Family Struggles
Title Author Estimated
Reading Level Book Titles for Middle School Readers Who Have
A Child Called It series (Nonfiction) David Pelzer (921 PEL) *** 6.0
Surviving the Applewhites Stephanie S. Tolan *** 5.5 Trouble Selecting Books
Eye of the Storm (Hudson Family V.C. Andrews *** 5.0 Sports
Series) Title Author Estimated
Defining Dulcie Paul Acampora *** 4.0 Reading Level
Pictures of Hollis Woods Patricia Reilly Giff *** 4.0 Slam! Walter Dean Myers *** 4.0
High Heat Carl Deuker *** 4.0 Football Hero Tim Green *** 5.0
The Not-Just-Anybody Family Betsy Byars *** 5.0
Night Hoops Carl Deuker *** 4.5
The Angel Factory Terence Blacker 5.0
The Blind Side Michael Lewis 7.0
Paint the Wind Pam Munoz Ryan *** 5.0 Game Plan Thomas Dygard *** 6.0
Garden of Angels Lurlene McDaniel *** 5.0 Soccer Chick Rules Dawn Fitzgerald *** 5.0
Fear of Falling Laurie Halse Anderson *** 4.0 Whale Talk Chris Crutcher *** 5.0
Home Before Dark: a Novel Sue Ellen Bridgers 6.0
Bleachers John Grisham 6.0
Loser Jerry Spinelli *** 4.0
Juice Eric Walters *** 4.0
Notes from a Liar and Her Dog Gennifer Choldenko *** 4.0
The Year Without Michael Susan Beth Pfeffer *** 4.0 Extreme Edge Heather Kellerhals-Stewart 4.0
Dicey’s Song Cynthia Voigt 4.5 Go Big or Go Home Will Hobbs *** 4.5
Rules of the Road Joan Bauer *** 5.0 Eddie and the Jets John Attanas *** 4.0
A Summer to Die Lois Lowry *** 5.0 No Arm in Left Field Matt Christopher *** 4.0
Tomorrow’ s Dream Janet Oke *** 5.0 Rough Waters S.L. Rottman *** 4.0
The Girl Death Left Behind Lurlene McDaniel *** 4.0 Crossover Jeff Rud *** 4.5
Safe at Home Mike Lupica *** 5.5
Friends/School Issues
Title Author Estimated Horror/Scary
Reading Level Title Author Estimated
Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo Greg Leitich Smith *** 5.0 Reading Level
Crash Jerry Spinelli *** 4.0
Cirque de Freak series Darren Shan *** 5.0
Just As Long As We’re Together Judy Blume *** 4.0
The Fear Street series R.L. Stine *** 4.0
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Ann Brashares *** 4.5
Pants series Gothic: Ten Original Dark Tales Got 5.0
Deaf Child Crossing Marlee Matlin 4.0 The Last Days: A Novel Scott Westerfeld *** 5.0
The Clique series Lisi Harrison 5.0 Horowitz Horror: 6 Stories You’ll Anthony Horowitz *** 5.0
Crossing the Wire Will Hobbs *** 4.0 Wish You Never Read
Heartbeat Sharon Creech *** 5.0 The Chronicles of Vladmir Tod Heather Brewer *** 5.0
Palace of Mirrors Margaret Peterson Haddix *** 5.5 Full Tilt: A Novel Neal Shusterman *** 5.0
Wayside School series Louis Sachar *** 3.5 The House on Hackman’s Hill Joan Lowry Nixon *** 5.0
Middle School Blues Lou Kassem 4.0
Legacy of Lies Elizabeth Chandler *** 5.5
How Not to Be Popular Jennifer Ziegler *** 5.0
Click Here: to find out how I Denise Vega *** 4.5
Time for Andrew Mary Downing Hahn *** 4.5
survived 7th grade Werewolf Rising R.L. LaFevers *** 5.0
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Dyan Sheldon *** 5.0 The Venom Versus Me Fred E. Katz *** 4.0
Queen Jade Green: A Ghost Story Phyllis Naylor Reynolds *** 5.5
The Secret Language of Girls Frances O’Roark Dowell 5.0 The Ghost Behind the Wall Melvin Burgess *** 5.0
Speak Laurie Halse Anderson *** 4.5 Johnny and the Dead Terry Pratchett *** 4.5
Eleven Patricia Reilly Giff *** 4.0
Ninth Key Meg Cabot *** 5.0
Box Out John Coy 4.0
The Afterlife Gary Soto *** 5.0
Cheater, Cheater Elizabeth Levy *** 4.0
Olive’s Ocean Kevin Henkes *** 4.5 Breathe: A Ghost Story Cliff McNish *** 5.0
The Noonday Friends Mary Stolz *** 5.0 *** = Authors with many books within the genre
Rules Cynthia Lord *** 4.0 If you can’t find the title listed, preview other books by the author.
Hit and Run Lurlene McDaniel *** 4.0
Fantasy/Science Fiction Romance
Title Author Estimated Title Author Estimated
Reading Level Reading Level
The Warriors series Erin Hunter *** 4.0
The Dragons of Deltora series Emily Rodda *** 5.0 Flipped Wendelin Van Draanen *** 5.0
Hollow Kingdom series Clare Dunkle *** 6.0 I’ll Be Seeing You Lurlene McDaniel *** 4.5
Land of Elyon series Patrick Carman *** 5.5 The Lucky One Nicholas Sparks *** 5.0
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Rick Riordan *** 4.0 Lombardo’s Law Ellen Wittlinger *** 4.5
series Girlfriend Material Melissa Kantor 5.0
Spiderwick Chronicles series Tony DiTerlizzi *** 4.0 Front and Center Catherine Gilbert Murdock *** 5.5
House of Night series P.C. Cast *** 5.0 Son of the Mob Gordon Korman *** 5.0
The Castle in the Attic series Elizabeth Winthrop *** 4.5 Anne of the Island L. M. Montgomery *** 6.0
The Dark is Rising series Susan Cooper *** 6.0 Love, Stargirl Jerry Spinelli *** 4.0
The Pendragon series D.J. MacHale *** 4.5 I Heart You, You Haunt Me Lisa Schroeder *** 4.0
Accidental Love Gary Soto *** 5.0
Adventure/Action/Suspense Sam’s Letters to Jennifer James Patterson *** 5.0
Title Author Estimated Both Sides of Time Caroline Cooney *** 6.0
Reading Level Jean and Johnny Beverly Cleary *** 5.5
The Gatekeeper series or The Anthony Horowitz *** 4.0 What I Did for Roman Pam Conrad *** 5.0
Stormbreaker series I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Ally Carter *** 6.0
Wanted Carolyn Cooney *** 5.0 Have to Kill You
Fever, 1793 Laura Halse Anderson *** 4.5 Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and Robin McKinley *** 6.0
Milkweed: A Novel Jerry Spinelli *** 3.5 the Beast
The Third Eye Lois Duncan *** 5.5
Nothing But the Truth Avi*** 3.5 Gangs/Urban Struggles
The Cooper Kids adventure series Frank Peretti *** 5.5 Title Author Estimated
Zoobreak Gordon Korman *** 5.0 Reading Level
The Alfred Kropp series Rick Yancey *** 5.0 The Blueford series Ann Schraff or Paul Langan *** 4.0-6.0
Hatchet Gary Paulsen *** 5.0 The Hazelwood High series Sharon Draper *** 5.0-6.0
Skateboard Stuntboys Pam Withers *** 5.0 Scorpions Walter Dean Myers *** 4.0
So Yesterday: a Novel Scott Westerfeld *** 5.0 We Beat the Streets (Nonfiction) Samson Davis (902 DAV) 6.0
Sparrow Hawk Red Ben Mikaelson *** 4.5 Red Rider’s Hood series Neil Shusterman *** 5.0
The Cay Theodore Taylor *** 5.5 Two Foot Punch Anita Dahler 4.0
I.Q: Independence Hall Roland Smith *** 4.5 Autobiography of My Dead Brother Walter Dean Myers 5.0
Bucking the Sarge Christopher Paul Curtis *** 6.0 Someone is Hiding on Alcatraz Eve Bunting *** 4.0
The Pluto Project Melissa Glenn Haber 5.5 Island
Rite of Passage Richard Wright *** 4.0
Trino’s Choice Diane Gonzales Bertrand *** 5.0
Humor Number 8 Anna Fienberg *** 4.5
Title Author Estimated
Snake Jeff Stone *** 4.5
Reading Level
Muchacho: A Novel LouAnne Johnson *** 6.0
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series Jeff Kinney *** 4.0
Love, Football, and other Contact Alden R. Carter *** 4.0
Sports Mystery
Dunk David Lubar 4.0 Title Author Estimated
My Life as a Fifth Grade Comedian Elizabeth Levy *** 4.0 Reading Level
Three Clams and an Oyster Randy Powell *** 4.0 The Hardy Boys series Franklin Dixon*** 4.0-6.0
Dragon Kiss E.D. Baker *** 6.0 39 Clues series (See each author.) Jude Watson, Rick Riorden, Patrick 4.0
Bras & Broomsticks Sarah Mlynowski *** 4.0 Carman ***
The Day of the Iguana Henry Winkler *** 4.0 The Nancy Drew series Carolyn Keene *** 4.5+
Never Mind!: A Twin Novel Rachel Vail and Avi *** 4.0 1-800-Where-R-U series Jenny Carroll *** 5.0
Once Upon a Marigold Jean Ferris *** 6.0 The Sammie Keyes series Wendelin Van Draanen *** 4.0
The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy Richard Peck *** 5.0 Mysteries in National Parks series Gloria Skurzynski *** 4.5
No More Dead Dogs Gordon Korman *** 4.5 Herculeah Jones series Betsy Byars *** 4.0
The Scarecrow and his Servant Philip Pullman *** 5.0 History Mysteries series Evelyn Coleman *** 4.5
The Princess Diaries series Meg Cabot *** 5.0