Cover of Onyx & Beyond

Onyx & Beyond

by Amber McBride

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Assigned across 1 curriculum list · 1 state

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

On reading-award lists:Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award

Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride is assigned in US schools at grades 3–6. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where Onyx & Beyond is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 3–6
Age range
Ages 8–12
Pages
199
Reading time
about 3h 40m (est.)
First published
2024
Genre
Middle Grade Fiction
ISBN-13
9781250908773

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook

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About this book

A middle-grade novel in verse about a boy named Onyx whose mother is living with early-onset Alzheimer's. Amber McBride writes a tender story about love, memory, and holding on to family. Selected for the 2026 Children's Sequoyah Book Award Master List (grades 3-5), chosen each year by the Oklahoma Library Association.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like Onyx & Beyond→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Middle Grade Fiction title, typically at grades 3–6. Written in the 2020s; pairs with curriculum units on family and memory; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

family · memory · love

Content notes

illness in family

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is Onyx & Beyond?
Onyx & Beyond is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–6. It appears on 1 school reading list across 1 state, from grade 3 to grade 5. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read Onyx & Beyond?
It takes about 3h 40m to read Onyx & Beyond (199 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 220 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Onyx & Beyond?
Onyx & Beyond appears on reading lists for Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Onyx & Beyond banned in schools?
Onyx & Beyond does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
What themes does Onyx & Beyond explore?
Central themes in Onyx & Beyond include family, memory, love.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 3–6 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: book-club.

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