Mid-Level High/Low books

Lexile Level for all titles below is a max of 770 (about 4th grade).

These books feature simpler sentence structures, frequent word repetition, and commonly used vocabulary, resulting in Lexile levels typically associated with younger readers. However, they address mature, age-appropriate themes that resonate with older youth and teens. Hi-Lo books are engaging in their own right, but they are especially valuable for motivating reluctant readers, supporting struggling readers in building confidence and fluency and providing dignified, age-respectful reading options that avoid stigmatization.

Updated April 23, 2026
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All American boys
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book, and recipient of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children's Literature. In this Coretta Scott King Honor Award-winning novel, two teens--one black, one white--grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act that...
Anger is a gift
Oshiro, Mark
Paper Book
*31st Annual Lammy Finalist for LGBTQ Children's/Young Adult category* *2019 ALA Schneider Family Book Award Teen Winner* *Buzzfeed's 24 Best YA Books of 2018* *Vulture's 38 Best LGBTQ YA Novels* *...
Black boy/white school
Walker, Brian F.
Ebook
He couldn't listen to music or talk on the phone without her jumping all over him about what they listened to up in Maine, or how they talked up in Maine, or how he better not go up to Maine and start acting ghetto. Maine. Anthony's mother didn't even know where it was...
The boy in the black suit
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can't handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who's dealt with a lot more--and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down--in this...
Dear Martin
Stone, Nic
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD FINALIST * ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME   After a traffic stop turns violent at the hands of the police, a young Black teen grapples with racism--and what it means for his future....
The hate u give
Thomas, Angie
Paper Book
8 starred reviews · Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best · William C. Morris Award Winner · National Book Award Longlist · Printz Honor Book · Coretta Scott King Honor Book · #1 New York Times Bestseller! "Absolutely riveting!" --Jason Reynolds ...
He said, she said : a novel
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
Sparks will fly in this hip-hop-hot, alternating POV teen novel that mixes social protest and star-crossed romance, from Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author Kwame Alexander! He Said, She Said is perfect for fans of Walter Dean Myers and Rachel Vail alike. He...
How it went down
Magoon, Kekla
Paper Book
A 2015 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book One death. Two bullets. Seven eyewitnesses...with seven different stories. When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. Tariq was black. The shooter,...
If you come softly
Woodson, Jacqueline.
Paper Book
A lyrical story of star-crossed love perfect for readers of The Hate U Give, by National Ambassador for Children's Literature Jacqueline Woodson--now celebrating its twentieth anniversary, and including a new preface by the author Jeremiah feels good inside his own skin....
Monday's Not Coming
Jackson, Tiffany D.
Paper Book
"Jackson's characters and their heart-wrenching story linger long after the final page, urging readers to advocate for those who are disenfranchised and forgotten by society and the system." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List") From the critically acclaimed...
On the Come Up
Thomas, Angie.
Paper Book
The YA love letter to hip-hop--streaming on Paramount+ September 23, 2022! Starring Sanaa Lathan (in her directorial debut), Jamila C. Gray, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Lil Yachty, Method Man, Mike Epps, GaTa (Davionte Ganter), Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Titus Makin Jr.,...
Out of darkness
Pe?rez, Ashley Hope
Paper Book
A Michael L. Printz Honor Book "This is East Texas, and there's lines. Lines you cross, lines you don't cross. That clear?" New London, Texas. 1937. Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people...
Swing
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
In this YA novel in verse from bestselling authors Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess (Solo), which Kirkus called "lively, moving, and heartfelt" in a starred review, Noah and Walt just want to leave their geek days behind and find "cool," but in the process discover a lot about...
We were liars
Lockhart, E.
Paper Book
DON'T MISS THE ORIGINAL STREAMING SERIES WE WERE LIARS--AND LOOK FOR E. LOCKHART'S NEW NOVEL IN THE WE WERE LIARS UNIVERSE, WE FELL APART, OUT NOW! #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER The modern, sophisticated suspense novel...
X : a novel
Shabazz, Ilyasah
Paper Book
A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Cowritten by Malcolm X's daughter, this riveting and revealing novel follows the formative years of the man whose words and actions shook the world. Malcolm Little's parents have always told him that he can achieve...

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