Realistic Fiction

Jacket	Title/Author	Annotation	Grade Level*
	Simon Says by Elaine Alphin	Painter Charles Weston, a loner and a rebel, hopes that Graeme, a senior who published a novel as a sophomore, can help him survive without conforming to others’ expectations, but disaster looms on the horizon.	10-12
	Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson	Tyler, who has always been an unpopular nobody, gains stature the summer before his senior year when he pulls off an impressive prank. Unfortunately his notoriety as a "bad boy" leads to false accusations that get him in serious trouble during an out-of-control party.	10-12
	Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard	Seventeen-year-old Sam decides to raise his infant son Max after his girlfriend chooses to give the baby up for adoption.	9-12
	Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham	Jane Arrowhead went to the beach with her family and her life changed forever. Jane was bitten by a shark and the result is an amputated right arm. With dreams of being a professional artist, Jane's life drastically changes. Will she be able to survive the stares from strangers, going back to school, chores around the house and what does her future hold?	9-12
	Dolores: Seven Stories about Her by Bruce Brooks	From being a popular seven-year-old who is kidnapped by two women in Wal-Mart to a cool sixteen-year-old who foils a rapist in New York, Dolores handles first kisses to cheerleading like no one else.	9-12
	The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti	Seattle high school senior Jade's life is defined by her anxiety disorder and dysfunctional family, until she spies a mysterious boy with a baby who seems to share her fascination with the elephants at a nearby zoo.	9-12
	Beige by Cecil Castellucci	Katy, who acquires the nickname Beige, is forced to spend the summer in LA with her estranged, aging rock-star father who she refers to as The Rat. Summer seems to be excruciatingly long and all about music, which Beige despises. Summer brings to Beige an understanding of why music is an outlet for so many, how her mother got tied up with The Rat in the first place, and where she, herself, is headed.	9-12
	Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn	After falling in love with a surfer her mother does not approve of, getting kicked out of school, and making her family miserable because of her punishment, Cyd is sent to visit her biological father and his new family in New York City.	10-12
	Thieves Like Us by Stephen Cole	Jonah understands that if you do the crime, you do the time. So when a motley crew of young thieves breaks him out of prison for his hacking skills, he's hesitant at first to join up with them. But will he be able to resist a world of lavish lifestyles, ancient curses, and high-tech toys?	9-12
	Deadline by Chris Crutcher	After being given the medical diagnosis of just one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos."	11-12
	Not Like You by Deborah Davis	Moving for the fourth time in a year, Kayla and her alcoholic mother return to her mother’s hometown to begin making a new life for themselves yet again. Kayla supports them by walking dogs and working in a used clothing store, falls in love with a wayward rock star, and makes a decision that changes both of their lives forever.	11-12
	Comfort by Carolee Dean	Life in the small town of Comfort, Texas is unbearable for fifteen-year-old Kenny Willson, who is desperate to escape from an alcoholic, ex-con father and a grasping, scheming mother. Can the power of words change his life and give him a way out?	9-12
	This Lullaby: A Novel by Sarah Dessen	When Remy meets Dexter, a rock band musician, she must reconsider her belief in short-term, no commitment relationships, which forces her to deal with her mother’s five husbands and her father’s abandonment.	9-12
	In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth	On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Erin receives her long-dead mother's diary, which reveals that she too revered Harper Lee's "To kill a Mockingbird" and wanted to be a writer. Erin impuslively decides to take the Greyhound bus from St. Paul Minnesota to Monroeville, Alabama, to visit the reclusive author.	9-12
	Breaking Point by Alex Flinn	Alienated in an exclusive school, Paul meets Charlie, who exercises a powerful influence over him. Friendship and loyalty quickly escalate to a breaking point.	9-12
	Shattering Glass by Gail Giles	Violence and death are just around the corner when the school nerd is turned into Prince Charming by Rob, the popular senior class leader.	10-12
	Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes	An open mike poetry assignment begins as just an experiment in a high school English class. However, in this book alternating between poetry and prose, the students discover that it becomes the way to express their deepest personal feelings.	9-12
	Blood Brothers by S.A. Harazin	When his best friend collapses into a coma after an apparent drug overdose, Clay investigates what happened although he himself may be a suspect in drugging his friend.	10-12
	Tender by Valerie Hobbs	After her grandmother’s death, fifteen-year-old Liv must adjust to life with her sea-loving, fisherman father who abandoned her when her mother died during childbirth.	9-12
	The Breakup Bible by Melissa Kantor	After a breakup with her boyfriend, school newspaper features editor Jen Lewis receives a book from her grandmother that provides basic commandments for getting over an ex and sets out to recover from the loss of the romance.	9-12
	Straydog by Kathe Koja	Attracted to the anger and the loneliness of Grrl, a stray feral dog in the animal shelter, Rachel, a volunteer at the shelter, attempts to get Grrl to trust her and finds that she must also learn to trust.	9-12
	The Lightkeeper's Daughter by Iain Lawrence	Returning to her childhood home on a remote lighthouse island with her young daughter after a four-year absence, Squid does her best to reestablish a loving relationship with her parents.	10-12
	The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga	Fanboy is a comic book fanatic. I mean obviously, how else would you get a nickname like Fanboy? He spends his time working on his graphic novel and avoiding the bullies at school, his mom and step-fascist, and generally everyone he knows. That is until Kyra (AKA Goth Girl) enters his life and starts forcing changes.	10-12
	Tell by Norah McClintock	In poker, a "tell" is a sign that someone is bluffing. However, the police aren't bluffing when they start questioning David about his involvement in his stepfather's murder. Only by discovering his stepfather's "tell" can David prove his innocence.	9-12
	Cut by Patricia McCormick	When fifteen-year-old Callie quits speaking and cuts her arms, she is placed in a treatment center called Sea Pines but better known by the patients as Sick Minds.	9-12
	The Decoding of Lana Morris by Laura & Tom McNeal	Sixteen-year-old Lana Morris wants her life to be different. When she stumbles into Miss Hekkity’s mysterious shop she realizes she might actually have the power to change things and finds out that wishes can be dangerous.	9-12
	The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty	Bindy is super smart, very helpful, and has great advice – just ask her! Unfortunately, no one else feels the same way about her at all. It might be because she spends her time comparing her classmates with unflattering animals, or because she listens in on conversations, or even possibly because she sounds sort of like a horse. So when it comes time to figure out who’s trying to murder her, it may be too late to ask for help.	9-12
	Wait for Me by An Na	As her senior year in high school approaches, Mina yearns to find her own path in life but working at the family business, taking care of her little sister, and dealing with her mother’s impossible expectations are as stifling as the southern California heat, until she falls in love with a man who offers a way out.	9-12
	Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates	Ursula, aka “Ugly Girl,” is the only person with the guts to tell the Feds the truth about Matt’s joke about blowing up the school, but does Big Mouth even want Ugly Girl coming to his defense?	9-12
	Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult	The people of Sterling, New Hampshire, are forever changed after a shooting at the high school leaves ten people dead, and the judge presiding over the trial tries to remain unbiased, even though her daughter witnessed the events and was friends with the assailant.	Adult/ 10-12
	Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb	As she navigates adolescence, ninth-grader Mia must deal with her mother's recent death and her father's illness while she searches for friendship and love in the world around her.	9-12
	Red Glass by Laura Resau	Sixteen-year-old Sophie feels afraid of almost everything, but when her family takes in a young Mexican boy whose parents died while trying to cross the Arizona border, she discovers an inward strength she never knew she had.	9-12
	Saving Grace by Darlene Ryan	After giving her baby up for adoption, Evie has second thoughts and kidnaps the baby before running away with her boyfriend.	9-12
	Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos	Fourteen year old Donnie's life is falling apart. His parents split up over the summer, he is the school leper, and his sisters anorexia is killing her.	9-12
	Shayla's Double Brown Baby Blues by Lori Aurelia Williams	In this sequel to When Kambia Elaine Flew In From Neptune, Shayla must deal with a baby sister from her father and his new wife; a classmate named Lemm, who has an alcohol problem; and Kambia, who is still trying to survive her previous abusive past.	10-12
	Razzle by Ellen Wittlinger	When fifteen-year-old Kenyon Baker is forced to move with his parents to a group of tourist cabins they purchased, his days are filled with work on the cabins until he makes friends with an eccentric girl who becomes the subject of a series of photographs he enters in a contest.	10-12
	The Long Night of Leo and Bree by Ellen Wittlinger	When the wealthy Bree is kidnapped by the tormented, grief-stricken Leo, they comfort one another and form a bond that helps them both face their futures.	10-12
	Rubber Houses by Ellen Yeomans	A novel in verse that relates seventeen-year-old Kit’s experiences as her younger brother is diagnosed with and dies of cancer and as she withdraws into and gradually emerges from her grief.	9-12
	Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr	During the summer after her sophomore year, Deanna Lambert tries to come to terms with the reputation with which she was slapped in the eighth grade when she was caught by her father in the backseat of a car with a high school senior, and struggles with her still-strained relationship with her father and her changing feelings for her best friend, Jason.	10-12
	Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin	After a fall that causes her to forget the past four years, Naomi must figure out who she really is. She forgets about her parent’s divorce. She forgets her mom remarried and had another kid. She forgets her friends. She even forgets her boyfriend Ace – and why she liked him in the first place. She tries to go through the motions like nothings changed, but it isn’t really working. Especially since she can't stop thinking about that other boy…the moody handsome boy with a dangerous reputation who told her he once wanted to kiss her.	9-12
*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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