Realistic Fiction

Life in the real world is full of all sorts of different journeys. Travel down some of these paths with the characters in the books listed below. For other realistic fiction titles, see our School Stories and Sports Stories lists.

Books are arranged on our shelves by the author’s last name in the sections listed below. This list is subdivided by reading level. Please note that these grade levels are only approximations and are not intended to limit the reader.

A= Title also available on audiobook
P=  Title also available on Playaway
eA=  Title also available on eAudiobook
L=  Title also available in Large Print

J FICTION (Grades 2-3)

Freckle Juice by Judy Blume
A eA L
Andrew wants freckles so badly that he buys Sharon's freckle recipe for fifty cents.  47 pgs.

That Crazy Eddie and the Science Project of Doom by Judy Cox
Best friends Matt and Eddie have a falling out that threatens to ruin their science fair project.  88 pgs.

Ready Freddy: Tooth Trouble by Abby Klein          
A P
Freddy Thresher has a really, really, big problem. He's the only one in his class who hasn't lost a tooth! All of the other students in Mrs. Wushy's first grade have signed their names on the Big Tooth and Freddy's determined to get his name on it, too. So when Max "The Meanie" Sellars calls Freddy a baby, Freddy decides he's going to lose that tooth one way or another, even if it means getting punched in the face at recess!  95 pgs.
(Look for other titles featuring Freddy)

Judy Moody by Megan McDonald
A P eA 
Third grader Judy Moody is in a first day of school bad mood until she gets an assignment to create a collage all about herself and begins creating her masterpiece, the Me collage.  152 pgs.
(Look for other titles featuring Judy.)

J Fiction (Grades 3-6)

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo                
A eA L
Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in  Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big, ugly dog Winn-Dixie.  182 pgs.

Because of Anya by Margaret Haddix            
When ten-year-old Anya faces the difficulties of losing her hair to alopecia, her classmate Keely learns how to stand up for what she knows is right.  114 pgs.

Better Than Weird by Anna Kerz
Aaron sounds like a hyena when he laughs, and he can't sit still, but he has managed to make a couple of friends--and at least one enemy. Now he is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his father, whom he hasn't seen in eight years. Will his dad leave again because he thinks Aaron is too weird? Will the school bully beat him up? And will his dad ever be proud of him?  218 pgs.

Surviving Brick Johnson by Laurie Myers                
A  
On the run after teasing a bully, Alex decides to take karate lessons despite his little brother's reassurances that Brick is not a bully.  74 pgs.

Dog House Blues by Jacqueline Pearce          
When Kyla visits Erika's house, she is immediately turned off by the family's three dogs and nicknames Erika "Dog Girl."  Erika must figure out how to stop the teasing while handling the responsibilities of owning dogs.  150 pgs

JH Fiction (Grades 6-8)  

The Truth about Truman School by Dori Butler
Tired of being told what to write by the school newspaper's advisor, Zibby and her friend Amr start an underground newspaper online where everyone is free to post anything. Things spiral out of control when a cyberbully starts using the site to harass one popular girl.  170 pgs.

Everything I Was by Corinne Demas
After her father loses his job as an investment banker and moves her and her mother to his father’s farmhouse upstate, thirteen-year-old Irene helps in her grandfather's plant nursery, makes new friends, and begins to learn what she really wants and needs.  209 pgs.  

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper                            
A
Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording, and she’s the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows. She can’t, though, because Melody can’t talk. She can’t walk. She can’t write. Melody has cerebral palsy. Most people, her teachers and doctors included, don’t think she’s capable of learning.  295 pgs.

Born Too Short: The Confessions of an Eighth –Grade Basket Case by Dan Elish 
L
Thirteen-year-old Matt is so envious of his best friend Keith that he wishes things would go badly for him. When Keith's fortune changes while at the same time Matt finds his first true girlfriend, Matt is overcome with guilt.  152 pgs.

The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake       
Thirteen-year-old Maleeka, uncomfortable because her skin is extremely dark, meets a new teacher with a birthmark on her face and makes some discoveries about how to love who she is and what she looks like.  171 pgs.

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos        
A eA L
Joey Pigza is a nice kid who happens to get into a lot trouble, from sticking his finger in the pencil sharpener and swallowing his house key, to running with scissors. Despite his best intentions, he can't concentrate or hold still and it seems that he can never resist an impulse. 153 pgs.

Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
Sixteen-year-old Bernardo, who is eight feet tall and suffers from a condition called Gigantism, leaves the Philippines to live with his mother's family in London. His thirteen-year-old half- sister Andi, who is a passionate basketball player, has mixed feeling about Bernardo.  295 pgs.

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff
After her brother Jared dies, ten-year-old Annie worries about the hidden dangers of everything, from bug bites to bicycle riding. When she is befriended by a new neighbor who is grieving her own loss, Annie begins to heal.  235 pgs.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
A P L              
Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.  292 pgs.

Do Not Pass Go by Kirkpatrick Hill
When Deet's father is jailed for using drugs, Deet learns that prison is not what he expected.  229 pgs.

The Misfits by James Howe 
A P                   
Four students who do not fit in at their small-town middle school decide to create a third party for the student council elections to represent all students who have ever been called names.  274 pgs.

Stranger in Dadland by Amy Goldman Koss            
Twelve-year-old John develops a new understanding of his divorced father during an eventful summer visit to California. 
119 pgs.

Define “Normal” by Julie Anne Peters                        
L
When she agrees to meet with Jasmine as a peer counselor at their middle school, Antonia never dreams that this girl with the black lipstick and pierced eyebrow will end up helping her deal with the serious problems she faces at home and become a good friend.  196 pgs.

Bystander by James Preller
Thirteen-year-old Eric discovers that there are consequences to taking a stand against the bully at his new school. Although school officials are aware of the problem, Eric may be the one with a solution.   226 pgs.

Homeroom Exercise  by Jana Striegel           
When Regan begins to suffer from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, she must face the possibility that her dream of being a professional dancer may never come true.  168 pgs.

It Only Looks Easy by Pamela Curtis Swallow
On the first day of seventh grade when Kat "borrows" a bicycle to go see her dog who was hit the day before by a woman with Alzheimer's disease, she learns about the serious consequences of her actions.  168 pgs.

Click Here: (To Find Out How I Survived Seventh Grade) by Denise Vega
Seventh-grader Erin Swift writes about her friends and classmates in her private blog, but when it accidentally gets posted on the school Intranet site, she learns some important lessons about friendship.  211 pgs.

This list was prepared by the Youth Services Department of the St. Charles Public Library.
(630) 584-9390

Ask Youth Services! at St. Charles Public Library
      630-584-9390 or contact us online.

MEC 3/07; revised JB 10/11