Monthly Special
Reluctant Readers

The books recommended below were published within the last year. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney (Little)
Junior, making the iffy commute from his Spokane Indian reservation to an off-rez high school, narrates his experience with short paragraphs, one-liners, and take-no-prisoners cartoons. Grade level: 7 and up. 232 pages.

Tyrell by Coe Booth (Push/Scholastic)
A tough-talking but vulnerable fifteen-year-old boy struggles to keep his family housed in this story of the intimate deprivations (and moments of connection) of living poor. Grade level: 7 and up. 311 pages.

Being by Kevin Brooks (Chicken House/Scholastic)
After discovering he’s more machine than man, Robert flees from sinister forces and allies himself with Edie, a charismatic but secretive thief. Grade level: 7 and up. 323 pages.

The Plain Janes written by Cecil Castellucci, illustrated by Jim Rugg (Minx/DC Comics)
Struggling to see beauty in a dangerous world, Jane works with her peers to organize “art attacks” in this emotional, multilayered graphic novel. Grade level: 7 and up. 152 pages.

Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore (Delacorte)
Maggie, wisecracking photographer for her high school paper and reluctant heir to her grandmother's gift of "the Sight," deduces that the demon cursing the school's popular crowd will reach full power at...senior prom. Grade level: 7 and up. 308 pages.

Revenge of the Witch; Curse of the Bane; Night of the Soul Stealer (Greenwillow)
The Last Apprentice written by Joseph Delaney, illustrated by Patrick Arrasmith
Evil-fighting apprentice Tom Ward develops his powers while fighting terrible creatures in each installment of this chills-and-thrills series. Grade level: 4–6.

Gym Candy by Carl Deuker (Houghton)
Teenage football player Mick Johnson is a steroid junkie who won't be second best in this tightly focused novel that is hard-hitting without being preachy. Grade level: 7 and up. 313 pages.

InterWorld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves (Eos/HarperCollins)
Joey Harker discovers his ability to walk across alternate realities and is recruited by an organization of his alternate selves to protect the “Altiverse” from warring tyrannies. Grade level: 7 and up. 239 pages.

Blindspot written and illustrated by Kevin C. Pyle (Holt)
Innovative illustrations capture the thoughts of a preadolescent boy who struggles to understand the trials of the adult world. Grade level: 7 and up. 96 pages.

The Lightning Thief; The Sea of Monsters; The Titan’s Curse (Miramax/Hyperion)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
An average kid living with ADHD discovers that he’s really the half-blood offspring of Poseidon…Let the adventures begin! Grade level: 7 and up.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret written and illustrated by Brian Selznick
Wordless illustrative sequences alternate with textual narration to relate the story of young Parisian orphan Hugo, his tough little ally Isabelle, an automaton that can draw pictures, and a stage magician turned filmmaker. Grade level: 4–8. 534 pages.

The New Policeman by Kate Thompson (Greenwillow)
Fifteen-year-old Angus discovers that time is leaking from the modern world into the timeless Tir na n’Og of Irish legend—and he’s only part of the complex puzzle of a plot Grade leve: 4–8. 206 pages.

More lists of Recommended Books