Independent Reading Book List
Please select one of the novels listed for independent reading. You can find excerpts and reviews on
many bookstore websites. Please choose carefully, as you will not be able to change novels once you
have chosen. Also, I will only allow one person from each class to read each novel. You must submit
your top five choices (rank-ordered) to me no later than the end of the period Monday, December
1st. You must have your book in class on Wednesday, December 3rd. These titles are available
at our school library. You will be able to preview the books at our in-class “book fair” on
Monday, December 1st.
Laurie Halse Anderson—Wintergirls
Jay Asher—Thirteen Reasons Why
Juliana Baggott—Pure
Jo Ann Beard-In Zanesville
Libba Bray-Going Bovine
Carol Rifka Brunt—Tell the Wolves I’m Home
Gail Carrager-Soulless
Ernest Cline-Ready Player One
Chris Crutcher—Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes,
Whale Talk
Rachel DeWoskin-Big Girl Small: A Novel
Juno Diaz—The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar
Wao
Cory Doctorow—Little Brother
Emma Donoghue-Room
Kim Edwards – The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
Jennifer Egan—A Visit from the Goon Squad
Leif Enger—Peace Like a River
Gavin Extence—The Universe Versus Alex
Woods
Jonathan Safron Foer—Extremely Loud and
Incredibly Close
John Green-Looking for Alaska, The Fault in
our Stars, An Abundance of Katherines
Sara Gruen-Ape House
Mark Haddon-A Spot of Brother, the curious
incident of the dog in the night-time
Chad Harback—The Art of Fielding
Nancy Horan-Loving Frank
Khaled Hosseini—A Thousand Splendid Suns,
And the Mountains Echoed
Kazuo Ishiguro—Never Let Me Go
Todd Johnson – The Sweet By and By
Stephen King—Cell: A Novel
Nicole Krauss—The History of Love
Jhumpa Lahiri—The Namesake
Yan Martel—Life of Pi
Roland Merullo-The Talk Funny Girl
Erin Morgenstern-The Night Circus
Haruki Murakami—Kafka on the Shore
Lauren Oliver—Delirium, Before I Fall
Chuck Palahniuk—Lullaby
Ann Patchett—Truth and Beauty: A Friendship;
Bel Canto: A Novel
Jodie Picoult—Pact: A Love Story; Nineteen
Minutes; Handle with Care; House Rules; Lone
Wolf
Ransom Riggs-Miss Peregrine’s Home for
Peculiar Children
Peter Rock-My Abandonment
Tatiana de Rosnay – Sarah’s Key
Lisa See—Snowflower and the Secret Fan
Neal Shusterman-Unwind
Robin Sloan—Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour
Bookstore
Zadie Smith—The Autograph Man, On Beauty
Garth Stein-The Art of Racing in the Rain
Maggie Stiefvater—The Scorpio Races
Kathryn Stockett – The Help
Ned Vizzini—It’s Kind of a Funny Story
S.J. Watson-Before I Go to Sleep
Jasmin Ward-Salvage the Bones
Daniel H. Wilson-Robopocalypse
Kevin Wilson-The Family Fang
W.M.Paul Young-The Shack
Markus Zusak—The Book Thief, I Am the
Messenger
Name: _________________________________
1st choice:
2nd choice:
3rd choice:
4th choice:
5th choice: