# 9th grade Literary Fiction books

**13** literary fiction books commonly assigned to 9th grade students in US schools. Every title's grade range covers 9th grade, so each is grade-appropriate by curriculum placement. Sourced from Common Core exemplars, AP, IB, Cambridge, and 50 state ELA curricula.

**Reading difficulty:** the typical 9th grade band is 1050–1335L (Common Core Appendix A). Of the 13 titles here with a Lexile score, 2 are grade-level, 11 more accessible, and 0 a stretch.

**Grade:** 9th grade  ·  **Genre:** Literary Fiction
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/genre/literary-fiction/grade/9
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.
**Primary source — Common Core ELA exemplars:** https://achievethecore.org/page/2699

## 9th grade Literary Fiction reading list

- [A Lesson Before Dying](https://readinglist.school/book/a-lesson-before-dying) by Ernest J. Gaines _(750L · Grades 8–12 · pub 1993)_
- [A Separate Peace](https://readinglist.school/book/a-separate-peace) by John Knowles _(1110L · Grades 9–11 · pub 1959)_
- [Flowers for Algernon](https://readinglist.school/book/flowers-for-algernon) by Daniel Keyes _(910L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1966)_
- [Life of Pi](https://readinglist.school/book/life-of-pi) by Yann Martel _(830L · Grades 9–12 · pub 2001)_
- [Of Mice and Men](https://readinglist.school/book/of-mice-and-men) by John Steinbeck _(630L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1937)_
- [The Catcher in the Rye](https://readinglist.school/book/the-catcher-in-the-rye) by J.D. Salinger _(790L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1951)_
- [The Color Purple](https://readinglist.school/book/the-color-purple) by Alice Walker _(670L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1982)_
- [The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time](https://readinglist.school/book/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time) by Mark Haddon _(1090L · Grades 8–12 · pub 2003)_
- [The Joy Luck Club](https://readinglist.school/book/the-joy-luck-club) by Amy Tan _(930L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1989)_
- [The Pearl](https://readinglist.school/book/the-pearl) by John Steinbeck _(1010L · Grades 6–9 · pub 1947)_
- [The Secret Life of Bees](https://readinglist.school/book/the-secret-life-of-bees) by Sue Monk Kidd _(840L · Grades 9–11 · pub 2002)_
- [Things Fall Apart](https://readinglist.school/book/things-fall-apart) by Chinua Achebe _(890L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1958)_
- [To Kill a Mockingbird](https://readinglist.school/book/to-kill-a-mockingbird) by Harper Lee _(870L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1960)_

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