Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Across Five Aprils Hunt, Irene 1100
During the Civil War, nine-year-old Jethro must
run the family farm in southern Illinois almost
alone
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Doyle, Sir Arthur
Conan 1080
People from kings to governess enlist the
services of the consulting detectives Sherlock
Holmes to throw light on dark enigmas in their
lives
American Government (Painless) Strausser,Jeffrey NL 6/27/2018
This book opens with a general description of
government and a comparison of democracy as
practiced by the founding fathers and how it
operates in today's America. The author goes
on to discuss the Constitution as our basis of
government, civil liberties and civil rights, the
legislative, executive, and judicial branches of
the federal government, elections and political
parties, how public policy is created and shaped,
and how each citizen can become involved in
the process of self-government.
Animal Farm Orwell, George 1370
A political satire in which the animals take over
running the farm, but find their utopian state
turning into a dictatorship
Anthem Rand, Ayn 880
In a future world, only one man dares to think,
strive, and love as an individual in the midst of a
paralyzing collective humanity
As You Like It Shakespeare NL
Backstairs at the White House: A
Novel Bagni, Gwen nl
Based on the 30 years of Lillian Rogers Park
and her time spent working at the White House
Beginning Place, The Le Guim, Ursula K. NL
Two young people meet in a magical, peaceful
world, but soon they find their refuge becoming
a place of horror and nightmare
Plath, Sylvia N/A
“Literary texts studied in the high school classroom are complex, higher-level texts which may contain mature content and themes. ‘Mature content’ may include, but is not
limited to pervasive strong language, disturbing violence and behavior, sexual acts, drug/alcohol use or references, controversial content, or culturally diverse themes. These
books are selected based on their literary merit and will be studied through their historical and cultural context. Our instructional purpose is to expose students to
perspectives unlike or in opposition to their own in order to analyze complex themes and to promote individual reflection and academic growth.” A parent or guardian may
request an alternate assignment for his/her child if the selected supplementary resource is determined personally offensive or too mature to the student. In order to exercise
this option, the parent/guardian should contact the teacher and discuss the objections to the selected resource. After conversing with the teacher, the parent may opt to
allow his/her child to read or view the selection or the parent may choose to submit a written request for his/her student to be given an alternative assignment. (Note:
Alternative assignments will require independent work due to the inability to have class discussions and collaborative assignments with peers.)
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Beyond the Chocolate War Cormier, Robert 810 Strategic Literacy
Dark deeds continue at Trinity High School,
climaxing in a public demonstration of one
student’s homemade guillotine. Sequel to The
Chocolate WarBig Wave Buck, Pearl S. 790
Black Butterflies Carlton, Alexander. NL Collection of stories of the South in transition
Black Like Me
Griffin, John
Howard 990
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
The author, a white man, recounts his
experiences when he darkened his skin and
traveled through the South as a black man.
Includes an epilogue
Bless Me, Ultima Anaya, Rudolfo A 840
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
(Winner of the Premio Quinto Sol national
Chicano literary award) Ultima, a woman who
heals with herbs and magic, comes to live with
Antonio’s family in New Mexico and helps Tony
journey from childhood to young adulthoo
Blue Skin of the Sea Salisbury, Graham 810
Growing up in Hawaii between 1953 and 1966,
Sonny tries to come to terms with his feelings
for his fisherman father and the vast sea that
dominates his life
Breaking Through Jimenez, Francisco 750
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
Breaking Through chronicles the author's
teenage years. At the age of 14, Francisco and
his family are caught by la migra (immigration
officers) and forced to leave their California
home, but soon find their way back. The author
explores the prejudice and challenges they face
while also relaying universal adolescent
experiences of school, dances and romances.
Breathing Underwater Finn, Alex 510
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
Teen Nick Andreas ends up in anger
management class because he beat up his
girlfriend. The novel is about how he comes to
manage his anger and to take responsibility for
his actions.
*Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Alexander 1080 *9-10 Social StudiesChronicles the western expansion and the
mistreatment of Native Americans
Cannery Row Steinbeck, John 930L
Mack, the leader of a group of local bums,
decides that he wants to do something nice for
Doc, a marine biologist and neighborhood
genius, so he throws Doc a party in his lab.
When Doc returns home—late because he was
doing research on the seashore—the party is
already over and his lab has been trashed.
Ashamed of the mess they’ve made, Mack and
his friends make another attempt at celebrating
Doc, this time with more success.
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Chocolate War, The: A Novel Cormier, Robert 820
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
A high school freshman discovers the
devastating consequences of refusing to join in
the school’s annual fund raising drive and
arousing the wrath of the school bullies
Chosen, The Potok, Chaim 970
This novel follows two young Jewish men,
Reuven Malter, an orthodox Jew, and Danny
Saunders, son of a Hasidic rabbi – and the
course of their friendship as they grow up in
Brooklyn
Christmas Carol, A Dickens, Charles 1080
The classic Christmas story about a miser
names Scrooge and some Christmas ghosts
Cold Sassy Tree Burns, Olive Ann 930
Cold Sassy, Georgia, had never been a
whirlpool of excitement. If the preacher's wife's
petticoats showed, the ladies could make the
talk last a week.
But on July 5, 1906, things took a scandalous
turn. That was the day E. Rucker Blakeslee,
proprietor of the general store and barely three
weeks a widower, eloped with Miss Love
Simpson -- a woman half his age and, worse
yet, a Yankee!
David Copperfield Dickens, Charles. 1070
A young boy in 19th century London runs away
from an unhappy home, finds employment in a
wine factory, and becomes acquainted with a
wide variety of characters in the city streets
Death Be Not Proud Gunther, John 1060
But on July 5, 1906, things took a scandalous
turn. That was the day E. Rucker Blakeslee,
proprietor of the general store and barely three
weeks a widower, eloped with Miss Love
Simpson -- a woman half his age and, worse
yet, a Yankee!
Dove Graham, Robin Lee 1020
The author describes the five years he spent
sailing around the world alone in his twenty-four-
foot sloop
Dracula Stoker 960
Dragons of Eden, The Sagan, Carl
Presents an overview of human evolution and
discusses human and animal intelligence, the
mechanisms of the brain, memory, sleep, myths
and legends about evolution, and the possibility
of intelligent extraterrestrial life
Ellen Foster Gibbons, Kaye 870
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Ender's Game Card, Orson Scott 780
Ender, who is the result of genetic
experimentation, may be the military genius
Earth needs in its war against an alien enemy
Eric Lund, Doris Herold 810
The mother of a teenage leukemia patient
describes the courageous way her son spent the
years before his death
Ethan Frome Wharton, Edith 1160
Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury, Ray 890
A bookburner official in a future fascist state
finds out books are a vital part of a culture he
never knew. He clandestinely pursues reading
until he is betrayed
Farewell to Arms, A Hemingway 730
Farewell to Manzanar
Houston, Jeanne
Wakatsuki 1040
Biography of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
relating her experiences of living at the
Manzanar internment camp during World War II
and how it has influenced her life
Fast Times in Palestine Olson, Pamela n/a
4/26/2016
Fast Times in Palestine is Olson’s powerful,
deeply moving account of life in Palestine—both
the daily events that are universal to us all as
well as the violence, trauma, and political
tensions that are particular to the country. Her
irresistible story offers a multi-faceted
understanding of the Palestinian perspective on
the Israel–Palestine conflict, filling a gap in the
West’s understanding of the difficult relationship
between the two nations.
Father Figure Peck, Richard 720
Fellowship of the Ring, The Tolkien, J.R.R. 860
Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye Lowry, Lois
Seventeen-year-old Natalie, girl who seems to
have everything, goes in pursuit of her real
mother
First Ammendment, The: Freedom of
Speech, the Press, and Religion Jones, Molly 1020 6/27/2018
The First Amendment safeguards some of our
most important civil liberties, including freedom
of speech, religion, assembly, and the press.
This book explores the origin and history of the
First Amendment and how the courts have been
involved in protecting or limiting these freedoms.
The author explains how interpretations of the
amendment have evolved and what
controversies have surrounded it. The text cites
important cases, including examples involving
freedom of expression in school.
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Flowers for Algernon Keyes, Daniel 910
Mentally retarded Charlie Gordon participates in
an experiment which turns him into a genius, but
only temporarily
Fourth Widow, The Adams, Harold
Ever since Carl Wilcox returned to Corden,
South Dakota, he was always the first person
contacted when a crime was committed. Just
because he was an ex-cop with a reputation as
a troublemaker, they were now trying to pin a
murder on him
Friendly Persuasion, The West, Jessamyn 970
Follows the experiences of a Quaker family in
Indiana at the time of the Civil War
Friends, The Guy Rosa 730
Phyllisia eventually recognizes that her own
selfish pride rather than her mother’s death and
her father’s tyrannical behavior created the gulf
between her and her best friend
Friendship, The Taylor, Mildred D. 750
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
Cassie Logan and her brothers have been
warned never to go to the Wallace store, so
they know to expect trouble there. What they
don't expect is to hear Mr. Tom Bee, an elderly
black man, daring to call the white storekeeper
by his first name. The year is 1933, the place
Mississippi, and any child knows some things
just aren't done.
Gather Together in My Name Angelou 800
Continues Angelou’s autobiography, I Know
Why the Caged Birds Sings---- As the book
begins, she is in her teens and has given birth to
son
Glass Menagerie, The Williams, Tennessee NP=non prose *9-10
Go Ask Alice Anonymous 1040
Based on a diary of a fifteen-year-old drug user
chronicling her struggle to escape the pull of the
drug world
God Emperor of Dune Herbert, Frank 780
Fourth book in the Dune series-- Takes place
3500 years after the event of the original trilogy--
Tells the story of Leto, the son of Paul Atreides,
who has traded his humanity to become an
immortal sandworm of Dune
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Gold Cadillac, The Taylor, Mildred D. 650
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
Lois and Wilma are proud of their father's brand-
new gold Cadillac, and excited that the family
will be driving it all the way from Ohio to
Mississippi. But as they travel deeper into the
rural South, there are no admiring glances for
the shiny new car; only suspicion and anger for
the black man behind the wheel. For the first
time in their lives, Lois and her sister know what
it's like to feel scared because of the color of
their skin. A personal, poignant look at a black
child's first experience with institutional racism
Grapes of Wrath, The Steinbeck, John 680 *9-10
The saga of a family in 1939 that struggles
through the Great Depression by laboring as
Dust Bowl migrants
Greek Treasure, The: A biographical
novel of Henry and Sophia
Schliemann Stone, Irving na
A fictional account of the adventures of Sophia
and Henry Schliemann when they located the
site of ancient Troy and made other important
archaeological discoveries
Half the Sky
Kristof, Nicholas
and WuDunn,
Sheryl N/A
One Book, One
School for
MC@Bennett
8/12/2013
A passionate call to arms against our era’s most
pervasive human rights violation: the oppression
of women and girls in the developing world.
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Hate U Give, The Thomas, Angie HL590L
9/12/2018
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between
two worlds: the poor black neighborhood where
she lives and the fancy suburban prep school
she attends. The uneasy balance between these
worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the
fatal shooting of her childhood best friend,
Khalil, at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was
unarmed. Soon afterward, Khalil's death is a
national headline. Some are calling him a thug,
maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger.
Starr's best friend at school suggests he may
have had it coming. When it becomes clear the
police have little interest in investigating the
incident, protesters take to the streets and
Starr's neighborhood becomes a war zone.
What everyone wants to know is: What really
went down that night? And the only person alive
who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr
does--or does not--say could destroy her
community. It could also endanger her life. A. C.
Thomas's searing debut about an ordinary girl in
extraordinary circumstances addresses issues
of racism and police violence with intelligence,
heart, and unflinching honesty. *Language
warning.
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’
First 100 years
Delany, Sarah
Louise na
Warm, feisty, and intelligent, the Delany sisters
speak their mind in a book that is at once a vital
historical record and a moving portrait of two
remarkable women who continued to love,
laugh, and embrace life after over a hundred
years of living side by side.
Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, The McCullers Carson 760
A deaf mute who has lost his only friend to a
hospital for the insane becomes the recipient of
the confidences of several other town residents
Her Own Place Sanders, Dori 730
The story of Mae Lee, a black woman in South
Carolina, who is in succession a war bride,
abandoned wife, proud mother, dutiful daughter,
and a successful farmer
Hiding Place, The Ten Boom, Corrie 900
Describes the experiences of the author’s Dutch
Christian family who hid Jews during the Nazi
occupation of Holland
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Adams, Douglas na
Seconds before Earth is demolished to make
room for a galactic freeway, an earthman is
saved by his friend. Together they journey
through the galaxy
Hobbit, The Tolkien, J.R.R 1000
Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit,
lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day
the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to
take part in an adventure from which he may
never return
Horse Whisperer, The Evans, Nicholas 970
A mother brings her teenage daughter and their
horse, Pilgrim, both seriously injured by a
speeding truck, to the Horse Whisperer in
Montana
House Made of Dawn Momaday, N. Scott 970
A young American Indian, Abel, lived in two
worlds: one was that of his fathers and a drug
called peyote and the other was the twentieth
century. Home from a foreign war, he was
being torn apart, unable to find his place either
in the white man’s world or on the reservation
House on Mango Street, The Cisneros, Sandra 870
A young girl living in an Hispanic neighborhood
in Chicago ponders the advantages and
disadvantages of her environment and
evaluates her relationships with family and
friends
How Green Was My Valley Llewellyn, Richard 1090
The story of Huw Morgan , his gentle but
tyrannical father, his strong-willed brothers and
sisters, and his brave and beloved mother
How Many Miles to Babylon? : A
Novel Fox, Paula 720
Ten-year-old James skips school to go to his
secret place, a deserted house, where he is
found by three teenage boys who force him to
join their dognapping ringHow the Gargia Girls Lost Their
Accents Alvarez, Julia 950
The story of the Garcia family adjustment to life
in the United States
Hunger Games Collins 810
3/22/2012Note: this book meets grade 7 text complexity
and is on the middle school reading list.
I Have a Dream King, Martin Luther
I Heard the Owl Call My Name Margaret Craven 1080
Sent to live with an Indian tribe in British
Columbia, a young minister learns not to fear his
impending death
I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings Angelou, Maya 1070
Autobiography covering the childhood of a
woman who has been a professional dancer,
actress, poet, journalist, and television producer
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden Greenburg, Joanne 960
Chronicles the three-year battle of a mentally ill,
but perceptive, teenage girl against a world of
her own creation, emphasizing her relationship
with the doctor who gave her the ammunition of
self-understanding with which to destroy that
world of fantasy
I Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey NowAngelou 1190
This is a book to treasured, a book about being
in all ways a woman, about living well, about the
power of the word, and about the power do
spirituality to move and shape your life.
Iceman Lynch, Chris 880
Fourteen-year-old Eric, a ruthless hockey player
prone to violence on the ice, tries to reconcile
his own needs with those of his parents
If I Grow Up Strasser, Todd
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
In the Frederick Douglass Project where he
lives, gunshots ring out on a daily basis. Drug
lords and gang leaders are the most important
pople he knows, and most of his friends have
already dropped out of school to join a gang.
DeShawn doesn't want to join up--he's smart
enough to know that gangbangers always end
up dead or in jail. But as his family goes hungry
while his friends have new sneakers and flat-
screen TVs, it's getting harder and harder for
him to stay in school and keep clean.
Jacob Have I Loved Paterson, Katherine 880
Having felt deprived all her life of schooling,
friends, mother, and even her name by her twin
sister, Louise finally begins to find her identity.
Justice and Her Brothers Hamilton, Virginia 670
An eleven –year-old and her older twin brothers
struggle to understand their supersensory
powers
Keesha’s House Frost, Helen NP
6/2/2010
Written as a sequence of dramatic monologues
in poetic form, this novel weaves together the
stories of seven teens as they struggle to hold
their lives together
Killer Diller: A Novel Edgerton, Clyde na
Wesley is in a local halfway house in North
Carolina for car stealing. There they try to teach
Baptist values to criminals
Kim Kipling, Rudyard na
Kim, the orphaned son of an Irish soldier, grows
up in India. A secret mission for the British and
a bond with a Tibetan lama soon lead Kim into a
life of spies and secrets
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Last Enchantment, The Stewart 980
Arthur Pendragon is King! Unchallenged on the
battlefield, he melds the country together in a
time of promise. But sinister powers plot to
destroy Camelot, and when the witch-queen
Morgause — Arthur's own half sister —
ensnares him in an incestuous liaison, a fatal
web of love, betrayal, and bloody vengeance is
woven.Lathe of Heaven, The Le Guin, Ursula K na In the year 2002 a man discovers his dreams are out of control. Whatever he dreams becomes reality
LeRoy and the Old Man Butterworth, W.E. 630
LeRoy flees Chicago to live with his grandfather,
a shrimp fisherman in Mississippi rather than
testify against a tough gang. When the Chicago
police find him, he has decide if he will risk his
life to testify
Let the Circle Be Unbroken Taylor, Mildred D. 850
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
Four black children growing up in rural
Mississippi during the Depression experience
racial antagonisms and hard times, but learn
from their parents the pride and self-respect
they need to survive
Letters to a Young Brother Harper, Hill
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
2/8/2012
This book offers inspirational advice (from
Harper, Nas, Venus Williams, Barack Obama
and other celebrities) in a down-to-earth style
using a unique compilation of letters to provide
wisdom, guidance, and genuine insight to help
young men chart their own paths to success. It
dispels the stereotypical image of success that
young people receive today and instead
emphasizes alternative views of what it truly
means to be a successful male, such as
educational and community achievements and
self-respect.
Letters to a Young Sister: Define
Your Destiny Harper, Hill
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
2/8/2012
This book uses an epistolary format, interrupted
by youth-centric digressions, to capture the
hearts and minds of his target audience, young
women, with central topics like blues, love,
family relationships, saving money, and
appreciating life. Each chapter is a letter
beginning with an uplifting quote and post-
scripted with a question posed via e-mail and
answered by famous, successful women like
Nikki Giovanni, Michelle Obama, Ruby Dee and
Eve.
Listening is an Act of Love Isay, Dave2/8/2012
A collection of interviews and personal
narratives from people all across America.-
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Lord of the Flies Golding
3/22/2012
This novel is the story of a group of English boys
who are marooned on an island. It explores the
power of good and evil in human beings.
Lord of the Rings, The Tolkien, J.R.R. 810
Pt.1: The fellowship of the ring – Pt.2: The two
towers – Pt.3: The return of the king--- Follows
the Companions of the Ring as they set out to
destroy the Ring of Power and check the power
of the evil Sauron
*Master Harold and the Boys Fugard non prose *9-10
This play about a young white boy and two
African servants is at once a compelling drama
of South African apartheid and a universal
coming-of-age story.
Maud Martha Brooks, Gwendolyn ?
This narrative focuses on critical scenes from
the life of Maud Martha Brown Phillips, who
begins the story as a seven-year-old child and
ends as a young married woman, pregnant with
her second child
Measure of Our Success, The: A
letter to my children and yours
Edelman, Marian
Wright ?
Author explains her Twenty-Five Lessons for
Life – a message for all parents raising children
Miracle Worker, The Gibson, William NP
Contains the script for the play about blind, deaf,
and mute Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie
Sullivan
Monster Myers, Walter Dean 670 5/10/2010
The story of a teenager arrested for murder is
told through journals and a movie script.
Moves Make the Man, The: A Novel Brooks, Bruce 1150
A black boy and an emotionally troubled white
boy in North Carolina form a precarious
friendship
Mythology Hamilton, Edith 1040
This book brings together the great stories from
Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology that are
the fountainhead of all literature.
Natural, The Malamud, Bernard 1060
the story of a superbly gifted “natural” at play in
the fields of the old daylight baseball era—and
invested it with the hardscrabble poetry, at once
grand and altogether believable,
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Night of the Twisters Ruckman, Ivy 790
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
When a tornado watch is issued one Tuesday
evening in June, twelve-year-old Dan Hatch and
his best friend, Arthur, don't think much of it.
After all, tornado warnings are a way of life
during the summer in Grand Island, Nebraska.
But soon enough, the wind begins to howl, and
the lights and telephone stop working. Then the
emergency siren starts to wail. Dan, his baby
brother, and Arthur have only seconds to get to
the basement before the monstrous twister is on
top of them. Little do they know that even if they
do survive the storm, their ordeal will have only
just begun
No Kidding Brooks, Bruce ?
In his twenty-first century society, fourteen-year-
old Sam is allowed to decide the fate of his
family after his mother is released from an
alcohol rehabilitation center
Nobody Waved Goodbye Haggard, Elizabeth ?
A troubled boy engages in numerous rebellious
acts until he commits one irrevocable act of
defiance that ends in tragedy
*Odyssey Homer na *9-10
Epic poem recounting the experiences of
Odysseus during his return from the Trojan War
Old Man and the Sea, The Hemingway, Ernest 940
An old fisherman battles the sea and sharks in
order to bring home the giant marlin he caught
Oliver Twist Dickens, Charles
In nineteenth-century England, a young orphan
boy lives in the squalid surroundings of a
workhouse until he becomes involved with a
gang of thieves
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft King, Steven
1150 5/15/2013
"Part memoir, part master class, this superb
volume is a revealing and practical view of the
writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the
trade every writer must have
Other Wes Moore, The: One Name,
Two Fates Moore, Wes 970 3/5/2012
Two kids with the same name lived in the same
decaying city. One went on to be a Rhodes
Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White
House fellow, and business leader. The other is
serving a life sentence in prison. Here is the
story of two boys and the journey of a
generation (Barnes and Noble)
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Pearl, The Steinbeck, John 1010
For the diver Kino, finding a magnificent pearl
means the promise of a better life for his
impoverished family. His dreams blind him to the
greed that the pearl arouses in him and his
neighbors. Baring the fallacy of the American
dream--that wealth erases all problems--
Steinbeck's classic illustrates our fall from
innocence
Peeled Bauer, Joan 620
Hildy Biddle is waiting for the chance to prove
herself as more than a small-town high school
journalist. The trouble is, her town's biggest
story stars a ghost. But while the local paper is
playing up townspeople's fears with shocking
headlines of creepy happenings, Hildy is
dtermined to discover what is really going on.
Piano Lesson, The Wilson, August NP
A sister and brother fight over a piano that has
been in the family for three generations, creating
a remarkable drama that embodies the painful
past and expectant future of black Americans
Privacy and Surveillance Senker, Cath 1020 6/27/2018
Explores contemporary issues of an ethical
nature and encourages lively debate.
Profiles in Courage Kennedy, John F. 1410
A study of men who, at a risk to themselves,
stood fast for a principle---Includes John Quincy
Adams, Daniel Webster, Sam Houston, Robert
Taft and others
Red Pony, The Steinbeck, John 810
Ownership of a beautiful red pony teaches ten-
year old Jody about life and death.
Red Prophet Card, Orson Scott 930
Come here to the magical America that might
have been, and marvel as the tale of Alvin
Maker unfolds. The seventh son of a seventh
son is a boy of mysterious powers, and he is
waking to the mysteries of the land and its own
chosen people.
Redburn, His First Voyage Melville, Herman
One of three unabridged novels of the sea
written by Herman Melville between 1849 and
1851-----Teenage Redburn experiences
loneliness and the cruelty of a tyrannical captain
aboard a merchant ship in the 19th century
Return, The Levitin, Sonia
Desta and the other member of her Falasha
family, Jews suffering from discrimination in
Ethiopia, finally flee the country and attempt the
dangerous journey to Israel
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Rich in Love
Humphreys,
Josephine
As the Odom family falls apart, seventeen-year-
old Lucille Odom is brought across the threshold
of womanhood and emotional maturity
River Runs Through It, A Maclean, Norman
A river runs through it – Logging and pimping
and “Your pal, Jim” – USFS 1919------About the
relationship between a father and his two sons,
bound together by love and fly fishing
Robinson Crusoe Defoe 930
This classic tale of shipwreck and survival on an
uninhabited island was an instant success when
first published in 1719 and has inspired
countless imitations
Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare,
William na
Two lovers are destroyed by the hatred of their
families for one another
Romiette and Julio Draper, Sharon 610
2/23/2016
This modern day retelling of Romeo and Juliet
explores the opposition that a high school
couple faces. Romiette and Julio, who share
different backgrounds, must also navigate
disapproval from their families and
communitites.
Salteaters, The
Bambara, Toni
Cade
Novel that came out of a problem-solving
impulse to bridge the gap and merge the frames
reference of the activists or warriors and the
adepts or medicine people of Haiti
Scat Hiaasen, Carl 810
When biology teacher Mrs. Starch goes missing
in the Black Vine Swamp during a field trip, Nick
and Marta decide to go looking for her and get
caught up in illegal oil drilling.
Sea Wolf, The London, Jack 1020
Relates the story of a wealthy young man who is
rescued after a shipwreck by the brutal, ruthless
captain of a tramp steamer
Secret Life of Bees Kidd, Sue Monk 840
Living on a peach farm in South Carolina with
her harsh, unyielding father, Lily Owens has
shaped her entire life around one devastating,
blurred memory - the afternoon her mother was
killed, when Lily was four. Since then, her only
Seedfolks Fleischman, Paul 710
5/10/2010
One by one, a number of people of varying ages
and backgrounds transform a trash-filled inner-
city lot into a productive and beautiful garden,
and in doing so, the gardeners are themselves
Separate Peace, A Knowles, John 1110
The close friendship of two sixteen-year-old
boys is marred by an act of aggression
committed by one of them against the other.
Seventh Son Card, Orson Scott 910
Born into an alternative frontier America where
life is hard and folk magic is real, Alvin is gifted
with the power. He must learn to use his gift
wisely. But dark forces are arrayed against
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Shane Schaefer, Jack ?
When a rider with a mysterious past becomes a
hired hand for the Starretts, homesteaders on
the open range land of Wyoming, he is able to
save the family he comes to love from the
Skin of Our Teeth, The Wilder, Thorton ?
An “allegorical comedy of man’s struggle for
human survival”
Slaughterhouse Five Vonnegut, Kurt 850 An anti-war novel based on Vonnegut's own
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie Lubar, David 560
May, 2012
Takes readers on a humorous journey with
Scott during his first year of high school. As if
beginning high school isn't stressful enough,
Scott also learns that his mother is pregnant.
Speak Anderson, Laurie 690
May, 2012
"Speak up for yourself - we want to know what
you have to say." From the first moment of her
freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda
knows that this is a big fat lie, part of the
nonsense of high school. She is friendless,
outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer
party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk
to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes,
she becomes increasingly isolated and
practically stops talking altogether. Only her art
class offers any solace, and it is through her
work on an art project that she is finally able to
Speckled Band, The: A Short Story Doyle, Arthur Conan ?
Sherlock Holmes comes to the aid of a client
whose sister’s last words before she died were,
“It was the speckled band.” A portion of each
illustration glows in the dark
Sorry, Wrong Number Fletcher NL 3/22/2012
An old-fashioned telephone play murder
mystery.
Stars of Fortune Harnett, Cynthia ? In England in 1554 the four eldest Washington
Swiss Family Robinson, The
Wyss, Johann
David 1260
Relates the fortunes of a shipwrecked family as
they adapt to life on an island with abundant
animal and plant life
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Thousand Splendid Suns, A Hosseini, Khaled 830 6/27/2018
An incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan
history and a deeply moving story of family,
friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in
love. Born a generation apart and with very
different ideas about love and family, Mariam
and Laila are two women brought jarringly
together by war, by loss and by fate. As they
endure the ever escalating dangers around
them-in their home as well as in the streets of
Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes
them both sisters and mother-daughter to each
other, and that will ultimately alter the course not
just of their own lives but of the next generation.
Thread That Runs So True, The Stuart, Jesse 880
A first-person narrative, Stuart enriches the
story of his own education and development
with a deep appreciation for his students and
their accomplishments in the Appalachian
Three Musketeers, The Dumas, Alexandre 960
During the reign of France’s King Louis XIII,
d’Artagan and the Three Musketeers unite to
defend the honor of Anne of Austria against the
plots of Cardinal Richelieu
*To Kill a Mockingbird Lee, Harper 870 *9-10
Two small children in a small Alabama town are
thrust into an adult world of racial bigotry and
hatred when their lawyer father chooses to
defend a black man charged with raping a white
Time Machine, The Wells, H.G. 1070
A time traveler who voyages into the future finds
that the world has been divided into two races
Tracks Erdrich 950
Trifles Glaspell NL 3/20/2012
Tells the story of a seventy-eight-year-old
independent widow who recognizes the
loneliness in her life until Wesley Benfield drops
in
Title Author Lexile CCSS Exemplar Date Added Annotation
Uglies Westerfield, Scott 770 6/27/2018
Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait.
In just a few weeks she’ll have the operation
that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a
stunningly attractive pretty. And as a pretty,
she’ll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise
where her only job is to have fun.
But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants
to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally
learns about a whole new side of the pretty
world—and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities
offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her
in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally’s choice will
change her world forever.
Walk Two Moons Creech, Sharon 770
Strategic Literacy
and Academic Edge
As Sal entertains her grandparents with
Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story
begins to unfold--the story of a 13-year-old girl
whose only wish is to be reunited with her
mother.
Walkabout Marshall 800
Walking Across Egypt: A Novel Edgerton, Clyde 670
Tells the story of a seventy-eight-year-old
independent widow who recognizes the
loneliness in her life until Wesley Benfield drops
inWar of the Worlds, The Wells, H.G. 1170 An intellectually superior race invades the Earth
We Beat the Streets
Davis, Jenkins,
Hunt 860 May, 2012
The true story of 3 boys who overcome the odds
of the streets of Harlem with drugs, murders,
and robberies to become doctors
Wedding, The West, Dorothy ?
The story of five generations of an African-
American family and the wedding on Martha’s
Vineyard that could tear them apart
West Side Story Laurents, Arthur ?
1950’s musical about two young lovers caught
up in a feud between two NY gangs--- Modern
parallel to Romeo and Juliet
When the Legends Die Borland, Hal 850
An orphaned Ute Indian boy wins stardom on
the rodeo circuit but, disillusioned by his
success, returns to the ways of his ancestors
When Worlds Collide Wylie, Phillip ?
Scientists are building rocket ships for a chosen
few to escape from two planets hurling toward
each other on a direct collision course. Their
secret leaks out, touching off a savage struggle
for survival
Wizard of Earthsea, A LeGuin 1150 3/22/2012
The first of a trilogy about Earthsea. It is an early
richer "Harry Potter" tale that deals with identity
and balance in life.
In the year 2002 a man discovers his dreams are out of control. Whatever he dreams becomes reality