High/Low Books for Middle School and High School Kids

Hi-lo (high-interest, low readability) books are designed to engage struggling readers by exploring complex, age-appropriate themes at a lower reading level. They typically feature simple sentences, controlled vocabulary, lower page counts, and short chapters.

Updated November 6, 2024
S
Sussex County Library System (NJ)
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All the things we never said /
Rahman, Yasmin
Paper Book
Sixteen-year-old Mehreen is overwhelmed by her anxiety and depression, and she doesn't believe anyone in her life will understand if she tries to talk about it. She's been thinking about suicide for a while when she discovers a website called MementoMori.com. The site matches people with partners...
The collectors :
Paper Book
Winner of the 2024 Michael L. Printz Award A National Bestseller From Michael L. Printz Award winner A.S. King and an all-star team of contributors including Anna-Marie McLemoreand Jason Reynolds, an anthology of stories about remarkable people and their strange and...
Dropped! /
Kuipers, Alice,
Paper Book
Dex is dropped onto a deserted tropical island to be a player in a social media competition. Dex is one of six contestants on Dropped!, an internet reality show. He's glad to escape his real life after being dumped by his girlfriend, Lola, and destroying his social life. He and the other...
Everything, everything /
Yoon, Nicola.
Paper Book
Risk everything . . . for love with this #1 New York Times bestseller.  What if you couldn't touch anything in the outside world? Never breathe in the fresh air, feel the sun warm your face . . . or kiss the boy next door? In Everything, Everything<...
My life off-key /
Anderson-Dargatz, Gail,
Paper Book
Seventeen-year-old Jen is shocked to discover that the dad she grew up with is not her biological father. Jen loves to sing. But the rest of her family can't carry a tune. When a stranger named Mike gives her roses at her concert and reveals that he is her birth father, Jen's world flips...
Pangu's shadow /
Bao, Karen,
Paper Book
There are no second chances in the Pangu Star System. Ver and Aryl, apprentices at the most prestigious biology lab among the system's moons, know this better than anyone. They've left behind difficult pasts and pinned their hopes for the future on Cal, their brilliant but demanding boss....
Superman smashes the Klan
Yang, Gene Luen.
Paper Book
Harvey Award winner for Best Children or Young Adult Book! The year is 1946. Teenagers Roberta and Tommy Lee just moved with their parents from Chinatown to the center of Metropolis, home to the famous hero, Superman. Tommy makes friends quickly, while Roberta pines for home....
Those Pink Mountain nights /
Ferguson, Jenny,
Paper Book
In her remarkable second novel following her Governor General's Award-winning debut, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, Jen Ferguson writes about the hurt of a life stuck in past tense, the hum of connections that cannot be severed, and one week in a small, snowy town that changes everything. <...
Where I belong
Mickelson, Marcia Argueta
Paper Book
A Pura Belpré Honor Book An immigrant teen fights for her family, her future, and the place she calls home. In the spring of 2018, Guatemalan American high school senior Milagros "Millie" Vargas knows her life is about to change. She has lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, ever since...

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