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Fiction by Genre

Fiction is good. It's not just lies—lies are the dishonest things we tell other people out of selfishness, while fiction is (or should be) those stories used to reveal truth. Not that all stories have to be tied up with a neat moral at the end. Truth wears many faces, and our favorite stories are as varied, and often as unresolved, as life itself.

A good book always has something to say, however. Even if the message is as simple as "it's good to have friends" or "growing up is difficult no matter who you are," there is a message and it can be understood. There are books that are all plot....but they aren't good books. There are books that are all blatant morality and character-building....also not good books, at least in the sense we mean here.

For those of you about to stop reading, know this: we aren't promoting immoral books. Just because there isn't an obvious "and Johnny was happy because he knew that stealing was bad" ending doesn't mean we support kids reading about worldly characters doing worldly things as though this was normal and healthy. But we also don't think Pathway Readers are the only appropriate fiction available to children.

What we mean by "good book" is one which accurately depicts human nature, demonstrates an engaging style, displays a consistent worldview, and doesn't use cheap tricks to get readers interested. That excludes a lot of books. It also includes a lot of books, and they typically aren't the ones filling the new release racks at Barnes & Noble.

We emphasize classic fiction at Exodus Books. That's not to say we shun all modern fiction, but typically good writing survives for years and years and years on its own merits, and those books that fit that description can be trusted more than those still in their infancy. Genres we find particularly problematic are those built around cheap formulas and plots with little to say (fantasy, sci-fi and mystery series come immediately to mind).

Books that rely on non-stop action and thrills are also avoided by our charming and discerning book-buying staff. Kids need to learn to enjoy reading because it's good for them and offers new ways to look at the world, not simply for a book's entertainment value. It's not enough just to read—if you read a steady diet of trash or sub-standard fiction you're really no better off than watching hours of television.

There is a difference between children's and adult literature. Kids shouldn't be sheltered, but they also aren't prepared to deal with the themes and darker elements adults must confront. Most of the titles in this section are "safe"—not a lot of extreme violence, sexual content, profanity, etc. here (though there is some overlap with the adult and children's genres).

Along the same lines, we don't encourage letting kids read abridged versions of classics or advanced material. Everything we offer is unabridged unless explicitly stated—it's far better to have kids read stories at their level than to have them read edited and often misrepresented versions of books not intended for children. If they read Charlotte's Web and Rufus M. as kids, they'll be ready for Great Expectations when they're older.

Nowhere in the Bible does God say "Read fiction. It'll make you a better person." But neither does He say "Have a time set aside for daily devotions. It's the only path to true spirituality." Simply because there's no command in Scripture doesn't mean a particular activity isn't a really good idea. Not that reading the Bible and reading fiction are in any way on the same level. Reading God helps us understand Him better—reading fiction helps us understand ourselves.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes 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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80 Items found Print
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Active Filters: Caleb's Reviews, 9th grade (Ages 14-15)
2001: A Space Odyssey
by Arthur C. Clarke
from ROC Science Fiction
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
1978 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1962 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Criss Cross
by Lynne Rae Perkins
from Greenwillow Books
for 6th-9th grade
2006 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1984 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Dicey's Song
by Cynthia Voigt
from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
1983 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Everyman's Library
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.00
Earthsea Cycle
by Ursula K. Le Guin
from Graphia
for 7th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Floating Admiral
by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, G.K. Chesterton
First Thus
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Giver
by Lois Lowry
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
1994 Newbery Medal winner
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$11.99
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
by Laura Amy Schlitz
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
2008 Newbery Medal Winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
from Penguin Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
2009 Newbery Medal winner, 2010 Carnegie Medal
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Hero and the Crown
by Robin McKinley
Reissue from Puffin Books
for 5th-9th grade
1985 Newbery Medal Winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Ideal Husband
Dover Thrift Editions
by Oscar Wilde
from Dover Publications
Drama for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$2.50
If The South Had Won The Civil War
by MacKinlay Kantor
from Forge
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells
from Signet Classics
Science Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Island of Dr. Moreau
Signet Classics
by H. G. Wells
from Signet Classics
Speculative Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.95
It's Like This, Cat
by Emily Neville
from Dover Publications
for 7th-9th grade
1964 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.95
Ivanhoe
Signet Classics
by Sir Walter Scott
from Signet Classics
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 7th-10th grade
1981 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 7th-10th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Kidnapped
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Living Book Press
Historical Romance for 9th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.99
King Solomon's Mines
by H. Rider Haggard
from Dover Publications
Adventure for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.00
King Solomon's Mines
by H. Rider Haggard
from SeaWolf Press
Adventure for 7th-12th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
King Solomon's Mines, Allan Quatermain and She
by H. Rider Haggard
from Dover Publications
Action/Adventure for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.95
Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata
from Atheneum
for 6th-9th grade
2005 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Last of the Mohicans
Leatherstocking Tales #2
by James Fenimore Cooper
Reprint from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$13.00
Last Unicorn
by Peter S. Beagle
from ROC Science Fiction
for 9th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$17.00
Long Way from Chicago
by Richard Peck
from Puffin Books
Humorous Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Lord of Light
by Roger Zelazny
from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.99
Lord of the Rings - Hardbound Boxed Set
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$67.20
Lorna Doone
by R. D. Blackmore
from Oxford University
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$13.95
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)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Maniac Magee
by Jerry Spinelli
from Little, Brown & Company
Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1991 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Master of Ballantrae
Penguin Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Master of Ballantrae
Penguin Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from SeaWolf Press
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
1996 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Mimus
by Lilli Thal, translated by John Brownjohn
from Annick Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Moby-Dick
Everyman's Library
by Herman Melville
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$35.00
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool
from Yearling
for 6th-10th grade
2011 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Mouse and His Child
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by David Small
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99
Once and Future King
by T. H. White
from ACE Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
One Year Adventure Novel Curriculum
by Daniel Schwabauer
from Clear Water Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Writing Instruction (Location: WRI-INS)
Onion John
by Joseph Krumgold
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
1960 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Phantastes
by George MacDonald
from Eerdmans
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.99
Pride and Prejudice
Everyman's Library
by Jane Austen
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$26.00
Rifles for Watie
by Harold Keith
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1958 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
Screwtape Letters
by C. S. Lewis
Annotated from HarperOne
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$28.99
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Bradbury Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox, illustrated by Eros Keith
from Bradbury Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Starship Troopers
by Robert Heinlein
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.00 $9.50 (2 in stock)
Time Machine
by H. G. Wells
from Signet Classics
Science Fiction/Dystopian Literature for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
from Warner Books
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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
Treasure Island
by Sir Robert Louis Stevenson
from Bantam Books
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.95
True Grit
by Charles Portis
Mti Rep from Overlook Press
Western for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Trumpeter of Krakow
by Eric P. Kelly
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Up a Road Slowly
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1967 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Up a Road Slowly
by Irene Hunt
from Follett
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1967 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
View From Saturday
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-9th grade
1997 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Virginian
by Owen Wister
from Pocket Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.99
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
from HarperCollins
for 7th-10th grade
1995 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
Reissue from Atheneum
for 10th-Adult
1972 Carnegie Medal
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
from Yearling
for 5th-9th grade
2010 Newbery Medal winner
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99
White Company
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
100th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$10.36
Worm Ouroboros
by E. R. Eddison
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.95
Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook
by Joshua Piven & David Borgenicht
from Chronicle Books
for 7th-Adult
in Dangerous Books for Kids (Location: SS-DAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Wrinkle in Time
Wrinkle in Time Series #1
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Square Fish Publishing
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
1963 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Year Down Yonder
by Richard Peck
from Puffin Books
Humorous Family Stories for 5th-9th grade
2001 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Yearling
by Marjorie Rawlings
from Simon Pulse
Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
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