscience, which ultimately rips apart friendships, loyalty, and self-preservation.	10-12
	Rooftop by Paul Volponi	Still reeling from seeing police shoot his unarmed cousin to death on the roof of a New York City housing project, seventeen-year-old Clay is dragged into the whirlwind of political manipulation that follows.	10-12
	The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin	Seventeen-year-old Matt records his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother.	9-12
	Rx by Tracy Lynn	Thyme Gilcrest is an honors student, popular, and on Student Council. Thyme Gilcrest is also a drug dealer.	9-12
	Scribbler of Dreams by Mary Pearson	When Kaitlin falls in love with the son of her family's archenemy, it forces her to lead a double life so that her parents don't find out. But she cannot let hatred that began in the past rule her future.	9-12
	The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares	During summer break, longtime friends Lena, Tibby, Carmen, and Bridget each embark on adventures that they share with each other through a pair of jeans that they have decided will be worn by all and so will absorb all of their stories.	9-12
	Sold by Patricia McCormick	Naive Lakshmi, raised in a poor mountain village in Nepal, thinks she'll be working as a maid when her stepfather trades her for 800 rupees, only to learn she's been sold into prostitution with a cruel madam.	9-12
	Spellbound by Janet McDonald	Intelligent and gutsy, Raven will not let the fact of her being stuck at home right now with a baby in the harsh city projects dictate the rest of her life.	9-12
	Stay with Me Garret Freymann-Weyr	When her much older sister kills herself, sixteen-year-old Leila goes looking for a reason, and instead discovers a great love, her family's history, and her own place in it.	11-12
	Stetson S.L. Rottman	Before Kayla, seventeen-year-old Stetson cared only about the art her created with airbrushed T-shirts and the old Honda Civic to rebuild. Here is a kid who values hard work and a straight life more than his dead-beat parents.	9-12
	Tallulah Falls by Christine Fletcher	Having run away from her Oregon home to meet a troubled friend in Florida, high school senior, Tallulah, finds herself stranded in Tennessee and taken in by the employees of a veterinary clinic.	9-12
	Trigger by Susan Vaught	Jersey Hatch can't remember why his best friend won't speak to him. He can't remember the right words to have a real conversation. And he can't remember why he tried to shoot himself.	10-12
	When Dad Killed Mom by Julius Lester	Uncovering secrets about the violent death of their artistic mother and tragic events of their father's previous life help Jenna and Jeremy cope with the loss of one parent and the struggle to understand the other.	11-12
*Grade level suggestions are based on professional review sources. Some books contain mature themes. Please discuss reading selections as a family.

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