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Reading List - Year 10/11

Writer: Sallyann Clark
Sallyann Clark
Aug 22
11 min read

A two-year reading-for-pleasure list, organised by genre (20 minutes daily reading)


Each entry links to a live Open Library search for that title, so you can check current free ebook/borrowing availability yourself — this changes over time, so you may have to search for it yourself.



Contemporary Fiction & Coming-of-Age

The Fault in Our Stars  —  John Green


Two teenagers who meet at a cancer support group fall in love while facing their own mortality. Warm and witty despite the subject matter.


Reading level: Accessible — good for most readers


The Perks of Being a Wallflower  —  Stephen Chbosky


A shy, introspective teenager navigates friendship, first love and mental health through a series of letters. Honest and widely loved by teens.


Reading level: Accessible, but touches on trauma — best for Year 11


Eleanor & Park  —  Rainbow Rowell

Two misfit teenagers fall for each other on the school bus, bonding over comics and mixtapes. A gentle, nostalgic love story.


Reading level: Accessible — good entry point


Mystery & Thriller

And Then There Were None  —  Agatha Christie


Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island and murdered one by one. A tightly plotted classic whodunnit that keeps pages turning.


Reading level: Accessible — a reliable favourite


The Girl on the Train  —  Paula Hawkins

A woman's daily train commute pulls her into a missing-person investigation full of unreliable narrators. Gripping and twisty.


Reading level: Confident readers — Year 11


Holes  —  Louis Sachar

A boy sent to a brutal juvenile detention camp uncovers a century-old mystery buried in the earth. A clever, dual-timeline structure.


Reading level: Accessible — works well for reluctant readers



We Were Liars  —  E. Lockhart

A wealthy family's summers on a private island hide a tragedy the narrator can't quite remember. Sharp prose with a twist ending pupils talk about for weeks.


Reading level: Confident readers


Genuine Fraud  —  E. Lockhart


A young woman assumes another's identity, told backwards through a web of lies. Twisty and stylish.


Reading level: Confident readers


Dystopian & Science Fiction


The Giver Quartet - Lois Lowry

In a seemingly perfect society where pain, war and choice have been eliminated, a boy is selected to inherit the community's only store of real memories — and discovers exactly what's been given up to keep everyone "safe." The first in a four-book series (followed by Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son), each of which can be read as a standalone story set in the same unsettling world.


Reading level: Accessible — a strong entry point to dystopian fiction, shorter and gentler than The Hunger Games or Divergent


The Hunger Games  —  Suzanne Collins

Teenagers are forced to fight to the death in a televised contest that keeps a totalitarian government in power. Fast-paced and hugely popular with reluctant readers.


Reading level: Accessible — a strong starting point


Divergent  —  Veronica Roth

In a future Chicago divided into factions by personality trait, a girl discovers she doesn't fit into just one. Action-driven and easy to binge.


Reading level: Accessible


Feed  —  M.T. Anderson

In a near-future America, most people have a chip implanted in their brain feeding them constant advertising. A sharp, funny satire on consumerism and technology.


Reading level: Confident readers — unusual style


Legend  —  Marie Lu

A prodigy soldier and a criminal mastermind from opposite sides of a divided society become rivals, then allies. Punchy, short chapters.


Reading level: Accessible — good for 20-minute sessions


Never Let Me Go  —  Kazuo Ishiguro

Students at a mysterious boarding school slowly uncover the dark truth of what their lives are really for. Quiet, unsettling and thought-provoking.


Reading level: Stronger readers — Year 11


War, History & the Refugee Experience

War Horse  —  Michael Morpurgo

A farm horse is sold into service in the First World War and experiences the conflict from both sides of the trenches. Accessible and moving.


Reading level: Accessible — good entry point


Private Peaceful  —  Michael Morpurgo

A young soldier in the First World War recalls his childhood as he waits through his final night. Short and powerful.


Reading level: Accessible — good for reluctant readers


The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas  —  John Boyne

The son of a concentration camp commandant befriends a Jewish boy on the other side of the fence, not understanding what the camp really is. Simple prose, devastating impact.


Reading level: Accessible — emotionally heavy


Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl  —  Anne Frank

A teenage girl's real diary, written while hiding from the Nazis in occupied Amsterdam. An essential, deeply personal piece of history.


Reading level: Accessible — non-fiction


Salt to the Sea  —  Ruta Sepetys

Four young refugees' paths converge during the little-known sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945. Told in short, alternating chapters.


Reading level: Accessible — good for 20-minute sessions


Refugee  —  Alan Gratz

Three refugee children from three different eras — Nazi Germany, 1990s Cuba and present-day Syria — have their stories woven together. Fast-moving and eye-opening.


Reading level: Accessible


Boy 87  —  Ele Fountain

A boy is forced to flee his home country and endure a dangerous journey to safety. Fast-paced with real emotional weight.


Reading level: Accessible — good entry point


The Bone Sparrow  —  Zana Fraillon

A boy born in an Australian immigration detention centre befriends a local girl who sneaks into the camp. A sensitive treatment of asylum and detention through a child's eyes.


Reading level: Accessible


Fantasy & Adventure

The Inheritance Cycle (Book 1: Eragon) – Christopher Paolini


A farm boy discovers a mysterious blue stone that hatches into a dragon, thrusting him into a rebellion against a tyrannical king and a destiny as one of the last Dragon Riders. A four-book epic fantasy series (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance) with a lot of series mileage — good for pupils who want to sink into one world across a large chunk of the two years. Famously written by Paolini as a teenager himself, which sometimes helps hook reluctant readers.


Reading level: Accessible to confident — long books, but straightforward prose; sits well alongside The Hobbit and Northern Lights in Fantasy & Adventure


Northern Lights (His Dark Materials, Book 1)  —  Philip Pullman


Lyra journeys to the Arctic to rescue kidnapped children in a world where every person's soul lives outside their body as an animal companion. Rich world-building and big ideas about power and truth.


Reading level: Accessible to confident — first of a trilogy


The Hobbit  —  J.R.R. Tolkien

Bilbo Baggins is swept into an adventure to help a group of dwarves reclaim treasure from a dragon. A gentler entry point to fantasy than The Lord of the Rings.


Reading level: Confident readers — dense prose in places


Six of Crows  —  Leigh Bardugo

A crew of teenage criminals attempt an impossible heist in a gritty fantasy city. Multiple points of view and constant twists.


Reading level: Confident readers



The Rest of Us Just Live Here  —  Patrick Ness

While other teenagers battle supernatural forces in the background, an ordinary group of friends just try to get through senior year. A clever, funny subversion of the "chosen one" trope.


Reading level: Accessible to confident


Mental Health & Wellbeing

Turtles All the Way Down  —  John Green

A teenage girl with OCD tries to solve the mystery of a missing billionaire while managing her own intrusive thoughts. One of the most honest fictional portrayals of anxiety disorders for teens.


Reading level: Confident readers


All the Bright Places  —  Jennifer Niven

Two teenagers, both privately struggling, meet on a school ledge and form an unlikely bond. Tender and ultimately heartbreaking.


Reading level: Year 11 — deals directly with suicide; content note advised


The Bell Jar  —  Sylvia Plath

A young woman's mental health unravels during a summer internship in 1950s New York. A classic account of depression, dated in setting but strikingly current in feeling.


Reading level: Stronger readers — Year 11


Under Rose-Tainted Skies  —  Louise Gornall

A teenage girl with agoraphobia and OCD falls for the boy next door while barely able to leave her house. Sensitive and specific rather than generic about anxiety.


Reading level: Accessible to confident


Am I Normal Yet?  —  Holly Bourne

A teenage girl with OCD tries to navigate friendship, feminism and "normal" teenage life while hiding her diagnosis. Also explores how social media shapes what teenagers think they should look and feel like.


Reading level: Accessible to confident


Identity, Race & Social Justice

The Hate U Give  —  Angie Thomas

A Black teenager witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed friend and must decide whether to speak out. Urgent and contemporary — one of the most talked-about YA novels of the last decade.


Reading level: Accessible to confident


Ghost Boys  —  Jewell Parker Rhodes

After being shot by a police officer, a boy's ghost watches the aftermath and connects with the ghost of Emmett Till. Short and powerful.


Reading level: Accessible — good for younger Year 10


Girl, Woman, Other  —  Bernardine Evaristo

Twelve interconnected characters, mostly Black British women, navigate identity, race and belonging across generations. Structurally unusual (no full stops in places).


Reading level: Stronger readers — Year 11


Piecing Me Together  —  Renée Watson

A Black teenage girl on scholarship at a mostly white private school pieces together her own sense of identity and voice. A thoughtful look at class and race intersecting.


Reading level: Accessible to confident


Brother  —  David Chariandy

Two sons of Trinidadian immigrants growing up in a rough Toronto neighbourhood face very different fates. Slim, poetic and quietly devastating.


Reading level: Confident readers


Junk  —  Melvin Burgess

Two teenagers run away from home and fall into addiction and street life in 1980s Bristol. Gritty and unromanticised.


Reading level: Mature Year 11 readers — content note advised


LGBTQ+ Identity

Heartstopper (Volume 1)  —  Alice Oseman


Two schoolboys, one openly gay and one questioning, fall for each other. Graphic novel format — very accessible, gentle and warm.


Reading level: Accessible — good for a wide range of confidence levels


Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda  —  Becky Albertalli

A closeted gay teenager is blackmailed by a classmate who's found his private emails. Funny, warm and a good entry point for pupils new to LGBTQ+ fiction.


Reading level: Accessible


Gender, Society & Modern Life

Moxie  —  Jennifer Mathieu

A quiet teenage girl starts an anonymous feminist zine after getting fed up with sexism at her school, sparking a quiet revolution. Fun, empowering and grounded in ordinary school life.


Reading level: Accessible


How Hard Can Love Be?  —  Holly Bourne

A teenage girl grappling with her mother's absence also navigates friendship, first love and self-worth. Part of a loose trilogy, each tackling a different issue through relatable stories.


Reading level: Accessible to confident


Asking For It  —  Louise O'Neill

After a sexual assault at a party, a girl becomes the subject of online shaming rather than support. Hard-hitting and unflinching.


Reading level: Mature Year 11 readers — content note strongly advised


The Carbon Diaries 2015  —  Saci Lloyd

A teenage girl keeps a diary of her family's life under Britain's new carbon rationing scheme after catastrophic floods. Near-future and grounded — makes climate change feel personal.


Reading level: Accessible


Non-Fiction

I Am Malala  —  Malala Yousafzai

The memoir of the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban for advocating girls' education, who went on to become the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Inspiring and highly readable.


Reading level: Accessible


Sapiens: A Graphic History (Volume 1)  —  Yuval Noah Harari

A graphic-novel adaptation of the bestselling history of humankind. A strong option for pupils who respond well to visual storytelling.


Reading level: Accessible


Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup  —  John Carreyrou

The true story of how Theranos, a $9 billion medical startup, turned out to be built on fraud. Reads like a thriller.


Reading level: Confident readers — good for pupils who think they dislike non-fiction


The Uninhabitable Earth (Young Readers Edition)  —  David Wallace-Wells

A journalistic account of what the climate crisis could mean for the world today's pupils will inherit. Sobering but written for a teenage audience.


Reading level: Confident readers


Poetry

The Poetry Pharmacy – William Sieghart


A collection of poems curated as "remedies" for particular moods and situations — heartbreak, self-doubt, grief, needing courage — each paired with a short prescription note explaining why it might help. Poetry in very small, accessible doses, making it ideal for pupils who feel intimidated by poetry or only want to read a page or two at a time.


Reading level: Accessible — ideal for shorter reading sessions or less confident readers; good for dipping in and out rather than reading cover to cover.


Milk and Honey – Rupi Kaur

A collection of short, spare poems and illustrations moving through hurting, loving, breaking and healing. Hugely popular with teenagers, and each poem is only a few lines — ideal for a quick 20-minute dip.


Reading level: Accessible — very short-form, good for reluctant readers


The Poet X – Elizabeth Acevedo


A verse novel about a Dominican-American teenager in Harlem who pours her frustration with family, faith and first love into slam poetry. Reads with the pace of a novel despite being written entirely in verse — a great bridge between poetry and fiction.


Reading level: Accessible to confident — touches on family conflict and religion.


Wild Embers – Nikita Gill


A collection reworking fairy tales, mythology and folklore into poems about self-worth, feminism and resilience. Punchy and quotable, popular with teenage girls in particular.


Reading level: Accessible


Hold Your Own – Kate Tempest

A collection inspired by the myth of Tiresias, moving through childhood, adulthood, and old age to explore identity and transformation. Denser and more ambitious than the others here — Tempest is also a spoken-word performer, so it's worth playing a reading aloud alongside the text.


Reading level: Confident readers — some formally experimental poems


Call Us What We Carry – Amanda Gorman


A collection from the poet who performed at the 2021 US presidential inauguration, exploring grief, resilience and hope in the aftermath of recent history (the pandemic, racial justice movements). Contemporary and highly relevant to how pupils have experienced the last few years.


Reading level: Confident readers — some formally experimental poems


Toffee – Sarah Crossan

A verse novel about a girl who runs away from an abusive home and forms an unlikely bond with an elderly woman with dementia who mistakes her for someone else. Spare, emotionally direct writing; Crossan has several other verse novels (One, Moonrise) worth having on rotation too.


Reading level: Accessible to confident — content note: domestic abuse


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