High school book recommendations can be challenging to find. Today’s teens do not want to read the “classics” their parents might have read 20 years ago. Some classic novels are good, but so many can be boring, or students are not at the age where they can fully appreciate the writing. Two of my favourite genres are YA fiction and dystopian fiction.
When it comes to high school book recommendations, books today are written with characters that teen readers can relate to. They also address current issues that teens are exposed to daily as they live their lives and scan through their social media pages: racism, divorce, sexual identity, and bullying, to name a few. Below are links to several curated high school book recommendations for teachers, parents or anyone who enjoys reading YA fiction.
High School Book Recommendations
YA Book Lists
- 10 Books for Teen Readers
- 10 Best YA Fiction Books for High School Students
- Engaging Books for Struggling and Reluctant Readers
- 10 Worthy Books for Teen and Young Adult Readers
- Engaging YA Books
- How to Use and Find Young Adult Literature For The ELA Classroom
- Young Adult Books By Indigenous Authors
Book Lists By Topic/Theme
- World War Two Themed Novels For High School Students
- YA Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels
- YA Realistic Fiction Novels
- YA Mystery Novels
- YA Romance Novels
- 9 Powerful Realistic Fiction Books For High School Readers
Book Reviews
- Vicious is My Middle Name Book Review
- Book Review: How I Resist by Maureen Johnson
- Book Review: Dear Martin by Nic Stone
- Book Review: What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee
- Book Review: For Everyone by Jason Reynolds
- Book Review: Confessions of a High School Disaster by Emma Chastain
Middle School Book Lists
Middle school books are not just for middle school students. Many books on these curated lists are enjoyable for middle and high school students. These lists are sorted by genre, topic and theme.
Teach English Language Arts?
Check out this booklist of top professional reading for ELA teachers.
Reading Resources for Teachers
If you are a middle or high school English teacher, these resources would be a great addition to your classroom and will work with any of these high school book recommendations.
Novel Study Unit for Any Novel
This resource can be used to teach ANY novel for whole-class novel studies, book clubs, literature circles or independent reading.
Students will enjoy this differentiated and engaging unit. This unit focuses on the literary elements of plot, character, setting, theme, and conflict, as well as these literary devices: similes, metaphors, symbols and foreshadowing.
Use this unit to introduce or review literary elements and literary devices with your students. Find the Novel Study Unit for Any Novel on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Keep your students organized during independent reading. This independent reading assignment is a collection of 6 Independent Reading Tracking Forms and 1 Reading Journal Assignment.
These reading tracking forms help students stay organized and purposeful during reading workshops or independent reading time. Easy-to-use assessment forms are included to ensure student accountability and less teacher marking stress.
Find the Reading Journal Assignment on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Use this Book Versus Movie Analysis Project to help students gain higher-order thinking skills as they compare their favourite book to the movie. Students will select a book to read that has been made into a movie.
They will have a series of assignments to complete that demonstrate their understanding of both the book and the movie. Students will compare and contrast the novel and the movie’s plot, characters, setting, and theme. Each assignment section includes a due date option to space out your marking load.
Find the Book Versus Movie Analysis Project on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Help your students dive deeper into their reading with these 12 different book report assignments. Each assignment enables students to showcase their creativity while meeting your curriculum standards. This book report set covers both Fiction and Non-Fiction Genres.
The assignment type rotates every three months, helping students achieve mastery while still providing student choice. Lessons are completely stand-alone and can be used with any other reading and/or ELA program.
Find the 12 Genre Book Reports resource on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Get your students excited about reading by listening to their peers’ book recommendations. In this book talk assignment, students can persuade their peers to read or not read a book.
This assignment is not your traditional book talk, as students must think of a creative way to present this to their classmates, e.g. dressing up like a librarian or pretending to be a character from the novel.
Find the Student Book Talk Assignment on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
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