Are you looking for reading material for your high schooler? This high school reading list has numerous books to choose from. There is also at least one free lesson for each book included on the list. These lessons vary from book to book. Some are comprehensive unit studies or novel guides, while others are simply a set of discussion questions.
All of the lessons below are free, but many of the corresponding books are not. You can buy used books, borrow them from the library, or click/tap on a book’s cover to purchase it on Amazon. For the older books, which are now in the public domain, I have included links to free eBooks.
SparkNotes
You’ll find that I’ve included links to SparkNotes for several of the books on this list. SparkNotes provides a full book quiz and section quizzes for each book. They also offer chapter summaries, character descriptions, and other information. Unfortunately, students sometimes use resources like SparkNotes to avoid reading the book. The chapter summaries can be beneficial if your teen is having trouble understanding a challenging novel. However, the summaries should only be read after reading that section of the book, not as a substitution for reading the book.
Glencoe Literature Library
Glencoe Literature Library is another resource that I’ve linked to for many of the books on this list. Their study guides include vocabulary, comprehension questions, active reading worksheets, writing assignments, and more. These guides were written for Glencoe’s edition of the novels, but they may be used with any edition. Other editions just won’t include the additional reading selections referenced at the end of the guides. You can skip these additional readings, or you might be able to find some of them from other sources.
This page contains affiliate links. See our complete disclosure for more information.
How the High School Reading List is Organized
Because recommendations vary, I have not attempted to organize the high school reading list into grade levels. Instead, I’ve divided the high school reading list into three sections based on reading level difficulty. There is nothing wrong with a senior reading books from the easier reading level or a freshman reading books from the challenging reading level. Within each section, the books are listed in alphabetical order by title. For additional book options, check out our 2nd through 8th grade reading lists.
This high school reading list does not include Shakespeare. Those resources can, instead, be found in the post Teaching Shakespeare With Free Resources.
Please note: As values, beliefs, and standards vary widely by family, I have not attempted to screen these books for appropriateness. I recommend that you read several reviews before choosing books for your teen to read. The post How to Choose Age Appropriate Books lists several resources you can use to help ensure the books you pick are suitable for your family.
High School Reading List: Easier Reading Level
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– final assessment
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- Stone Soup– discussion guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
- SparkNotes– study guide
- CliffsNotes– quiz
- Teachers Pay Teachers– novel test
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Mr. Moshé’s Critically Thinking– study guide questions
- Fish Tank Learning– unit study
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– plot diagram worksheet
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– discussion questions
- Reading Group Guides– discussion questions
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
- LitLovers– discussion questions
- Rooted Ministry– family discussion guide
- Holocaust Museum Huston– lesson plans
A House for Mr. Biswas by V. S. Naipaul
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- LitLovers– discussion questions
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Teachers Pay Teachers– book quizzes
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Soft Schools– online quiz
My Ántonia by Willa Cather
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Teachers Pay Teachers– novel study unit
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– final exam
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Subplotter– comprehension questions
- Fish Tank Leaning– unit study
- SparkNotes– study guide
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Teachers Pay Teachers– reading schedule and journal prompts
- SparkNotes– study guide
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
- TeacherVision– book guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– essay prompt
- NovelWise– worksheets
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
- NT Schools– reading questions
- Teachers Pay Teachers– essay prompts
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
- Teachers Pay Teachers– final test
Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Powell’s Books– teacher’s guide
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
- Penguin Random House– teacher’s guide
- Liberty Union High School– study guide
- Fish Tank Learning– unit study
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Reading Group Guide– discussion questions
- Buffalo Public Schools– novel study
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– plot worksheets
- Teachers Pay Teachers– essay writing prompt
High School Reading List: Intermediate Reading Level
1984 by George Orwell
- Houston Independent School District– reading questions
- Clare’s ELT Compendium– comprehension questions
- ProProfs– comprehension quiz
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Fish Tank Learning– unit study
- NovelWise– worksheets
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– unit test
- NovelWise– worksheets
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- LitLovers– discussion questions
- SparkNotes– study guide
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Read Write Think– lesson plans
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– chapter quizzes
- Fish Tank Learning– unit study
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable Ebook
- SparkNotes– online book with a modern translation
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Academics Easy– comprehension questions
The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
- Penguin Random House– reader’s guide
- The Invisible Man Guide– discussion questions
- CliffsNotes– quiz
- Teachers Pay Teachers– study guide questions
- Teachers Pay Teachers– final test
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- Les Miserables– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- Mrs. Haines’ ELA– comprehension questions
- Teachers Pay Teachers– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- LibriVox– audiobook
- LitLovers– discussion questions
- SparkNotes– study guide
- CliffsNotes– quiz
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Classics Reading Group– discussion questions
- SparkNotes– study guide
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– unit study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Mercy for Marthas– literature guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– study guide
The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
- C.S. Lewis Institute– study guide and lectures
- Mercy for Marthas– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- LibriVox- audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- Scholastic– teaching guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book with modern translation
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- Mrs. Graves’ Website– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Reading Group Guides– discussion questions
- SparkNotes– study guide
Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Penguin Signet Classics– teacher’s guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
High School Reading List: Challenging Reading Level
The Aeneid by Virgil
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Arts of Liberty– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
Beowulf by Unknown
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- LibriVox– audiobook
- SparkNotes– online book with modern translation
- Teachers Pay Teachers– guided reading questions
- SparkNotes– study guide
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book with modern translation
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
The Epic of Gilgamesh by Unknown
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– study guide
- American Historical Association– lesson plan
- Teachers Pay Teachers– short quiz
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Arts of Liberty– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- Creative English Teacher– lesson plans
- SparkNotes– study guide
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- SparkNotes– study guide
- American Literature– study guide
The Odyssey by Homer
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Wappingers Central School District– study guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
- Teachers Pay Teachers– final test
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- SparkNotes– study guide
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
- Answers in Genesis– online book with clickable scripture references
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- LibriVox– audiobook.
- Fight of Faith– discussion questions
- Grace Baptist Church of Victoria– audio lessons and study guide
- The Gospel Coalition– commentary and discussion questions
- SparkNotes– study guide
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- SparkNotes– study guide
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Mercy for Marthas– literature guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Penguin Random House– reader’s guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book with modern translation
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- Fish Tank Learning– unit study
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
- The Gospel Coalition– audiobook, commentary, and discussion questions
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
- Project Gutenberg– downloadable eBook
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- Penguin Random House– reader’s guide
- SparkNotes– study guide
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
- Internet Archive– downloadable eBook
- SparkNotes– online book
- LibriVox– audiobook
- Glencoe Literature Library– study guide
- TeacherVision– lesson plan
- SparkNotes– study guide
- NovelWise– worksheets
I hope your high schooler enjoys reading these books!
More Free Reading Curriculum & Resources
Free Book Guides– This page has even more book guides and novel studies for every grade.
Free Reading and Literature Curriculum– On this page, you’ll find many reading and literature curriculum options.
Free eBooks– This post tells where to find free eBooks for the entire family.
Free Audiobooks– This post shares where to find free audiobooks for all ages.
Note: This post was originally published on June 20, 2021, and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Our Blog
At the Freedom Homeschooling Blog, you'll find homeschool resources and information, tips for homeschooling on a budget, encouragement, and more! Please follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Threads, and X.