Grade 9 Summer Reading List
ONLY need to choose ONE book from either FICTION, NON-FICTION, or GRAPHIC NOVELS below
All American Boys
By Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds
"When sixteen-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend. Told through Rashad and Quinn's alternating viewpoints."
Genre: Realistic fiction; Multiple perspectives
Subjects: Race relations, High schools, Law enforcement, Racism, Schools, Interpersonal relations, Politics, Violence
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The Astonishing Color of After
by Emily X.R. Pan
"Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird. Leigh, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her best friend and longtime secret crush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life. Alternating between real and magic, past and present, friendship and romance, hope and despair, The Astonishing Color of After is a novel about finding oneself through family history, art, grief, and love."
Genre: Magical realism
Subjects: Artists, Children of people with mental illnesses, Families, Family secrets, Grandparents, Grief in teenagers, Loss (Psychology), Secrets, Self-discovery in teenagers, Suicide, Supernatural
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The Call
Call series #1
by Peadar Ó Guilín
"Imagine a world where you might disappear any minute, only to find yourself alone in a grey sickly land, with more horrors in it than you would ever wish to know about. And then you hear a horn and you know that whoever lives in this hell has got your scent and the hunt has already begun. Could you survive the Call?"
Genre: Horror fiction; Fantasy fiction; Mythological fiction
Subjects: Fairies, Teenage girls, Good and evil, Kidnapping, Survival
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Carry On
by Rainbow Rowell
"Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen. That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right. Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up."
Genre: Fantasy Fiction; Multiple perspectives
Subjects: Boarding schools, Magic, Monsters, Schools, Vampires, Wizards
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Elatsoe
by Darcie Little Badger
"Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day. Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family."
Genre: Fantasy fiction
Subjects: Families, Ghosts, Magic, Murder, Secrets, Teenage girls
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Everybody Sees the Antsby A.S. King
"Overburdened by his parents' bickering and a bully's attacks, fifteen-year-old Lucky Linderman begins dreaming of being with his grandfather, who went missing during the Vietnam War, but during a visit to Arizona, his aunt and uncle and their beautiful neighbor, Ginny, help him find a new perspective."
Genre: Magical realism
Subjects: Self confidence, Family life, Bullying, Dreams, Grandfathers, Missing persons, Vietnam War
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Furia
by Yamile Saied Méndez
"In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life. At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father. On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. In her wildest dreams, she’d get an athletic scholarship to a North American university. But the path ahead isn’t easy. Her parents don’t know about her passion. They wouldn’t allow a girl to play fútbol—and she needs their permission to go any farther. As her life becomes more complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her."
Genre: Coming-of-age stories; First person narratives; Realistic fiction; Sports fiction
Subjects: Abuse, Ambition, Conflict in families, Expectation (Psychology), Fathers and daughters, Sports, Secrets, Sexism, Soccer, Romance
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Golden Arm
by Carl Deuker
"As he enters his senior year of high school, Lazarus "Laz" Weathers's life already seems to be heading toward a dead end. Laz stutters, his struggles in school mean college isn't an option, the trailer park where he lives is about to be shut down, and his beloved brother has started hanging out with the local drug dealer. The only bright spot on Laz's horizon is baseball. Laz is a gifted pitcher, but his hopes of getting recruited for the minor leagues are dashed when his high school team forfeits at the beginning of their season. Fortunately, a last-minute chance to pitch for a wealthy school across town gives him one final chance to escape the trailer park and make a life for himself. Pressures from coaches and scouts build, and Laz is forced into a reckoning as he must decide what is truly important to him—his career or his family."
Genre: Baseball stories; Coming-of-age stories; Sports fiction
Subjects: Baseball, Brothers, Drugs, Poverty, Social classes, Teenage athletes
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Nyxia
by Scott Reintgen
"Emmett Atwater isn't just leaving Detroit; he's leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family. Forever. Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden--a planet that Babel has kept hidden--where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe. But Babel's ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won't forever compromise what it means to be human."
Genre: Science fiction
Subjects: Competition, Corporations, Mines and mineral resources, Planets, Space flight, Teenagers
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We Were Liars
by E. Lockhart
"This brilliant and heartbreaking novel tells the story of a prestigious family living on a private island off the coast of Massachusetts. Full of love, lies, secrets, no shortage of family dysfunction, and a shocking twist that you won’t see coming. "
Genre: Thrillers and suspense
Subjects: Accidents, Amnesia, Families, Friendship, Islands, Rich families, Romance, Wealth
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Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen
by Jazz Jennings
"Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the trans community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series—I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for trans teens, children, and adults. In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the trans community. But it hasn't all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a trans teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a trans teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy's body."
Genre: Autobiographies and memoirs; Narrative nonfiction
Subjects: Teenage girls, Teenage social advocates
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Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
"Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become."
Genre: Autobiographies and memoirs; Narrative nonfiction
Subjects: Civil Rights Movement, Growing up, Authors
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Flowers in the Gutter: The True Story of the Edelweiss Pirates, Teenagers Who Resisted the Nazis
by K.R. Gaddy
"Photo-illustrated nonfiction, the story of the Edelweiss Pirates, a group of working-class teens who not only survived but resisted the Nazis by whatever means they could, even when they knew it could cost them their lives. Flowers in the Gutter is told from the points of view Gertrude, Fritz, and Jean, three young people from working-class neighborhoods in Cologne, beginning with their pre-school years at the dawn of the Third Reich in the 1930s. Gaddy shows how political activism was always a part of their lives and how they witnessed first-hand the toll it took on their parents--and how they still carried the torch for justice when it was their turn. Once the war began, Gertrude, Fritz, and Jean and their friends survived and even resisted in one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany. Gaddy includes tense accounts of fights with Hitler Youth and the Gestapo, of disseminating anti-Nazi pamphlets, of helping POWs and forced laborers, and even of sabotaging Nazi factories. Ultimately, the war ended tragically for several young pirates, and Gaddy shows how post-war politics and prejudices led to these young men and women being branded criminals for decades after the war."
Genre: Biographies; History books; Narrative nonfiction
Subjects: Anti-Nazi movement, Defiance, Edelweiss Pirates, Nonconformity, Resistance to government, Sabotage, Teenage boys, World War II
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Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team
by Steve Sheinkin
"Before these men became legends, they met in 1907 at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, where they forged one of the winningest teams in the history of America’s favorite sport. Called “the team that invented football,” Carlisle’s innovative squad challenged the greatest, most elite teams—Harvard, Yale, Army—audaciously vowing to take their place among the nation’s football powers.This is an astonishing underdog sports story—and more. It’s an unflinching look at the U.S. government’s violent persecution of Native Americans and the school that was designed to erase Indian cultures. It’s the story of a group of young men who came together at that school, the overwhelming obstacles they faced both on and off the field, and their absolute refusal to accept defeat."
Genre: Biographies; Narrative nonfiction; Sports and recreation
Subjects: Football, Football players, Racism, United States Indian Schools
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We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World
by Malala Yousafzai
"Nobel Peace Prize winner and New York Times-bestselling author Malala Yousafzai introduces some of the people behind the statistics and news stories we read or hear every day about the millions of people displaced worldwide. Malala's experiences visiting refugee camps caused her to reconsider her own displacement - first as an Internally Displaced Person when she was a young child in Pakistan, and then as an international activist who could travel anywhere in the world except to the home she loved. In We Are Displaced, which is part memoir, part communal storytelling, Malala not only explores her own story, but she also shares the personal stories of some of the incredible girls she has met on her journeys - girls who have lost their community, relatives, and often the only world they've ever known. In a time of immigration crises, war, and border conflicts, We Are Displaced is an important reminder from one of the world's most prominent young activists that every single one of the 68.5 million currently displaced is a person - often a young person - with hopes and dreams."
Genre: Biographies; Life stories; Narrative nonfiction; Social issues; Society and culture
Subjects: Child refugees, Forced relocations, Immigration policy, Political refugees, Political violence, Refugee camps
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Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir
by Robin Ha
"For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up in the 1990s as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends at home and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily. And worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to—her mother. Then one day Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined."
Genre: Autobiographical comics; Autobiographies and memoirs; Biographies; Comics and Graphic novels
Subjects: Belonging, Immigrants, Mothers and daughters, Moving to a new country, Single mothers
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Anya's Ghost
by Vera Brosgol
"Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend—even a ghost—is just what she needs."
Genre: Comics and Graphic novels; Paranormal comics
Subjects: Belonging, Ghosts, Immigrant families, Interpersonal relations, Schools, Self-esteem, Teenage girls and ghosts, Wells
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Hey, Kiddo
by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
"In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett's family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett's life. His father is a mystery -- Jarrett doesn't know where to find him, or even what his name is. Jarrett lives with his grandparents -- two very loud, very loving, very opinionated people who had thought they were through with raising children until Jarrett came along. Jarrett goes through his childhood trying to make his non-normal life as normal as possible, finding a way to express himself through drawing even as so little is being said to him about what's going on. Only as a teenager can Jarrett begin to piece together the truth of his family, reckoning with his mother and tracking down his father."
Genre: Autobiographical comics; Comics and graphic novels; Family and Relationships; Life stories
Subjects: Coping, Drawing, Family relationships, Grandparents, Growing up, Nontraditional families, Parent-separated boys, Resilience (Personal quality), Children of drug abusers
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Snapdragon
by Kat Leyh
"Snap's town had a witch. At least, that's how the rumor goes. But in reality, Jacks is just a crocks-wearing, internet-savvy old lady who sells roadkill skeletons online--after doing a little ritual to put their spirits to rest. It's creepy, sure, but Snap thinks it's kind of cool, too. They make a deal: Jacks will teach Snap how to take care of the baby opossums that Snap rescued, and Snap will help Jacks with her work. But as Snap starts to get to know Jacks, she realizes that Jacks may in fact have real magic--and a connection with Snap's family's past."
Genre: Comics and Graphic novels; Fantasy comics
Subjects: Animal rescue, Children of single parents, Family history, Friendship, Intergenerational friendship, Magic, Witches
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Speak: The Graphic Novel
by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll
"From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless--an 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. Through her work on an art project, she is finally able to face what really happened that night: She was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her."
Genre: Comics and Graphic novels; Realistic fiction
Subjects: High school students, Misfits (Persons), Emotional issues, Sexual Assault, Teacher-student relationships, Teenage relationships, Teenage girls
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Superman Smashes the Klan
by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru
"When Dr. Lee moves his family to Metropolis, his son, Tommy, adjusts to the new neighborhood while daughter, Roberta, feels out of place, so when the evil Klan of the Fiery Cross begins a string of terrorist attacks on the city, Superman fights them, and Roberta and Superman soon learn to embrace their own unique features that set them apart."
Genre: Comics and Graphic novels; Superhero comics
Subjects: Brothers and sisters, Hate crimes, Identity (Psychology), Justice, Metropolis, Moving to a new city, Superheroes, Superman, Teenagers
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