The 5th Wave
by Rick Yancey · Grades 6–9 · Children's
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey is on US reading lists at grades 6–9. It appears on 2 lists: 2 book-award lists, across 2 states. Every citation below links to the primary source.
Before you buy: Grades 6–9 · 498 pages. The button opens the paperback edition (ISBN 9781984814234). If the class uses a set edition or translation, match its ISBN first.
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Assigned across 2 curriculum lists · 2 states
Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).
This page shows where The 5th Wave is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
Reading level at a glance
- Grade range
- Grades 6–9
- Listed most for
- 9th grade (3 of 9 cited list rows)
- Pages
- 498
- Reading time
- about 9h 10m (est.)
- First published
- 2013
- Genre
- Children's
- ISBN-13
- 9781984814234
Sources: grade range from the cited lists below, last checked 2026-09-22; pages and year from our catalog record (sources); reading time is an estimate at 250 words a minute.
Good fit for grade 9?
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About this book
Book facts and sources (2)
- On award reading lists
- Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award (source: Wikipedia)
- Louisiana Teen Readers' Choice Award (LTRC) (source: slol.libguides.com)
- Catalog record
- First published 2013 · 498 pages (edition lengths vary) (source: how we source book data)
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Why it is assigned
This children's title is typically read at grades 6–9. Written in the 2010s; cited on 2 lists: 2 book-award lists.
Where this book is recommended
Louisiana Teen Readers' Choice Award (LTRC)
Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award
- recommended·6th gradesource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award winners (1940-2022), via Wikipedia — 2016 Winner
- recommended·6th grade · Washingtonsource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award (the oldest children's-choice book award in North America, since 1940; students across the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, read the nominees and vote for their favorites)
- recommended·7th gradesource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award winners (1940-2022), via Wikipedia — 2016 Winner
- recommended·7th grade · Washingtonsource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award (the oldest children's-choice book award in North America, since 1940; students across the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, read the nominees and vote for their favorites)
- recommended·8th gradesource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award winners (1940-2022), via Wikipedia — 2016 Winner
- recommended·8th grade · Washingtonsource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award (the oldest children's-choice book award in North America, since 1940; students across the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, read the nominees and vote for their favorites)
- recommended·9th gradesource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award winners (1940-2022), via Wikipedia — 2016 Winner
- recommended·9th grade · Washingtonsource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award (the oldest children's-choice book award in North America, since 1940; students across the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, read the nominees and vote for their favorites)
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Common questions
- What grade level is The 5th Wave?
- The 5th Wave is listed for grades 6–9. It appears on 2 book-award lists across 2 states. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read The 5th Wave?
- It takes about 9h 10m to read The 5th Wave (498 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 550 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign The 5th Wave?
- The 5th Wave appears on reading lists for Louisiana Teen Readers' Choice Award (LTRC), Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is The 5th Wave banned in schools?
- The 5th Wave has documented removals from at least one public-school district in 1 state (WI) per PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. Policies vary by district.
Why this book is on this list
How we classifyHide
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 6–9 — drawn from the book-award lists citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 2 curricula on this site (see “Where recommended” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- On state book-award lists in 2 states (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- Documented as challenged or removed in 1 state per PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans — see the full banned & challenged books list.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: book-club, read-aloud.