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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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90 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 11th grade (Ages 16-17), New Books & Materials
Alas, Babylon
by Pat Frank
from HarperCollins
Apocalyptic novel for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
All Creatures Great and Small
James Herriot Series Book 1
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.00
All He Knew
by Helen Frost
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$15.29
All Things Bright and Beautiful
James Herriot Series Book 2
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-12th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.00
All Things Wise and Wonderful
James Herriot Series Book 3
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$15.29
Almost Paradise
by Corabel Shofner
from Square Fish Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$12.71
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)
Belle Prater's Boy
by Ruth White
from Square Fish Publishing
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Berliners
by Vesper Stamper
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$18.69
Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson
from Square Fish Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Blood Meridian
by Cormac McCarthy
1st edition from Vintage Classics
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$20.00
Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.74
Born Free
by Joy Adamson
Anniversary from Pantheon Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00 $7.20 (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)
Calvin
by Martine Leavitt
from Square Fish Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.49
Carney's House Party & Winona's Pony Cart
by Maud Hart Lovelace
from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Catcher in the Rye
by J. D. Salinger
from Little, Brown & Company
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$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
Complete Novels of Jane Austen
by Jane Austen
from Canterbury Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$25.00
Contender
by Robert Lipsyte
from HarperCollins
for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $3.60 (2 in stock)
Daisy Chain
by Charlotte Yonge
from Beautiful Feet Books
Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$14.41
Emma
by Jane Austen, Illustrated by Hugh Thomson
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.01
Enchanted April
by Elizabeth von Arnim, afterword by Ulrich Baer
from Warbler Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.95
Every Living Thing
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.00
Everything Sad Is Untrue
by Daniel Nayeri
from Lantern Paperbacks
for 11th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.04
Farewell Summer
by Ray Bradbury
1st edition from William Morrow & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.49
Forward Me Back to You
by Mitali Perkins
from Square Fish Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$20.99
Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman
by Gladys Aylward
from Moody Press
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.49
Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.00
Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
from Penguin Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$21.00
Great Expectations
Signet Classics
by Charles Dickens
from Signet Classics
Realistic Fiction for 10th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.76
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 10th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.35
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
Hitch
by Jeanette Ingold
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 10th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79
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)
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)
How the Heather Looks
by Joan Bodger
Reprint from Living Book Press
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$21.24
How the Heather Looks
by Joan Bodger, illustrated by Mark Lang
Reprint from Living Book Press
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.74
I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith
from St. Martin's Griffin
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.15
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
from Bantam Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.79
I Must Betray You
by Ruta Sepetys
from Philomel Books
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.89
If We Survive
by Andrew Klavan
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 8th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.74
In His Steps
by Charles M. Sheldon
from Revell Publishing
for 9th grade-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79
Jane Eyre
Puffin Classics
by Charlotte Bronte
from Puffin Books
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.49
Jane Eyre
Everyman's Library
by Charlotte Bronte
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$25.50
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.65
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte, Illustrated by F. H. Townsend
from SeaWolf Press
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.86
Jungle, The
by Upton Sinclair
from Bantam Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.99
Long Way Down
by Jason Reynolds
Reprint from Atheneum
for 8th-11th grade
2018 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.19
Lord God Made Them All
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.00
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
Lost in the Barrens
by Farley Mowat
from Starfire
for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79
Love and Other Great Expectations
by Becky Dean
from Delacorte Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$15.29
Mansfield Park
by Jane Austen, Illustrated by Hugh Thomson
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.01
Marcelo in the Real World
by Francisco X. Stork
from Scholastic Press
for 9th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.49
Moment Comes
by Jennifer Bradbury
from Atheneum
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$15.29
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)
$14.99
My Favorite Songs
by Maria Trapp
from Veritas Press
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.00
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)
Northanger Abbey
by Jane Austen, illustrated by Hugh Thomson
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$8.49
One Big Open Sky
by Lesa Cline-Ransome
from Holiday House
for 6th-Adult
2025 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.14
One Big Open Sky
by Lesa Cline-Ransome
from Holiday House
for 6th-Adult
2025 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
from Speak
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.04 $5.20 (1 in stock)
Penrod
by Booth Tarkington
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Penrod
by Booth Tarkington
from Living Book Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.19
Penrod and Sam
by Booth Tarkington, illustrated by Gordon Grant
from Living Book Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.34
Persuasion
by Jane Austen, Illustrated by Hugh Thomson
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$8.49
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen, Illustrated by Hugh Thomson
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$10.16
Robinson Crusoe (abridged)
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Daniel Defoe
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-12th grade
$14.41
Rose Under Fire
by Elizabeth Wein
from Little, Brown & Company
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.34
Ruth
by Elizabeth Gaskell
from Living Book Press
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.44
Sailing on the Ice: And Other Stories from the Old Squire's Farm
by C. A. Stephens
from Rutledge Hill Press
for 4th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.13
Samurai's Garden
by Gail Tsukiyama
from St. Martin's Griffin
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Scent of Water
by Elizabeth Goudge
from Hendrickson Publishers
for 9th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.95
Sense and Sensibility
by Jane Austen, illustrated by Hugh Thomson
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.73
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 (3 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)
$8.49
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)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
from Harper Perennial
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99 $10.00 (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
Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by Betty Smith
from Harper Perennial
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Under the Inquisition
Reformation Trail Series #11
by Elizabeth H. Walshe
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$13.56
Under the Persimmon Tree
by Suzanne Fisher Staples
from Square Fish Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.89
White Fang
Dover Thrift Editions
by Jack London
from Dover Publications
Action/Adventure for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00
White Fang
by Jack London, illustrated by Charles Livingston Bull
from SeaWolf Press
Action/Adventure for 10th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.99
Yearling
by Marjorie Rawlings
from Simon Pulse
Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
Yearling
by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Yearling
by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings & N. C. Wyeth
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 9th-Adult
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$25.49
You Bring the Distant Near
by Mitali Perkins
from Square Fish Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.19
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