Looking for fiction, nonfiction, or graphic novels? We’ve got a recommendation for you!
If you can’t find a book that sounds good to you from these lists, submit a Book Match for a personalized list or check out our New Materials, which update every month.
Booklists are organized alphabetically and by grade, genre/topic, or format. Booklists are also available for read-alikes of popular titles. Click on a list to view books recommended by our staff listed in our online catalog, where you can view availability and place holds.
Alternate formats such as Large Print, Playaway, eBook, or eAudiobook are included in booklists when formats are available.
For more information on checking out items in digital formats (using Overdrive/Libby, Boundless, or hoopla), please visit our Digital Library.
- 6th Grade Picks
- 7th Grade Picks
- 8th Grade Picks
- 9th Grade Picks
- High School Books for Middle School Readers
- Middle & High School Autobiography & Memoir
- Middle & High School Books Made into Movies or TV Shows
- Middle & High School Books with One Word Titles
- Middle & High School Books set in Another Country
- Middle School Books for Elementary School Readers
- Middle School Staff Favorites
- High School Staff Favorites
- T[w]een Advisory Board Picks
- Anti-Racist Reads
- College Application Prep
- Fake Dating
- Fantasy
- Funny
- Historical
- Historical (LGBTQIA+)
- Horror
- LGBTQIA+
- Maine South High School AP English Required Summer Reading (2024)
- Mental Health
- Mystery & Suspense
- Realistic Fiction
- Romance
- Romantasy
- Science Fiction
- Test Prep & Study Resources
- Tough Topics
- The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé (catalog links here)
- The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
- Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before or The Summer I Turned Pretty series
- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson
- Hamilton: the Musical (catalog links here)
- Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan – high school and middle school
- GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo (catalog links here)
- Reputation by Taylor Swift (catalog links here)
- Raina Telgemeier graphic novels (recommendations include prose)
- Wicked: the Musical (catalog links here)
Middle and High School Award Winners
including winners and honors from the following awards:
- Asian & Pacific American Literature Award
honors and recognizes individual works by Asian/Pacific American authors that highlight Asian/Pacific American cultures and experiences; given by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association - Coretta Scott King Author Award
honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King by recognizing outstanding books by African American authors and illustrators; given by the American Library Association - Lincoln Award (winners only; nominees listed above under Illinois State Awards)
Illinois Teen Readers’ Choice Award; given by the Association of Illinois School Library Educators - John Newbery Award
awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children; awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association - John Steptoe New Talent Award
established to affirm new talent and to offer visibility to excellence in African American authorship; given by the American Library Association - Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on literary merit; awarded by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association - Pura Belpré Author Award
presented to a Latino/Latina writer whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth; given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association - Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award (winners only; nominees listed above under Illinois State Awards)
given to the author of the book voted most outstanding by children in grades four through eight in participating Illinois schools; given by the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award Board of Directors - Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
awarded to the author(s) of the most distinguished informational book; given by the Association for Library Services to Children, a division of the American Library Association - Schneider Family Book Award
honors an author for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences; given by the American Library Association - Stonewall Book Award
the first and most enduring award for LGBTQIA+ books; sponsored by the American Library Association’s Rainbow Round Table - Sydney Taylor Award
presented to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience; presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries - William C. Morris Award (winners only)
honors a book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature; given by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association
