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Realistic Fiction

Realistic fiction is kind of a newcomer to the long list of literary genres. Primarily aimed at children and adolescents (the corresponding genre in adult literature is usually just called "literary fiction"), realistic fiction is recognizable by its relatable characters and situations. What sets it apart from historical fiction is that the stories do not center around an actual historical event or person, though they may be set in a very real time period.

Characters deal with the things everyone else deals with—death, friendship, loneliness, embarrassment, first love—and they don't get transported to a make-believe island as a solution to their problems. They have to work it out, which is one of the main appeals of this genre; kids like to read about other kids (real or imaginary) going through the typical young person's trials and how they deal with it.

Not that all realistic fiction is sad and gloomy. It's just what it sounds like—stories about real-life from a fresh perspective. Also, we aren't suggesting there are no realistic elements to a fantasy like The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: there are, which is precisely what makes reading that book so rewarding. It's just that real kids don't fight literal dragons, they fight bullies, or their own insecurities, or ferocious acne.

A lot of the best and most-loved stories fall squarely within the limits of realistic fiction. Huckleberry Finn wasn't a real pirate, but he really rafted the Mississippi; Anne Shirley wasn't a Medieval princess, but she really became Matthew and Marilla's daughter; Anna and Caleb Witting aren't big on imagination, but they are big on really accepting Sarah into their family (at least, eventually).

The full range of human experience is explored in these stories, its darkness, its light, its sorrow, its joy. This is the purpose of literature, after all: to show us true life, and in showing us, to better prepare us for it. These books are some of the best at doing just that.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Active Filters: 10th grade (Ages 15-16), Trade Paperback
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain Library
by Mark Twain, illustrated by E.W. Kemble and John Harley, edited by Victor Fischer, Lin Salamo with Harriet Elinor Smith and Walter Blair
from University of California Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 Paperback
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
1987 Printing from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Alas, Babylon
by Pat Frank
from HarperCollins
Apocalyptic novel for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Almost Paradise
by Corabel Shofner
from Square Fish Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.99
Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.95
Baron's Apprenticeship
Thomas Wingfold #3 of 3
by George MacDonald
from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Baronet's Song
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
1st THUS from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beany Malone
by Lenora Mattingly Weber
from Image Cascade Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Thread
Hawk and the Dove Series #8
by Penelope Wilcock
from Lion Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Belle Prater's Boy
by Ruth White
from Yearling
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $2.50 (4 in stock)
Belle Prater's Boy
by Ruth White
from Square Fish Publishing
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson
from Square Fish Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.99
Breath of Peace
Hawk and the Dove Series #7
by Penelope Wilcock
from Lion Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Brethren
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.75 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Burying the Sun
by Gloria Whelan
from HarperCollins
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Burying the Sun
by Gloria Whelan
from Avyx, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Calvin
by Martine Leavitt
from Square Fish Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Charis in the World of Wonders
by Marly Youmans
from Ignatius Press
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.95
Children of the River
by Linda Crew
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Christy
by Catherine Marshall
from Gilead Evergreen Farm
Realistic Fiction for 8th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Crown of Honour
by L. Erkelens
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Daisy Chain
by Charlotte Yonge
from Beautiful Feet Books
Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$16.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Daughter's Devotion
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Dicey's Song
by Cynthia Voigt
from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
1983 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Door to the North
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
from Bethlehem Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Emily of Deep Valley
by Maud Hart Lovelace, illustrated by Vera Neville, foreword by Mitali Perkins
Reprint from Harper Perennial
for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Fiddler's Gun
by A. S. Peterson
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Freckles
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Indiana University Press
Romance for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Freckles
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Dover Publications
Romance for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Gentlewoman's Choice
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
2nd edition from Bethany House
for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Girl of the Limberlost
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Indiana University Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Girl of the Limberlost
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Dover Publications
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
by James Hilton
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Great Brain
by John Fitzgerald
from Yearling
for 10th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 10th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.00
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens
from Dover Publications
Realistic Fiction for 10th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Green Gables Letters
by Lucy Maud Montgomery
from Borealis
for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer
from Sun Dial Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Guns of Navarone
by Alastair MacLean
Reprint from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Hardest Thing to Do
Hawk and the Dove Series #4
by Penelope Wilcock
3rd Revised edition from Lion Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Harvester
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Indiana University Press
Romance for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$17.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Hitch
by Jeanette Ingold
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 10th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Hour Before Dawn
Hawk and the Dove Series #5
by Penelope Wilcock
from Lion Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.95 $4.00 (1 in stock)
I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith
from St. Martin's Griffin
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
I Must Betray You
by Ruta Sepetys
from Philomel Books
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.20
Joey Pigza Loses Control
by Jack Gantos
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Laddie
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Indiana University Press
Romance for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.95
Landlady's Master
by George MacDonald
from Bethany House
for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Long Way Down
by Jason Reynolds
Reprint from Atheneum
for 8th-11th grade
2018 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Lord of the Flies
by William Golding
from Penguin Putnam
Utopian and Dystopian Literature for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.00
M. C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 6th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Machine Gunners
by Robert Westall
from Macmillan
for 7th-10th grade
1975 Carnegie Medal
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Mama's Bank Account
by Kathryn Forbes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$15.99 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Man Called Peter
by Catherine Marshall
from Evergreen Farm
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Marcelo in the Real World
by Francisco X. Stork
from Scholastic Press
for 9th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Master Puppeteer
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Michael O'Halloran
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Indiana University Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Jim Kay
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 5th-Adult
2012 Carnegie Medal
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.00
Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool
from Yearling
for 6th-10th grade
2011 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Mozart Season
from Square Fish Publishing
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Musician's Quest
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
My Heart Lies South
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
My Own Lightning
by Lauren Wolk
from Dutton Children's Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Ocean-Born Mary
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99
Okay for Now
by Gary D. Schmidt
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Old-Fashioned Girl
by Louisa May Alcott
from Dell Yearling
for 5th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Out to Canaan
Mitford Series Book 4
by Jan Karon
from Penguin Putnam
Adult Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Penrod
by Booth Tarkington
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Piecing Me Together
by Renée Watson
Paperback Edition from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
2018 Newbery Honor Book, 2018 Coretta Scott King Award
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Refugees
Huguenot Inheritance Series #6
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Huguenot Inheritance Series (Location: FIC-WH02)
$19.95
Remember Me
Hawk and the Dove Series #6
by Penelope Wilcock
3rd Revised edition from Lion Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Rising Tide
by Jeff Shaara
from Ballantine Books
Historical Non-fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Rose Under Fire
by Elizabeth Wein
from Little, Brown & Company
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Scent of Water
by Elizabeth Goudge
from Hendrickson Publishers
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.95
Scorpions
by Walter Dean Myers
Revised Paperback, 2013 from Amistad Press
for 7th-10th grade
1989 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Separate Peace
by John Knowles
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00 $8.50 (4 in stock)
Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind
by Suzanne F. Staples
Reprint from Ember
for 8th-12th grade
1990 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Shepherd of the Hills
by Harold Bell Wright
from Bethany House
for 9th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Silas Marner
by George Eliot
from A Beka Books
Realistic Fiction for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Sir Gibbie
Classics for Young Readers
by George MacDonald
from P&R Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Solitary Blue
Tillerman Cycle #3
by Cynthia Voight
Reprint from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
1984 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Story of the Trapp Family Singers
by Maria Augusta Trapp
from HarperCollins
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
These High, Green Hills
Mitford Series Book 3
by Jan Karon
from Penguin Putnam
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Tilly
by Frank E. Peretti
from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
from Harper Perennial
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Tutor's First Love
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
from Bethany House
for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Under the Inquisition
Reformation Trail Series #11
by Elizabeth H. Walshe
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$15.95
Under the Persimmon Tree
by Suzanne Fisher Staples
from Square Fish Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$13.99
Waiting for Her Isaac
by Mr. & Mrs. Stephen B. Castleberry
from Castleberry Farms
for 9th-12th grade
in Preparing for Marriage (Location: XFA-PREP)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Way of the Gladiator
by Dan Mannix
from ibooks
for 7th-12th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
What Hearts
by Bruce Brooks
from HarperCollins
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
With Pipe, Paddle and Song
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Elizabeth Yates
2nd edition from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$35.00 $25.00 (1 in stock)
Wolf Hollow
by Lauren Wolk
from Puffin Books
for 6th-10th grade
2017 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Year Money Grew on Trees
by Aaron Hawkins
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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