As a reading teacher, this growing list is full of books perfect for your middle school and up reader looking for engaging reads. Adults will love them too.
Perfect for 7th-9th grade readers. Two book series. Dystopian.
The Compound
Check with your student's teacher, but this book just might be on their reading list this year. My 8th graders read if every year. Your own copy allows for annotating during the unit.
The Outsiders
A Netflix movie?!? I didn't know that. A summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany in this sweeping New York Times bestseller filled with romance, mystery, and adventure that Kirkus Reviews called “a sure bet for fans of romance fiction.”
Love & Gelato
I have had 7th and 8th grade students that read this as a whole class novel. Check with your school. In Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal–winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as t...
The Giver (Giver Quartet, Book 1)
This dystopian follows kids during a catastrophic drought. So gripping.
Dry
Gripping, true story about a girl who hides jews in her attic!!
The Light in Hidden Places
I love a good dystopian, and this series can actually be stand alone. They follow different kids in different parts of the world when the moon falls.
Life As We Knew It
Follow a young girl as she is faced with the effects of Stalen's rule!
