New York 7th grade reading list

Books with a New York citation for 7th grade include Maniac Magee, The Giver and A First Time for Everything. This list has 722 total books, 14 of them with a New York-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1300L.

Top New York 7th grade pick: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli — on 1 New York list

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Total books722Lexile410L–1300LSourceNext Generation Learning Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned on state lists: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Middle (6–8) titles appearing in the most states are The Giver (20 states), The Hunger Games (14 states), and Ground Zero (8 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Our pick to start — most-cited for New York 7th grade

These are the 14 titles named in New York’s own curriculum documents for this grade — everything below is the wider national list. Read against the Common Core Appendix A complexity band; reading level is not thematic maturity, and several sit below the band because they are assigned for discussion.

  1. Maniac Magee

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers race, homelessness and family. At 820L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  2. The Giver

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers conformity vs individuality, memory, utopia and dystopia. At 760L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  3. A First Time for Everything

    Dan Santat

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 8.

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  4. Fallen Angels

    Walter Dean Myers

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 8.

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  5. Number the Stars

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers courage, friendship and Holocaust. At 670L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  6. The Hunger Games

    Suzanne Collins

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers authoritarianism, survival, media and spectacle. At 810L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  7. The Maze Runner

    James Dashner

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 7 to 12. Covers survival, memory and friendship.

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  8. We Will Not Be Silent

    Russell Freedman

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 10.

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  9. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  10. A Tale Dark and Grimm

    Adam Gidwitz

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers fairy tales, courage and siblings.

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  11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

    J.K. Rowling

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, courage and good vs evil. At 880L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  12. Mick Harte Was Here

    Barbara Park

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers grief, family and safety.

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  13. Stargirl

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers individuality, conformity and first love.

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  14. The House on Mango Street

    Sandra Cisneros

    Cited in 1 New York curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers identity, poverty and Chicano/Latina experience. At 870L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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14 books cited for New York 7th grade

Assignments tied directly to New York’s Next Generation Learning Standards with a New York-specific citation.

708 additional grade-appropriate books for 7th grade readers

The 722-book total above includes 14 titles with direct New York citation; these 708 additional titles cover 7th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a New York-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 708 titles

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Other New York grades

6th grade · 8th grade · 5th grade · 9th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

6th grade · 8th grade · 5th grade · 9th grade

Same 7th grade in other states

California · Texas · Florida · Pennsylvania · Illinois · Ohio

Browse 7th grade reading by theme

About the New York 7th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Next Generation Learning Standards with books from national sources that list titles for 7th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Newbery Medal and the Golden Kite Award. ReadingList currently tracks 722 titles for 7th grade in New York, of which 14 carry a direct New York citation and 708 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 7th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–1300L.

7th grade sits in the 6-8 grade band, where students are middle-grade readers. At this stage the emphasis is on analyzing theme, character, and author's craft across full-length novels and their first classics. Assigned reading skews toward full-length novels, plays, memoir, and frequently-challenged contemporary titles, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 700L to 1010L. Measured against that 925–1185L range, of the 63 titles here with a Lexile score 10 are grade-level, 52 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 1 is a stretch text that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 7th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

New York’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Next Generation Learning Standards (nysed.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 7th grade list below blends New York-specific assignments with widely taught national titles. Every title links to its primary source on the book’s detail page, so you can confirm exactly where and why it is assigned.

How to use this list:match a title to your child’s most recent Lexile or guided-reading level rather than to the grade alone. Teachers building a 7th grade unit can pair a New York-cited core text with a grade-appropriate companion novel; parents previewing summer or supplemental reading can check each book’s content notes and challenge history before assigning it.

Common questions

What books do 7th grade students read in New York?
Books with a New York-specific citation for 7th grade include Maniac Magee, The Giver, A First Time for Everything, Fallen Angels and Number the Stars. Individual schools and districts choose their own titles, so check with your child's teacher for the exact list.
How many books are assigned to 7th grade students in New York?
This list has 722 books for 7th grade students in New York. 14 of them have a New York-specific citation; the other 708 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 7th grade reading in New York?
Lexile measures across the 7th grade New York reading list range from 410L to 1300L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
New York-specific entries reference Next Generation Learning Standards (published at www.nysed.gov). The other books come from national sources that list books for 7th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Newbery Medal and the Golden Kite Award. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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State-specific entries sourced from www.nysed.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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