Year 7-9 Reading Challenge List

Use our Reading Challenge lists to help drive your own reading goals throughout the year. • Our challenge to you is to read at least one book from our BAME suggested reads and at least one other from the list. • The more you read the better you become at it: you should read for a minimum of 20 minutes every day. • Look for books in your favourite genre, but don’t be afraid to try something different! • If you have enjoyed a particular author, try the others written by them. • If you’ve enjoyed a book recommend it to your friends. • Give books a chance – you usually have to read at least 30 pages before you know that book isn’t for you.

Code: * Top picks for reluctant readers ++ More Challenging Reads *** Suitable for Year 9 readers only Note to parents: some books from this list are written for teen or young adult readers; this means there may be occasional ‘gritty’ content. Generally, by Key Stage 3 young people are ready for this, but parents know their children best; if you have queries about suitability, please check online reviews.

The English Faculty at Ashford School is shining a spotlight on diverse reads this year. WhyB notAM tryE one K Sof 3these?

Black Voices Fighting Racism Stories that aren’t just about racism The Poet Ex by Elizabeth Acevedo Children of Blood and Bone – Toni Adeyemi *** The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta ** Booked by Kwame Alexander Noughts and Crosses and Unheard Voices by The Infinite by Patience Agbabi Malorie Blackman Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron *** A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi Robot Girl by Malorie Blackman Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany Jackson A Phoenix First Must Burn ed. By Patrice Caldwell A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee Pet by Akwaeke Emezi Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds Diver’s Daughter, Indigo Donut and Orangeboy by Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes Patrice Lawrence *** Dear Martin and Clean Getaway by Nic Stone High Rise Mystery by Sharna Jackson Nic Stone The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas *** And The Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Piecing Me Together Renee Watson Jawando Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah* Race to the Frozen North by Catherine Johnson Pride by Ibi Zoboiu Binti by Nnedi Okorafor Opposite of Always, Miles Morales: Spider Man and Look Both Ways by Justin Reynolds Shuri by Nic Stone Stories from other cultures Jackpot by Nic Stone Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe ** * On the Come Up by Angie Thomas Does My Head Look Big in This? By Randa Abdel- Liccle Bit by Alex Wheatle Fattah A Change is Gonna Come by various BAME authors Brick Lane by Monica Ali Little Soldier by Bernard Ashley The Alchemist by Paul Coelho The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake LGBTQ Every Falling Star (North Korea) by Sungju Lee Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah All American Boys by Jason Reynolds*** Out of Bounds or The Other Side of Truth by Clouds Cannot Cover Us by Jay Hulme Beverley Naidoo *** George by Alex Gino Hidden Figures: The Untold Story Of The African I’ll Be the One by Lya Lee American Women Who Helped Win The Space We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia Race by Margot Lee Shatterly ++ All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M Johnson Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe ++ Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys *** Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan Mackenzi Lee *** I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai ++

Fantasy, Magic Realism, Horror & Ghost Dystopian & Skellig, A Song for Ella Grey or Kit’s Wilderness by David Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury ++ Almond The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay by Red Queen, Glass Sword, King’s Cage by Victoria Suzanne Collins* Aveyard Matched (& sequels) by Ally Condie The Cruel Prince Series by Holly Black The Maze Runner (& sequels) by J Dashner The The Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo Gender Game by Bella Forrest Lord of the Flies by William Golding ++ Death of Grass by John Christopher Gone (& sequels) by Michael Grant* The Shadowhunter Series (&sequels) by Cassandra Clare Brave New World by Aldous Huxley ++ Mind Writer by Steve Cole* Illuminae (& sequels) by A Kaufmann and J Kristoff Artemis Fowl (& sequels) by Eoin Colfer Department 19 by Will Hill I Am Number Four (& sequels) by P Lore* The Dark is Rising Series by Susan Cooper The Giver by Lois Lowry Scream Street series by Tommy Donbavand* Legend (& sequels) by Marie Lu Who Let the Gods Out by Maz Evans The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking) (& Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan sequels) by Patrick Ness MetaWars: Fight for the Future (& sequels) by Jeff Inkheart (& sequels) by Cornelia Funke ++ Norton – ‘a video game you can read’.* The Graveyard Book or Coraline by Neil Gaiman 1984 by George Orwell ++ Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge Railhead (& sequels) by Philip Reeve Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave Divergent (& sequels) by Veronica Roth Remade (& sequels) or Time Riders - Alex Scarrow The Thirteen Treasures (& sequels) by Michelle Harrison Unwind (& sequels) by Neal Shusterman Skulduggery Pleasant (& sequels) by Derek Landy Frozen in Time (& sequels) by Ali Sparkes* The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (& sequels) by Slated (& sequels) by Teri Terry C.S. Lewis* The 5th Wave (& sequels) by Rick Yancey The Numbers (& sequels) by Rachel Ward The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas *** Doomspell (& sequels) or Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish* Revolver or White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick Zom-B or Cirque du Freak (& sequels) by Darren Shan. Short, exciting – gruesome – chapters.* Eragon (& sequels) by Christopher Paolini Discworld (and other series) by ++ Northern Lights (& sequels) by Phillip Pullman ++ The Bailey Game by Celia Rees Goth Girl (& sequels) by * Mrs Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (& sequels) by Ransom Riggs Percy Jackson or Kane Chronicles series by Riordan Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling* Grizzly Tales series by Jamie Rix* Thunderstruck or Unleashed by Ali Sparkes*

Finding Sky (& sequels) by Joss Stirling The Daughter of Smoke and Bone (& sequels) by Laini Taylor ++ The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Chrysalids or The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham++

*

Action & Thrillers The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams Bodyguard: Hostage or Young Samurai (& sequels) by Chris Bradford* Bullet Catcher or Gamer by Chris Bradford* War & Conflict River Boy by Tim Bowler Soldier Dog or A Horse Called Hero - Sam Angus* Artemis Fowl or W.A.R.P: The Reluctant Assassin (& The Boy at the Top of the Mountain or The Boy in sequels) by Eoin Colfer the Striped Pyjamas by J Boyne Heist Society (& sequels) by Ally Carter Chocolate Cake with Hitler by Emma Craigie Mortal Chaos, Speed Freaks, The Everest Files (& Under a War-Torn Sky by L.M. Elliott sequels) or Lie, Kill, Walk Away by Matt Dickinson Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin The Eye Mystery or Bog Child by Siobhan Once (& sequels) by Morris Gleitzman* Dowd I Am David by Ann Holm Mission Survival series by Bear Grylls* Dog Tags: Semper Fido or Strays by C A London* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Number the Stars by Lois Lowry Mark Haddon A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master Silverfin or The Enemy (& sequels) by C Higson War Horse or Private Peaceful by M Morpurgo The Outsiders by SE Hinton Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers Stormbreaker (& sequels) and The Power of Five Series by A. Horowitz. Also available as a graphic A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielson novel.* The Red Pencil by Andrea David Pinkney Itch (& sequels) by Simon Mayo The Sniper or When the Guns Fell Silent by J Girl Missing (& sequels) by Sophie McKenzie Riordan Boy Soldier & Dropzone (& sequels) by A McNab All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque ++ The Recruit (& sequels) and The Cherub Series by R. Muchamore. Also available as a graphic novel* A Soldier’s Friend (series) by Megan Rix Trash Andy Mulligan Shooting Kabul by NH Senzai Maximum Ride (& sequels) by J Patterson Brother in the Land by Robert Swindells Agent 21 (& sequels) by Chris Ryan The Land by Mildred D. Taylor Carjacked by Ali Sparkes The Machine Gunners or Blitz Cat by Robert Westall Lost series by Tracey Turner. Choose your own adventure: fabulous for reluctant readers.* Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak ++

Classics or Challenging Reads ++ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Relationships & Tough Situations Adams Noughts and Crosses, Cloud Busting, Boys Don’t Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility by Jane Cry or Pig-Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman Austen Blubber or anything by Judy Blume Drought by J. G. Ballard Artichoke Hearts or Jasmine Skies - S Brahmachari To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Junk by Melvyn Burgess Watership Down by Richard Adams Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech A Christmas Carol or Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens One by Sarah Crossan Little Women by Louisa May Alcott The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum* Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll* The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi Durrow The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by A C Doyle Mind the Gap by P Earle (dyslexia-friendly)* The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Tulip Touch, Goggle Eyes or Flour Babies by A. Fine Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen The Family from One End Street and Some of Their Joy Fowler Adventures by Eve Gamett The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillion The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame If Only They Could Talk by James Herriot Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen Life of Pi by Yann Martel Red Sky in the Morning and The Garbage King by Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Elizabeth Laird The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness* A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle* Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nichols To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Wonder by R.J. Palacio Call of the Wild by Jack London Pax by Sarah Pennypacker The Railway Children by E. Nesbit My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by A Pitcher Animal Farm by George Orwell Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan Pigeon Post by Arthur Ransome Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli* Black Beauty by Anna Sewell* A Boy Called Hope by Lara Williamson 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith* Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson The Red Pony by John Steinbeck Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry or The Land by Mildred Taylor The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne The Sword in the Stone by TH White The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Humorous books Millions, Cosmic or Broccoli Boy by Frank C Boyce Fenway and Hattie by Victoria Cole*

Adventures of a Wimpy Werewolf by Tim Collins* Beetleboy (& sequels) by MG Leonard* The Accidental Billionaire series- T McLaughlin Sports The World of Norm series by Jonathon Meres* Timmy Failure series by Stephan Pastis* Booked by Kwame Alexander* Middle School series by James Patterson* Charlie Merrick’s Misfits, Fouls, Friends and Football Tom Gates series by Liz Pichon (dyslexia-friendly)* by David Cousins* Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce* The Beautiful Game series by Dhami (girls’ football) The Hundred Year Old Man who Climbed out of the Man of the Match (& series) by Dan Freedman Window and Disappeared (& others) by Jonas Jonasson The Number 7 Shirt or The Lion Roars by A Gibbons ++ The Fix by Sophie McKenzie Holes and Small Steps by Louis Sacher Football Academy series – Tom Palmer*

Foul Play (& sequels) or Black Op by Tom Palmer Keeper (& sequels) by Mal Peet Soccer Squad and series by Bali Rai*