NYC Reads 365: Grades 9–12

This novel by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely tells the story of Rashad and Quinn, two teenagers whose lives are changed after an incident of police brutality divides their community.

While in hiding with her family in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, 13-year-old Anne Frank kept a diary of her experiences. Published after Anne's death in a Nazi concentration camp, the diary remains a powerful testament to the everyday horrors of the Holocaust.

Aristotle and Dante are two teenagers with classical names and loner attitudes. When their paths cross, they develop a friendship that will change their lives.

In this best-selling memoir, the former First Lady chronicles her early life and her time in the White House.

In the first novel in Adeyemi's fantasy series, Zélie attempts to overthrow a repressive king and bring magic back to her land.

In Nic Stone's unflinching exploration of racism, high school student Justyce McAllister writes letters to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in order to process the violence and prejudice he encounters in his community.

In this memoir, poet Margarita Engle recounts her childhood in Cuba and the United States during the Cold War.

Self-described wallflower Twinkle Mehra dreams of becoming a filmmaker — and when Sahil Roy suggests teaming up to make a movie for their school's Midsummer Night celebration, she finally gets her chance. But can Twinkle stay true to herself now that she's in the spotlight?

When Bijan Majidi sinks the winning basket at a varsity basketball game, he unexpectedly finds himself enjoying the perks of popularity. But his success also sparks rivalry — and makes Bijan the target of an anonymous cyberbully.

Born on the U.S. Virgin Islands during a hurricane, Caroline has always considered herself unlucky: she is bullied at school, her mother has disappeared, and, worst of all, she seems to be haunted by a spirit. But a new friendship will force Caroline to face her problems and perhaps turn her luck around.

An ordinary Pakistani girl is shot by the Taliban while fighting for her right to an education. Co-written with Patricia McCormick, in this memoir, Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, tells her story.

Layla Amin thinks of herself as a typical American teenager. But when Muslim-Americans like Layla and her family are forcibly relocated to internment camps, the seventeen-year-old decides to fight for her freedom.

In this adaptation of Born a Crime for young readers, Trevor Noah recounts his childhood in apartheid-era South Africa.

After Rico sells a winning lottery ticket at the Gas 'n' Go, she teams up with a wealthy classmate to try to find the prizewinner.

Written with Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell, Congressman John Lewis's award-winning graphic novel chronicles his experiences in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.

Written with Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell, Congressman John Lewis's award-winning graphic novel chronicles his experiences in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.

Written with Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell, Congressman John Lewis's award-winning graphic novel chronicles his experiences in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.

A teenager considers a radical memory-altering procedure to help deal with his father's death and challenging relationships.

Written by the influential abolitionist, Douglass's autobiography bears witness to the horrors of slavery.

Bri aspires to be a rapper — but to make her dreams come true, she'll need to overcome family hardships, prejudice at school, and misconceptions about her art.

In this "remix" of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Zuri Benitez grapples with the effects of gentrification — and with her complicated feelings toward Darius Darcy — when the wealthy Darcy family moves into her Brooklyn neighborhood.

Three young refugees — a Jewish boy fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939, a Cuban girl suffering under the Castro regime in 1994, and a Muslim boy trying to escape war-torn Syria in 2015 — make desperate journeys in search of freedom and safety.

Citra and Rowan live in a society in which all natural causes of death have been eliminated. The two teenagers are recruited to be "scythes," people who administer death in order to cull the population.

When her Brooklyn neighborhood is threatened, Sierra must master and protect an ancestral form of magic called shadowshaping.

This award-winning book explores the true story of two teens whose lives were forever changed after a violent encounter on a city bus.

After running away from home, Viji and her sister Rukku join up with a group of orphans struggling to survive in the city of Chennai, India.

Teenagers Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters form an intense bond when they meet in a cancer support group in Indiana.

In this best-selling novel, sixteen-year-old Starr's life is turned upside down when she witnesses the death of her friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer.

Katniss Everdeen must fight for her life in a televised survival competition. Learn these words from the first book of Suzanne Collins's dystopian trilogy.

In 1947, British India was divided into two separate and independent countries: India, a mostly Hindu nation, and Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim nation. The partition leaves Nisha, a girl with both Hindu and Muslim heritage, without a clear place to call home. She and her family must make a treacherous journey to try to find a safe haven in a country rocked by turmoil and violence.

In the 1960s, tensions between two rival gangs separated along economic lines reach a violent breaking point.

In this popular novel, two teens meet and fall in love over the course of a single day in New York City.

In this classic coming-of-age story, Scout Finch recounts her childhood in Maycomb, Alabama. When Scout's father is appointed to defend a black man in a high-profile trial, racial tensions in the small town come to a head.

When bounty hunter Emika Chen hacks into a popular virtual reality game, she is hired by the game's mysterious creator to be a spy.

Marin moved across the country for college to try to escape her past. But when her best friend comes to visit, Marin must finally confront the memories she left behind. Learn key vocabulary from this novel, winner of the 2018 Printz Award.

Dimple Shah is thrilled to be spending her summer studying web development at Stanford University — but she doesn't know that her traditional parents are planning for her to meet (and eventually marry!) fellow student Rishi Patel.

In his debut novel, award-winning writer Jason Reynolds tells the story of Ali, a teenager who tries to stay out of trouble in his gritty Brooklyn neighborhood. But when one of his friends is attacked, Ali is drawn into a real fight — with real consequences.