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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120 Items found Print
Active Filters: 9th grade (Ages 14-15), Used Books & Materials
Across Five Aprils
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1965 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.64 $3.20 (2 in stock)
After the Dancing Days
by Margaret I. Rostkowski
from HarperTrophy
for 7th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.09 $3.20 (1 in stock)
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)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Anne of Green Gables
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by L. M. Montgomery, illustrated by Mick Ellison
from Reader's Digest
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Anne of the Island
Anne #3
by L.M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
Orphan Stories for
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79 $3.20 (3 in stock)
Anne's House of Dreams
Anne #5
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79 $3.20 (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)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Beany Malone
by Lenora Mattingly Weber
from Image Cascade Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Belle Prater's Boy
by Ruth White
from Yearling
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $2.50 (3 in stock)
Beloved Bondage
by Elizabeth Yates
from People's Book Club
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Black Symbol
by Annabel & Edgar Johnson
from Harper & Row
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Brethren
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.24 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
1978 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.60 (2 in stock)
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
First Ed from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
1978 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Call of the Wild
Puffin Classics
by Jack London
2008th edition from Puffin Books
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$9.34 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Caroline the Second
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
from Girls Gone By Publishers
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Cheaper By the Dozen
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.40 (6 in stock)
Children of the River
by Linda Crew
from Delacorte Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
Contender
by Robert Lipsyte
from HarperCollins
for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $3.60 (2 in stock)
Crazy Lady
by Jane Leslie Conly
from HarperTrophy
for 8th-10th grade
1994 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.94 $2.40 (2 in stock)
Criss Cross
by Lynne Rae Perkins
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for 6th-9th grade
2006 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Crown of Honour
by L. Erkelens
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.71 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Day No Pigs Would Die
by Robert Newton Peck
1994 Printing from Random House
Realistic Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Day No Pigs Would Die
by Robert Newton Peck
1994 Printing from Dell Publishing
Realistic Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly Cleary
from William Morrow & Company
Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1984 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Design for Ann
by Darlene Geis
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.40 (1 in stock)
Dinny Gordon Collection
by Anne Emery
from Image Cascade Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.20 (1 in stock)
Downright Dencey
by Caroline Dale Snedeker, illustrated by Maginel Wright Barney
from Doubleday & Company
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$17.60 (1 in stock)
Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #5
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Gail Owens
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.01 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Emily's Quest
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$11.20 (2 in stock)
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)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Going Solo
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Golden Age
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from Ten Speed Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Good Night, Mr. Tom
by Michelle Magorian
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
2009 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Half-Crown House
by Helen Ashton
Book Club Edition from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Hans Brinker
Windermere Readers #7
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition, 2nd printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Hawk and the Dove
Hawk and the Dove Series #1
by Penelope Wilcock
3rd Revised edition from Lion Publishing
for 6th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Hound-dog Man
by Fred Gipson
First Edition L-X from Harper & Brothers
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 $2.00 (1 in stock)
Hue and Cry
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Ida B
by Katherine Hannigan
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
In His Steps
by Charles M. Sheldon
from Hendrickson Publishers
for 9th grade-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
In His Steps
by Charles M. Sheldon
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 9th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperTeen
Family Stories for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.94 $3.20 (2 in stock)
Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
from Thomas Crowell
Family Stories for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.60 (2 in stock)
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte
from Wordsworth Classics
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Journeyman
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Jupiter Rising
Sequel to Orbiting Jupiter
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Clarion Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Labors of Hercules Beal
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Clarion Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Landlady's Master
by George MacDonald
from Bethany House
for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Little Britches
Little Britches Series #1
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.41 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Scholastic Inc.
for 7th-9th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Lottery Rose
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Lyddie
by Katherine Paterson
from Puffin Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.60 (2 in stock)
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)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
M. C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
from Simon and Schuster
for 6th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
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)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Mama's Way
by Thyra Ferre Bjorn
8th edition from Bantam Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Man Called Peter
by Catherine Marshall
from Evergreen Farm
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Man of the Family
Little Britches Series #2
by Ralph Moody
1st edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Marquis' Secret
by George MacDonald
from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Martyr of the Catacombs
by Anonymous Christian
from Kregel Publications
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Master Puppeteer
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.19 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Michael O'Halloran
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Indiana University Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Monument, The
by Gary Paulsen
from Delacorte Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Musician's Quest
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Brigadista Year
by Katherine Paterson
2019 printing from Candlewick Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
My Cousin Rachel
by Daphne du Maurier
from Doubleday & Company
Mystery/Suspense for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
My Heart Lies South
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
Young People's Edition from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World
by E. L. Konigsburg
1st edition from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Nancy and St. Brides Series
Nancy & St. Brides Series #8
by Dorita Fairlie Bruce
from Girls Gone By Publishers
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$116.00 (1 in stock)
No Promises in the Wind
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Orbiting Jupiter
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Clarion Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Outlaws of Halfaday Creek
by James B. Hendryx
from A. L. Burt Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
from Speak
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.04 $5.20 (1 in stock)
Place Apart
by Paula Fox
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Rainbow's Gold
by Vera Martin Lynch
from William W. Lynch
for 6th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.40 (1 in stock)
Ramona
by Helen Jackson
from Little, Brown & Company
for 9th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Room Made of Windows
by Eleanor Cameron, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
from Little, Brown & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Rules of the Road
by Joan Bauer
from Speak
for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $4.40 (1 in stock)
Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
from Dell Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$0.80 (7 in stock)
Seven Daughters and Seven Sons
by Barbara Cohen & Bahija Lovejoy
1st Beech Tree ed from HarperTeen
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.34 $4.80 (1 in stock)
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)
Shepherd of the Hills
by Harold Bell Wright
from Shepherd of the Hills Historical Society
for 9th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Shepherd of the Hills
by Harold Bell Wright; illustrated by F. Graham Cootes
from A. L. Burt Company
for 9th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$11.20 (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)
$6.40 (2 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)
$6.40 (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)
$4.00 (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)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Snow Goose
by Paul Gallico
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.96 $11.20 (3 in stock)
Son of a Hundred Kings
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Stepping Heavenward
by Elizabeth Prentiss
from Barbour Publishing
Femininity/Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Story of the Trapp Family Singers
by Maria Augusta Trapp
from HarperCollins
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.14 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Swallows and Amazons for Ever!
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
Family stories/boating for 7th-9th grade
in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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