# 9th grade books about friendship

**23** books commonly assigned to 9th grade students in US schools that explore friendship. 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 5 titles here with a Lexile score, 0 are grade-level, 5 more accessible, and 0 a stretch.

**Grade:** 9th grade  ·  **Theme:** friendship
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/grade/9/friendship
**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://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/standards-instruction/appendix-b-text-exemplars-and-sample-performance-tasks.pdf

## 9th grade friendship reading list

- [Breaking Boxes](https://readinglist.school/book/breaking-boxes) by A. M. Jenkins _(Grades 9–12 · pub 1997)_
- [Drama](https://readinglist.school/book/drama) by Raina Telgemeier _(Grades 5–9 · pub 2012)_
- [Flowers for Algernon](https://readinglist.school/book/flowers-for-algernon) by Daniel Keyes _(910L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1966)_
- [Four for the Road](https://readinglist.school/book/four-for-the-road) by K.J. Reilly _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2022)_
- [Freak the Mighty](https://readinglist.school/book/freak-the-mighty) by W. R. Philbrick _(Grades 6–9 · pub 1989)_
- [Izzy, Willy-Nilly](https://readinglist.school/book/izzy-willy-nilly) by Cynthia Voigt _(Grades 9–12 · pub 1986)_
- [Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25](https://readinglist.school/book/michael-vey-the-prisoner-of-cell-25) by Richard Paul Evans _(Grades 6–9 · pub 2012)_
- [Of Mice and Men](https://readinglist.school/book/of-mice-and-men) by John Steinbeck _(630L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1937)_
- [Posted](https://readinglist.school/book/posted) by John David Anderson _(Grades 6–9 · pub 2018)_
- [Say Goodnight, Gracie](https://readinglist.school/book/say-goodnight-gracie) by Julie Reece Deaver _(Grades 9–12 · pub 1988)_
- [Shut Up, This Is Serious](https://readinglist.school/book/shut-up-this-is-serious) by Carolina Ixta _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2024)_
- [Sold](https://readinglist.school/book/sold) by Patricia McCormick _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2006)_
- [Someone Like You](https://readinglist.school/book/someone-like-you) by Sarah Dessen _(Grades 9–12 · pub 1998)_
- [The Agathas](https://readinglist.school/book/the-agathas) by Kathleen Glasgow _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2022)_
- [The Book Thief](https://readinglist.school/book/the-book-thief) by Markus Zusak _(730L · Grades 8–11 · pub 2005)_
- [The Mark of Athena](https://readinglist.school/book/the-mark-of-athena) by Rick Riordan _(Grades 5–9 · pub 2012)_
- [The Maze Runner](https://readinglist.school/book/the-maze-runner) by James Dashner _(Grades 7–12 · pub 2009)_
- [The Only Alien on the Planet](https://readinglist.school/book/the-only-alien-on-the-planet) by Kristen D. Randle _(Grades 9–12 · pub 1995)_
- [The Outsiders](https://readinglist.school/book/the-outsiders) by S.E. Hinton _(750L · Grades 7–9 · pub 1967)_
- [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)_
- [The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants](https://readinglist.school/book/the-sisterhood-of-the-traveling-pants) by Ann Brashares _(Grades 7–10 · pub 2001)_
- [Uglies](https://readinglist.school/book/uglies) by Scott Westerfeld _(Grades 9–12 · pub 2005)_
- [Under the Surface](https://readinglist.school/book/under-the-surface) by Diana Urban _(Grades 7–12 · pub 2024)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. HTML view: https://readinglist.school/grade/9/friendship._