Once our kids get to the High School level I gave them a list of books to choose from to read for the year. Every year our goal is for them to read at least 4 books for the list. We do reading programs in our homeschool, so the kids get plenty of other reading. I just want them to free read books they think that would be good to read. Did you know how difficult it can be to find decent books for kids? It can really be a challenge.
I have come up with a list of books for high schoolers for them to use and thought it would be useful to share it with others who might be looking for great books for their high schoolers to read as well. One’s they will remember and leave an impression in their lives and they will enjoy reading. I have also included links to the book and often the audiobook for FREE at different places around the web.
I would say to use this list with discretion though. I have included some books that are easier to read and others that are more difficult. I realize that some kids in high school are better readers than others. I have included both Christian and non-christian books on this list as well so make sure you look into the books before you let your child read.
“Give yourself unto reading. The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. You need to read.” — Charles Spurgeon
100 Memorable Books For High Schoolers
- Lord Of The Flies ~ by William Golding FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK ONLINE
- A Child Called It ~ by Dave Pelzer FREE ONLINE BOOK
- Anne Frank ~ by Anne Frank (Author) B.M. Mooyaart (Translator) FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK ONLINE
- To Kill A Mockingbird ~by Harper Lee FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK ONLINE
- The Grapes Of Wrath ~ by John Steinbeck FREE ONLINE BOOK
- Gone With The Wind ~ by Margaret Mitchell FREE ONLINE BOOK PART 1 Part 2 VIDEO
- Romeo and Juliet ~ by William Shakespeare FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK ONLINE FREE VIDEO
- Of Mice and Men ~ by John Steinbeck FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE VIDEO
- 1984 ~ by George Orwell FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Adventures of Huckleberry and Finn ~ by Mark Twain FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK
- Brave New World ~ by Aldous Huxley FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- A Tale Of Two Cities ~ by Charles Dickens FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Great Expectations ~ by Charles Dickens FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Pride and Prejudice ~ by Jane Austin FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK VIDEO
- The Giver ~ by Lois Lowry FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- The Hobbit ~ by J.R.R. Tolkien FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Harry Potter Series ~ by J.K. Rowling ALL ONLINE BOOKS FREE AUDIOBOOK
- Animal Farm ~ by George Orwell FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- The Boy In Stripped Pajamas ~ by John Boyne FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Great Gatsby ~ by F. Scott Fitzgerald FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Holes by Louis Sachar FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Oliver Twist ~ by Charles Dickens FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Around The World in 80 Days ~ by Jules Verne FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Bridge to Terabithia ~ by Katherine Paterson FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- War of The Worlds ~ by H.G. Wells FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- God’s Smuggler ~ by Brother Andrew, John Sherrill, Elizabeth Sherrill FREE ONLINE BOOK
- Pilgrims Progress ~ by John Bunyan FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- The Invisible Man ~ by H.G. Wells FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- The Great Divorce ~ by C.S. Lewis FREE ONLINE BOOK
- Little Women ~ by Louisa May Alcott FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Fahrenheit 451 ~ by Ray Bradbury FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Frankenstein ~ by Mary Shelley FREE ONLINE BOOK FREE AUDIOBOOK FREE VIDEO
- Secret Life Of Bee’s ~ by Sue Monk Kidd FREE ONLINE BOOK
- The Kite Runner ~ by Khaled Hosseini FREE ONLINE BOOK
- Things We Couldn’t Say ~ by Diet Eman FREE ONLINE BOOK
- Mere Christianity ~ by C.S. Lewis FREE ONINE BOOK AND AUDIOBOOK
- Jacob Have I Loved ~ by Katherine Paterson FREE ONLINE BOOK
- Lord Of The Rings ~ by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Left Behind Series ~ by Tim Lahaye
- Knowing God ~ by J.I. Packer
- Children of The River ~ by Linda Crew
- Walk Two Moons ~ by Sharon Creech
- The Hiding Place ~ by Corrie Ten Boom, Elizabeth Sherrill, and John Sherrill
- The Jesus I Never Knew ~ by Phillip Yancey
- Black Hawk Down ~ by Mark Bowden
- A Summer Life ~ by Gary Soto
- The Shack ~ by William P. Young
- A Wrinkle In Time ~ by Madeleine L’Engle
- Speak ~ by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Devil At My Heels ~ by Louis Zamperini and David Rensin
- The Book Thief ~ by
- Jesus Calling: Enjoy Peace In His Presence ~ by Sarah Young
- Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret ~ by Judy Blume
- Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry ~ by
- Anne Of Green Gables 8 Books Total ~ by L.M. Montgomery
- The Chronicles Of Narnia (all 7 books) ~ by C.S. Lewis
- Series Of Unfortunate Events Books 1-3 ~ by Lemony Snicket
- Hatchet ~ by Gary Paulsen
- For Freedom ~ by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
- The Wall: Growing Up Behind The Iron Curtain ~ by Peter Sis
- Percy Jackson & The Olympians 5 Book Set ~ by Rick Riordan
- The Scarlet Letter ~ by
- The Last Of The Mohicans ~ by
- Number The Stars ~ by Lois Lowry
- The Witch Of Blackbird Pond ~ by Elizabeth George Speare
- The Great Gatsby by
- Walk Two Moons ~ by
- The Wednesday Wars ~ by Gary D. Schmidt
- Enders Game ~ by
- The Chosen ~ by
- Their Eyes Were Watching God ~ by
- The Insanity of God ~ by
- Night ~ by Elie Wiesel
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin ~ by
- The Red Badge of Courage ~ by
- The Three Musketeers ~ by
- Babbit ~ by
- A Separate Peace ~ by
- How to Stay Christian in College ~ by J. Budziszewski
- The Atonement Child ~ by Francine Rivers
- Les Misérables ~ by Victor Hugo
- Fireproof ~ by Eric Wilson
- Prophet ~ by Frank E. Peretti
- A Walk To Remember ~ by Nicholas Sparks
- What Is The Gospel? ~ by Greg Gilbert
- God’s Smuggler ~ by
- The Invisible Man ~ by H.G. Wells
- The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for? ~ by Rick Warren
- Speak ~ by
- Where the Red Fern Grows ~ by
- Island Of The Dolphins ~ by
- The Cost of Discipleship ~ by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- The Jesus I Never Knew ~ by Philip Yancey
- My Brother Sam Is Dead ~ by
- The Golden Compass ~ by
- Life of Pi ~ by
- The Westing Game ~ by
- Julie Of The Wolves ~ by
- Call It Courage ~ by
- The Sign Of The Beaver ~ by
What were your favorite books for high schoolers? Leave me a comment letting me know, I would love to hear from you!!
Head over to iHomeschool Network and see the many other 100 posts written by the wonderful homeschool bloggers.
I have a whole Pinterest board about Reading ideas for kids. This includes book ideas, hands-on ideas for reading great books, and ideas to teach reading for kids of all ages. Stop over and take a look at all the great ideas I have on there.
Follow Mama Of Many Blessings’ board Reading Activities and Strategies for kids on Pinterest.
I am linking up with these great linky parties, stop over to see other great reading ideas.
Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links for each of the books listed. I receive a very small portion of the sale when you make a purchase through these links at no added cost to you. The proceeds received through these links help to cover the costs involved in running this blog. Thank you for your support. For more information please read our full disclosure policy!
We’ve read (or listened to) quite a few of these books together. My boys have very eclectic tastes in reading and it’s not always easy to find something we can all enjoy. This is a great list of books to pick from. Pinned.
My kids had to read quite a few of these books throughout high school. I’m glad they enjoyed reading! Thanks for sharing with us at The Blogger’s Pit Stop!
My favorite books from high school (30 years ago now) were To Kill A Mockingbird and Night. I read The Chronicles of Narnia to my kids when they were 9,7 and 5 and thoroughly enjoyed it. I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was in my early to mid 30’s and really enjoyed those stories too. I read Red Badge of Courage in my mid to late 20’s (it took me forever to finish.) Funny story: It took me maybe 2-3 days (DAYS) to read Jane Eyre but it took me almost a month to read RBoC. I started Moby Dick and got to maybe the 7th chapter and couldn’t go on. The same happened when I tried The Old Man and The Sea. Those books enforced the idea that there are some books that are truly written for men (boys) and some that are truly written for women (girls). I love your list and though I am decidedly NOT in high school any more (not by a long shot. LOL) I will pin it for future choices to pick from.