Homeschool High School Reading List

By request, we have pulled together a homeschool high school reading list to help you organize literature choices for your teens.

Homeschool High School Reading List

We have gathered a high school reading list to help inspire teens to broaden their reading experiences and hopefully find genres they love. BTW- You can download this post in a freebie pdf in our 7Sisters estore.

This homeschool high school reading list has two sections:

Send us your suggestions to add to either list, okay? You can add them in the comments or send us a message (or post) on the 7Sisters Facebook group!

1) A general reading list of books that homeschool high schoolers or their parents have recommended.

This list is broken into:

• American Literature
• Great Christian Writers
• British Literature

2) A list of books keyed to the reading material in 7Sisters’ ELA Bundles.

As you know, each year’s ELA Bundle includes Literature Study Guides for eight books and four movies.

The additional reading suggestions are for teens who want additional reading for their booklist:

• Because they are enjoying the genre OR
• They are leveling up for more rigor on their homeschool transcripts

Remember, there’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school. With that in mind, choose books that meet your goals and your teens’ interests. You may like these books or have others you would prefer to use, so go with what is best for your family!

Do not hesitate to send us some of your favorites that we can add to the list!

Okay, here we go: Homeschool high School Reading List Section One

Because families have differing needs and there are SOOO many good books to read, we could not fit them all in Section Two. Also, as if these books are not enough, here is are lists of:

• Light-hearted classics for teens to read
• High Interest books for struggling readers
• PLUS for more ideas, here are lots of things that can count as books for the homeschool high school booklist

American Literature

These are books that homeschool high schoolers or their parents have suggested to us.

Additional books not elsewhere listed in this post:

• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Chosen by Chaim Potok
• The Princess Bride by William Goldman
• American Poetry Reading and Writing by 7SistersHomeschool or any American Poetry collection
• Any poetry collections by specific American poets such as
• Maya Angelou
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Collections of speeches by Americans
• Essay collections by Americans

Great Christian Writers

• Additional books not elsewhere listed in this post:
• The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee
• Augustine for Armchair Theologians by Stephen Cooper
• This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
• Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
• The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
• The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
• Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
• Utopia by Thomas Moore
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

British Literature

Additional books not elsewhere listed in this post:

• Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (teen version)
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
• Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• Alice through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
• Beowulf (an annotated version)
• Winston Churchill’s speeches
• Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Utopia by Thomas Moore
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• One Corpse too Many by Ellis Peters

Now, here is Homeschool High School Reading List Section Two

As we mentioned, this list is keyed to 7Sisters “One Year” ELA Bundles. Use the books that are suggested here to level up the reading list for college-bound homeschool high schools, or for teens who are simply interested in reading more books in a specific genre. (Here is a post that explains how many books a teen should read for different levels of rigor.)

Homeschool High School Reading List for One Year of High School English/Language Arts (a good fit for grade 9)

Literature Study Guides in this bundle with suggested additional books

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Other books by Dickens: Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, etc
    • Letter from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • O, Pioneers by Willa Cather
    • Other books and plays that tell about 19th century American life such as:
      • Our Town by Thornton Wilder
      • Stories from Old Squire’s Farm by C.A. Stephens
• God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
    • Through Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot
    • The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson
• Antigone (a play) by Sophocles
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths
• Joni: An Unforgettable Story by Joni Eareckson Tada
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
    • Any biography by Geoff and Janet Benge (there are dozens at YWAM)
• Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (a collection of poems) by T. S. Eliot
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • 7Sisters British Poetry (counts as 1 book for booklist)
    • Any collection of poetry by British poets such as Alfred, Lord Tennyson, William Keats, William Cowper, etc.
• The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray
    • Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
    • The Long Shadow of Little Rock by Daisy Bates
    • The New Kid by Jerry Craft (a graphic novel, Newbery Award winner)

Cinema Study Guides in this bundle with suggested additional books

• Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (starring Katherine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy)
  • Here is an excerpt to 7Sisters Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Cinema Study Guide.
  • Additional reading suggestions include books that build perspective taking:
    • Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred Taylor
    • Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
• Mr. Holland’s Opus (starring Richard Dreyfuss)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (Newbery Award winner)
    • Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman
• The Truman Show (starring Jim Carrey)
  • It’s hard to find a book for teens with a similar theme. (Although 7Sisters’ Philosophy in Four Questions fits nicely, but is an entire Elective credit.) Let’s do some fantasy or dystopian novels instead:
    • On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness series by Andrew Peterson
    • Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
    • Divergent series by Veronica Roth

• Hook (starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Any of the Peter Pan books by J.M. Barre
• A Christmas Carol (starring George C. Scott)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
    • The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie

That’s it for 9th grade!

Homeschool High School Reading List Another Year of High School English/Language Arts (grade 10)

Literature Study Guides in this bundle with suggested additional books

• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
  • Additional reading suggestions include other books that tell stories of lives of Black Americans in 17th-20th century America, such as:
    • Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper
    • Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
    • Rosa Parks, My Story (autobiography)
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  • Other books or plays that tell stories of American life such as:
    • The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
    • Call of the Wild by Jack London
  • Click here for an excerpt from 7Sisters Literature Study Guide for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • 1984 by George Orwell
    • The Off Islanders by Nathaniel Benchley
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
    • Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
• Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
    • Any biography by Geoff and Janet Benge (there are dozens at YWAM)
• The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

      

    • Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
• The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (7Sisters Has a study guide for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. View an excerpt here.)
• The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Any other book by Pearl S. Buck
    • Any Asian-themed book such as When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller (Newbery Award winner)

Cinema Study Guides in this bundle with suggested additional books

• Places in the Heart (starring Sally Field and Danny Glover)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
    • Turning Fifteen on the Road to Freedom by Linda Blackmon Lowery
• The Miracle Worker (starring Ann Bancroft and Patty Duke)
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
    • Any biography by Geoff and Janet Benge (there are dozens at YWAM)

      

• The Importance of Being Earnest (starring Colin Firth and Rupert Everett)
  • Download 7Sisters Study Guide for Importance of Being Earnest. Click here to view an excerpt.
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Any book by Jane Austen such as Sense and Sensibility or Pride and Prejudice (7Sisters has a study guide for Sense and Sensibility. View an excerpt here.)
    • Pygmalian by George Bernard Shaw
• What’s Up, Doc? (starring Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neal)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Any book by P.G. Wodehouse in the Jeeves and Wooster series such as The Code of the Woosters or Right Ho, Jeeves (7Sisters has a study guide for Right Ho, Jeeves. View an excerpt here.)
• Field of Dreams (starring Kevin Costner and Amy Madigan)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

That’s it for 10th grade!

Homeschool High School Reading List One More Year of High School English/Language Arts (a good fit for grade 11)

Literature Study Guides in this bundle with suggested additional books

• Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwmaba
    • Chain of Fire by Beverley Naidoo
• The Epic of Gilgamesh by Author Unknown (you may use any version)
  • Additional reading suggestions include more modern epics such as:
    • The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (7Sisters has a study guide for The Hobbit.)

      

• Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Hinds’ Feet in High Places by Hannah Hurnard
    • The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Other books by Mark Twain such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
    • Short story, legends or tall tale collections from different people groups such as Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans

• The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
    • An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Stories by Washington Irving such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow or Rip Van Winkle
• Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
    • The Night Journey by Kathryn Lasky
• Hymns and Creeds by various authors
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
    • Any biography by Geoff and Janet Benge (there are dozens at YWAM)

Cinema Study Guides in this bundle with suggested additional books

• High Noon (starring Gary Cooper and Jack Elam)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • The Best Short Stories of Bret Harte
    • Roughing It by Mark Twain
• The Incredibles (starring Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness series by Andrew Peterson
    • Eleven by Tom Rogers
• Life of Pi (starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, and Tabu)
  • Additional reading suggestions
    • Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
• The Wizard of Oz (starring Judy Garland)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • The Wizard of Oz series by L. Frank Baum
    • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Three Musketeers (starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, & Tim Curry)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
    • The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

That’s it for 11th grade!

Homeschool High School Reading List A Final Year of High School English/Language Arts (a good fit for grade 12)

Literature Study Guides in this bundle with suggested additional books

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • The Scarlet Pimpernel series by Baroness Orczy
• A Separate Peace by John Knowles
  • Additional reading suggestions include other war themed books such as:
    • • The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
      • Mare’s War by Tanita Davis

• Born Again by Chuck Colson
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
    • Any biography by Geoff and Janet Benge (there are dozens at YWAM)
• Les Miserables (abridged version) by Victor Hugo
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
    • The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
    • The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  • Additional Reading Suggestions:
    • Additional books by Louisa May Alcott such as Little Men
    • Poetry collections by Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, etc
    • Click here for an excerpt from 7Sisters Literature Study Guide for Little Women.

• The Republic (Parts I & II) by Plato
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
  • The Odyssey and The Iliad by Homer
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
    • • Wonder by P.J. Palacio
      • Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Laroux

• The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
    • Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
    • Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
  • Additional reading suggestions include other books by Lewis.
    • • 7Sisters has study guides for:
        • • The Chronicles of Narnia
          • The Space Trilogy

Cinema Study Guides in this bundle with suggested additional books

• Lilies of the Field (starring Sidney Poitier)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Becoming by Michelle Obama (youth edition is fine)
    • Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston
• 12 Angry Men (starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
    • The Crucible or Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• Casablanca (starting Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • • Flygirl by Sheri Smith
      • Dorie Miller by Dante R. Brazil
      • Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Newbery Award winner)

• Moby Dick (starring Gregory Peck)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • Other books by Herman Melville such as Billy Budd
    • Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• Rudy (starring Sean Astin and Jon Favreau)
  • Additional reading suggestions include inspiring biographies:
    • No More Bullies by Frank Peretti
    • Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow
• Charade (starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant)
  • Additional reading suggestions:
    • • The Chesapeake series by Dani Petrey (Christian author)

That’s it for 12th grade!

BTW- If you have middle schoolers, here’s a reading list of books tweens actually like!

Download this post as in pdf form. It’s a freebie in our estore.

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