# Books written in the 1990s, assigned in US schools

Multicultural representation expands; Holes, The Giver, Speak — increasingly mainstream YA crossing into core syllabi.

**16** books written between 1990 and 1999 that US schools assign across state ELA standards, AP/IB syllabi, and Common Core exemplar lists.

**Decade window:** 1990–1999
**Lexile range:** 510L–1000L
**Grade span:** 1–12
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/decade/1990s
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## Themes of the 1990s

- family (6)
- friendship (4)
- coming of age (3)
- identity (3)
- imagination (3)
- memory (2)
- mental health (2)
- race (2)

## Authors writing in the 1990s

- Christopher Paul Curtis (2)
- Andrew Clements
- Dav Pilkey
- Ernest J. Gaines
- Jerry Spinelli
- Karen Hesse
- Laurie Halse Anderson
- Lois Lowry

## Genres

- Middle Grade Fiction (4)
- Young Adult Fiction (3)
- Historical Fiction (2)
- Realistic Fiction (2)
- Dystopian Fiction
- Early Chapter Book
- Literary Fiction
- Middle Grade Verse Novel / Historical Fiction

## The 1990s canon

- [Maniac Magee](https://readinglist.school/book/maniac-magee) by Jerry Spinelli _(820L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1990)_
- [The Things They Carried](https://readinglist.school/book/the-things-they-carried) by Tim O'Brien _(880L · Grades 11–12 · pub 1990)_
- [Shiloh](https://readinglist.school/book/shiloh) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor _(890L · Grades 3–6 · pub 1991)_
- [Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1)](https://readinglist.school/book/magic-tree-house-dinosaurs-before-dark) by Mary Pope Osborne _(510L · Grades 1–4 · pub 1992)_
- [A Lesson Before Dying](https://readinglist.school/book/a-lesson-before-dying) by Ernest J. Gaines _(750L · Grades 8–12 · pub 1993)_
- [The Giver](https://readinglist.school/book/the-giver) by Lois Lowry _(760L · Grades 6–8 · pub 1993)_
- [Walk Two Moons](https://readinglist.school/book/walk-two-moons) by Sharon Creech _(770L · Grades 5–7 · pub 1994)_
- [The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963](https://readinglist.school/book/the-watsons-go-to-birmingham-1963) by Christopher Paul Curtis _(1000L · Grades 5–8 · pub 1995)_
- [Frindle](https://readinglist.school/book/frindle) by Andrew Clements _(830L · Grades 3–7 · pub 1996)_
- [Out of the Dust](https://readinglist.school/book/out-of-the-dust) by Karen Hesse _(740L · Grades 5–8 · pub 1997)_
- [The Adventures of Captain Underpants](https://readinglist.school/book/the-adventures-of-captain-underpants) by Dav Pilkey _(720L · Grades 2–5 · pub 1997)_
- [Holes](https://readinglist.school/book/holes) by Louis Sachar _(660L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1998)_
- [Bud, Not Buddy](https://readinglist.school/book/bud-not-buddy) by Christopher Paul Curtis _(950L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1999)_
- [Monster](https://readinglist.school/book/monster) by Walter Dean Myers _(670L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1999)_
- [Speak](https://readinglist.school/book/speak) by Laurie Halse Anderson _(690L · Grades 8–10 · pub 1999)_
- [The Perks of Being a Wallflower](https://readinglist.school/book/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower) by Stephen Chbosky _(720L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1999)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. JSON API: https://readinglist.school/api/decade/1990s · HTML view: https://readinglist.school/decade/1990s._