A boastful teen faces the consequences of showing off in this funny short school story, specially designed for seriously struggling and reluctant teen readers.
Troy loves to show off. He loves to boast about his money and his dad’s new car. Will Troy ever learn his lesson?
A day at the beach turns deadly in this gripping story, specially designed to engage seriously struggling and reluctant teen readers.
It was supposed to be a great day at the beach. Carla said she’d help Ben in the water. But now Carla has swum away – and Ben can’t swim!
For almost 40 years, Renaissance Accelerated Reader has been encouraging reading for pleasure and information through motivational comprehension quizzes for readers of all ages and abilities. Learn more here.
At BooksForTopics, we believe that quality, well-matched texts can make a big impact on children’s reading journeys. Not all texts are equal when it comes to quality, and we make it our mission to highlight only the best for you. Teachers, parents and librarians have all asked the same question – how do you find the best quality Accelerated-Reader-quizzed books for Y9 readers? To answer the query, we’ve selected a list of 20 AR quizzed books that we recommend to Year 9 readers. All of the books have passed our quality screening process and have been handpicked to help the cream of AR books rise to the top.
This list of Accelerated Reader quizzed titles includes selections from our Year 9 Recommended Reads, featuring relatable reads like The Disconnect and Ellie Pillai is Brown alongside timeless classics like The Fellowship of the Ring and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Historical fiction also features, with titles such as The Ruby in the Smoke and Salt to the Sea, while fantasy fans will love Elsewhere and A Skinful of Shadows.
Scroll down for our list of recommended Year 9 books for the Accelerated Reader programme.
A powerful and heart-rending exploration of a teenager’s journey through grief, rage and getting caught in the criminal justice system from award-winning author Patrice Lawrence.
Winner of the 2023 Little Rebels Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Charlene is a demon knitter. It’s the only thing she enjoys and the only thing she believes she’s really good at.
So when her foster mum’s son destroys her latest creation, Charlene loses it and stabs him in the hand with her knitting needle. It damages a nerve and she gets sucked into the criminal justice system for assault.
Charlene’s not sorry and she’s never apologised to anyone in her life. But people keep telling her that if she says sorry, they’ll go easier on her. Can she bring herself to say it and not mean it when her freedom’s at stake?
A human rights ambassador for Amnesty International, Sita Brachmachari is renowned for placing children’s rights, refugee rights and environmental rights at the forefront of her stories and When Shadows Fall encapsulates those struggles in a story that is at times distressing, but equally uplifting.
Voiced from the perspective of three friends, Brachmachari deftly weaves an account of how quickly someone’s life can unravel following the loss of a loved one, but also how help can come from the strength of a stranger, who has learned to not only survive the atrocities of war but also felt the isolation of rebuilding a life in a country where, as a refugee, they have not always been made to feel welcome.
A mature story that celebrates the joys of the innocence of childhood friendships, how dramatically one person’s life and mental health can deteriorate when that friendship fractures, how seeing those events from the other person’s perspective can help us to heal and rebuild what we might think was lost forever and how we can learn to love a new path in life.
Willow and Alma are best friends, sharing a love of the spotlight. All they want is fame and fortune, and Willow is determined that the best way to get it is to go viral. So they start filming dares. Okay, so getting stuck in a basketball hoop doesn’t get them the sort of attention they were hoping for, but as their challenges get more extreme, their fan base grows. Duct-taping themselves to a wall? No-brainer. Eating super-hot chillis? Of course! Waxing an eyebrow off? Super funny! And if they get in a bit of trouble, it’s worth it.
But if they really want to prove themselves, they have to go all-out. So they come up with the perfect idea. An idea that causes more than just a bit of trouble. An idea that might destroy not just their ambitions but their entire friendship for good.
A compelling historical novel set in 1945.
Salt to the Sea follows a small group of refugees who are desperately fleeing the Russian army. As they make a dangerous journey across the country, their destination is a German evacuation ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective as the group strives to flee to safety.
Based on meticulous research into the real-life maritime disaster, Ruta Sepetys weaves a masterfully crafted narrative that is both beautiful and sad. Told as a multiple perspective narrative, this story explores topics of survival and unity during the final months of the Second World War, as well as wider themes of refugee experiences, learning to trust others and the power of finding hope and human connection in difficult times.
The first in Philip Pullman’s thrilling Victorian mystery series for teens and young adults.
Sally Lockhart finds herself embroiled in a perilous adventure after her father’s unexpected death at sea. When Sally moves to London to live with her cousin, an anonymous letter leads her to the city’s dangerous underworld. Determined to uncover the truth about her family’s past, Sally is soon at the centre of a plot involving murder and deceit.
This mystery adventure story, inspired by Victorian melodrama, is full of suspense, excitement and historical insights into the injustices of the era, making it a rich and compelling read.
Robert Swindells’ Brother in the Land is a much-loved story of survival, first published in 1984, with a post-apocalyptic setting.
This powerful story plunges the reader into a world shattered by nuclear war, tapping into public fears that are still as prevalent today as they were when it was first published during the Cold War. The story follows Danny Lodge and his younger brother as he navigates the grim aftermath of a nuclear bomb, his hometown now a scene of devastation and emptiness.
Without the comforts and safety of civilised society, Danny contends with a landscape where danger abounds – including the impact of radiation and the inevitability of human selfishness. Meanwhile, his efforts to protect his sibling are admirable as he strives not to give up hope. The narrative is an unflinching look at human responses to the fight for survival.
Brother in the Land is a stark and highly memorable adventure, recommended for Year 9.
I can entirely see why this book was garlanded with awards. It is a beautifully written story (originally in Welsh), told in two voices, Dylan and his mother. Each voice is starkly different, experiencing the world differently. The nebulous End, is explained but left deliberately vague and is all the more menacing for that.
The story forces you to think about what you might do if the worst happened and the end of life as we know it appeared on the horizon. It might be an awful time, and yet it is also an extraordinary time, allowing both mother and son to experience things as they never would otherwise. This is a dystopian novel with a difference, because although it contains literally world-shattering events, it is remarkably calm and low-key in tone and surprisingly uplifting despite the tragedy.
It is a story that will stay with me for a long time. The content, themes and language of the book are best suited for mature KS3 readers and above.
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Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
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yes
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