North Carolina 12th grade reading list

Books with a North Carolina citation for 12th grade include 1984, The Hate U Give and All My Rage. This list has 415 total books, 27 of them with a North Carolina-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 530L to 1420L.

Top North Carolina 12th grade pick: 1984 by George Orwell — on 1 North Carolina list

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Total books415Lexile530L–1420LSourceNC Standard Course of Study✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned on state lists: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the High (9–12) titles appearing in the most states are The Hate U Give (4 states), Their Eyes Were Watching God (3 states), and The Great Gatsby (2 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Full curriculum guides: Common Core State Standards (ELA) · IB Diploma Programme — English A: Literature · Cambridge IGCSE English Literature (0475) · AP English Language & Composition · AP English Literature & Composition · AP European History · AP Psychology

Our pick to start — most-cited for North Carolina 12th grade

These are the 27 titles named in North Carolina’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. 1984

    George Orwell

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 9 to 12. Covers totalitarianism, surveillance, language and thought. At 1090L it sits just under the 1185–1385L band for this grade.

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  2. The Hate U Give

    Angie Thomas

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 9 to 12. Covers police violence, race and code-switching. At 590L it reads well below the 1185–1385L band for this grade.

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  3. All My Rage

    Sabaa Tahir

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  4. Children of Blood and Bone

    Tomi Adeyemi

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 12.

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  5. Firekeeper's Daughter

    Angeline Boulley

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  6. A Snake Falls to Earth

    Darcie Little Badger

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 12.

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  7. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

    Benjamin Alire Sáenz

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  8. Brownstone

    Samuel Teer

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  9. Burn Down, Rise Up

    Vincent Tirado

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  10. Darius the Great Is Not Okay

    Adib Khorram

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  11. Dread Nation

    Justina Ireland

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 12.

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  12. Everything We Never Had

    Randy Ribay

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 7 to 12. Covers family, identity and immigration.

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  13. Far From The Tree

    Robin Benway

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  14. Furia

    Yamile Saied Méndez

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  15. I'll Give You the Sun

    Jandy Nelson

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  16. Last Night at the Telegraph Club

    Malinda Lo

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  17. Oedipus Rex

    Sophocles

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12. Covers fate, fate vs free will and pride.

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  18. Raybearer

    Jordan Ifueko

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 12.

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  19. Saints and Misfits

    S. K. Ali

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  20. The Field Guide to the North American Teenager

    Ben Philippe

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  21. The Serpent King

    Jeff Zentner

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 9 to 12.

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  22. Frankenstein

    Mary Shelley

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document, taught from grade 9 to 12. Covers ambition and hubris, responsibility for creation, nature vs nurture. At 1170L it sits just under the 1185–1385L band for this grade.

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  23. Lord of the Flies

    William Golding

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document, taught from grade 9 to 12. Covers civilization vs savagery, loss of innocence and power. At 770L it reads well below the 1185–1385L band for this grade.

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  24. Murder Among Friends

    Candace Fleming

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document, taught from grade 9 to 12. Covers crime, justice and history.

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  25. Scythe

    Neal Shusterman

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 12. Covers mortality, power and ethics.

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  26. The Reappearance of Rachel Price

    Holly Jackson

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 12. Covers mystery, family and identity.

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  27. The Silence That Binds Us

    Joanna Ho

    Cited in 1 North Carolina curriculum document, taught from grade 9 to 12. Covers grief, identity and justice.

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27 books cited for North Carolina 12th grade

Assignments tied directly to North Carolina’s NC Standard Course of Study with a North Carolina-specific citation.

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388 additional grade-appropriate books for 12th grade readers

The 415-book total above includes 27 titles with direct North Carolina citation; these 388 additional titles cover 12th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a North Carolina-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

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Other North Carolina grades

11th grade · 10th grade · 9th grade · 8th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

11th grade · 10th grade · 9th grade · 8th grade

Same 12th grade in other states

California · Texas · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois

Browse 12th grade reading by theme

About the North Carolina 12th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in NC Standard Course of Study with books from national sources that list titles for 12th grade: AP English Literature & Composition, IB Diploma Programme — English A: Literature, Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) and the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the William C. Morris YA Debut Award and the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award. ReadingList currently tracks 415 titles for 12th grade in North Carolina, of which 27 carry a direct North Carolina citation and 388 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 12th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 530L–1420L.

12th grade sits in the 9-12 grade band, where students are high-school readers. At this stage the emphasis is on close reading, literary analysis, rhetoric, and preparing for AP, IB, and college coursework. Assigned reading skews toward canonical literature, drama, poetry, and AP/IB set texts, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 900L to 1300L. Measured against that 1185–1385L range, of the 44 titles here with a Lexile score 0 are grade-level, 43 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 1 is a stretch text that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 12th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

North Carolina’s English Language Arts requirements are set by NC Standard Course of Study (dpi.nc.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 12th grade list below blends North Carolina-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 12th grade unit can pair a North Carolina-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 12th grade students read in North Carolina?
Books with a North Carolina-specific citation for 12th grade include 1984, The Hate U Give, All My Rage, Children of Blood and Bone and Firekeeper's Daughter. 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 12th grade students in North Carolina?
This list has 415 books for 12th grade students in North Carolina. 27 of them have a North Carolina-specific citation; the other 388 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 12th grade reading in North Carolina?
Lexile measures across the 12th grade North Carolina reading list range from 530L to 1420L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
North Carolina-specific entries reference NC Standard Course of Study (published at www.dpi.nc.gov). The other books come from national sources that list books for 12th grade: AP English Literature & Composition, IB Diploma Programme — English A: Literature, Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) and the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the William C. Morris YA Debut Award and the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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

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