The Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica (2009)

Football fiction with depth and heart.

Recommended grade level: 5-8

Pages: 244 (for ISBN 9780399246265)

Genre(s) and keywords: realistic fiction, sports fiction

If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth (2015)

Lewis Blake deals with heady issues of family, friendship, identity, and belonging in this candid and humorous story about life as a teenage Tuscarora Indian in 1975.

Recommended grade level: 6-9

Pages: 368 (for ISBN 9780545417303)

Genre(s) and keywords: historical fiction, realistic fiction, diverse, Native American protagonist

My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald (2009)

A light read about a seventh grade girl who hopes to turn her skill in makeup artistry into a business that can save her family’s pharmacy.

Recommended grade level: 4-7

Pages: 272 (for ISBN 9780810983526)

Genre(s) and keywords: realistic fiction, chick lit