
The Man in the Woods
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Assigned across 1 curriculum list · 1 state
Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).
The Man in the Woods by Rosemary Wells is assigned in US schools at grades 9–12. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where The Man in the Woods is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Grade range
- Grades 9–12
- Age range
- Ages 14–17
- Pages
- 224
- Reading time
- about 4h 5m (est.)
- First published
- 1984
- Genre
- Mystery
- ISBN-13
- 9780613300179
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook
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About this book
When a high school freshman witnesses a man's crime, and follows him into the woods to investigate the case, she finds herself in the middle of an intricate web of town secrets...and a lot of danger.
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See all books like The Man in the Woods→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Mystery title, typically at grades 9–12. Written in the 1980s; pairs with curriculum units on mystery and detective stories and detective and mystery stories; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Where this book is assigned
Virginia Readers' Choice
- recommended·9th grade · Virginiasource: Virginia Readers' Choice past winners, 1986-1987 winner (High)
- recommended·10th grade · Virginiasource: Virginia Readers' Choice past winners, 1986-1987 winner (High)
- recommended·11th grade · Virginiasource: Virginia Readers' Choice past winners, 1986-1987 winner (High)
- recommended·12th grade · Virginiasource: Virginia Readers' Choice past winners, 1986-1987 winner (High)
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Common questions
- What grade level is The Man in the Woods?
- The Man in the Woods is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 9–12. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- How long does it take to read The Man in the Woods?
- It takes about 4h 5m to read The Man in the Woods (224 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 245 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign The Man in the Woods?
- The Man in the Woods appears on reading lists for Virginia Readers' Choice. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is The Man in the Woods banned in schools?
- The Man in the Woods does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
- What themes does The Man in the Woods explore?
- Central themes in The Man in the Woods include mystery and detective stories, detective and mystery stories. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.
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 9–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: book-club.