High School 5 min read

Recommended reading - Year 10

Challenging philosophical themes, timeless masterpieces, and mature literature for Year 10 readers.

Curated by LiteCapsule Reading Vault

Table Block

Title Author Synopsis Rating
The True Story of Lily Stubeck
James Aldridge Grade level: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, p, e, i, s, t. -
The Last Shot First published 1997
Allan Baillie After his bent cop father has given evidence against colleagues, Steve's family relocate to a country town, where his father's shame affects the way Steve performs in a basketball final. -
Junk First published 1996
Melvin Burgess An uncompromising, compelling and true-to-life story of two teenagers drawn into the dangerous and destructive world of heroin addiction. This tour de force by an acclaimed and provocative writer should become a definitive teenage novel on this subject.
★4.8Open Library (4)
Deucalion First published 2013
Brian Caswell One hundred years after the Revolution, the planet Deucalion enjoys a model society and life is good. But everything is about to change. Death arrives one day on the C-ship, Pandora, and suddenly no one is safe. Overnight, the old rules no longer... -
Care Factor Zero First published 2000
Margaret Clark Nobody gets close enough to earn her trust. Larceny makes sure of that. Yet deep down, she's afraid of the voices that bring with them a wild consuming rage, a killing rage that drove her to the streets in the first place. She's afraid of being... -
Back on Track, Diary of a Street Kid
Margaret Clark No place like home. But what if home is unsafe and violent? Fifteen year old Simone is lured by her new boyfriend with promises of a better life in a big city. On the run from a dangerous environment and her drug addicted sister, she arrives in...
★2.0Google Books (1)
The Lost Day First published 1999
Judith Clarke Nineteen-year-old Vinny, one of a group of young people eking out a drab and unpromising existence in Melbourne, Australia, alarms his friends when he disappears from a nightclub. -
Night Train First published 1998
Judith Clarke His family, peers, and teachers despair of eighteen-year-old Luke, who seems to have turned himself into a loser, failing at school, paralyzed with fear and indecision, losing touch with reality. -
After the First Death First published 1979
Robert Cormier A powerful drama of patriotism unfolds on a bridge as a hijacked bus of school children are held hostage by terrorists. Events are told by a hostage, a terrorist, an army general involved in the rescue, and his son. For mature readers. -
The Moustache First published 2000
Robert Cormier Now with a bright new paperback look, the fifth book in the middle-grade mystery series starring the Edgar Award-winning Sammy Keyes!What's supposed to be a quiet weekend in the country turns into a crossroads adventure when Sammy and her friends...
★3.0Open Library (1)
Blue Feather First published 2002
Gary Crew There's a myth in Esperance that's been around for years, apparently going as far back as the arrival of the first Europeans. Locals think there's a huge bird, big enough to carry away adult humans . . . Blue Feather is a stunningly crafted mystery... -
No Such Country First published 1991
Gary Crew When an archaeology student, hoping to learn about his Aboriginal heritage, comes to work near their isolated town, sixteen-year-old friends Sarah and Rachel discover why the man known as the Father has had such control over their lives. -
Sanctuary First published 2018
Kate De Goldi Winner of the NZ Post Children's Book Awards, this compelling novel explores truth and lies, guilt, grief and love. 'So where does the truth lie?' said Jeremiah. 'Huh, truth lies. Truth lies,' I said, giving up before I started, knowing I could... -
Love, Charlie Mike First published 2018
Kate De Goldi A moving story of young - and old - love. 'He looks at me now, full face, and I can see how drawn, how much older that face is - dark pits under his eyes, lines of tiredness. He's not the warrior king I fell for eight months ago.' Christy is under... -
A Girl Named Disaster First published 1996
Nancy Farmer Orchard Classics is a collectible hardcover line of Newbery award-winning titles from the Orchard backlist that have fresh, beautiful new designs and include author prefaces and discussion guides. A GIRL NAMED DISASTER is the humorous and...
★5.0Open Library (1)
Sparring with Shadows First published 1997
Archimede Fusillo David Martinesi is a first-generation Italian Australian growing up in an inner-city suburb. He is fighting the shadows cast by his Italian upbringing, and this summer he is quietly waiting for change. He is befriended by confident, street-wise...
★2.0Open Library (1)
The Fringe Dwellers First published 1961
Nene Gare The tale of two sisters, Noonah and Trilby, and their struggle to make a life in the Australian outback amid the squalor and tensions of an Aboriginal camp. This is a colourful picture of the crude but sensitive Comeaway family and their efforts to... -
Shadows of Olive Trees First published 2019
Susanne Gervay Before the #MeToo movement, there was the 1970s and three girls - Tessa, Athena, Jenny, looking for love, best friends, and what they want to be. Breaking traditional roles of virginity and being the other half, there's challenges from parents, the... -
Deadly, Unna? First published 1998
Phillip Gwynne 'Deadly, unna?' He was always saying that. All the Nungas did, but Dumby more than any of them. Dumby Red and Blacky don't have a lot in common. Dumby's the star of the footy team, he's got a killer smile and the knack with girls, and he's a Nunga....
★1.5Google Books (10)
Sleeping Dogs First published 1986
Sonia Hartnett Hank the Cowdog, Head of Ranch Security, pursues an elusive chicken murderer. -
Rift First published 1999
Libby Hathorn Dramatic novel for teenage readers. When Vaughan's parents go overseas he is left with his grandparents in an isolated coastal town. He must undergo a terrifying initiation before he can join the local gang of boys. The author has won many national...
★2.0Open Library (1)
Chrysalis First published 2000
Libby Hathorn From one of Australia's favourite authors comes the sequel to the bestselling THUNDERWITH. Can Lara help Marna, the painfully shy new girl, emerge and spread her wings? Lara wants to help the shy new girl Marna. But first she must deal with her own... -
Love, Ghosts and Nose Hair
Steven Herrick A special reissue of a bestselling Australian classic from award-winning author Steven Herrick.Jack is an everyday sixteen-year-old boy. He’s obsessed with Annabel, sport and nose hair. He’s also obsessed with a ghost ...There’s a ghost in our... -
Hot House Flowers First published 2009
Nette Hilton Axel and Rose tread different paths, each close to the edge of sanity, each needing something that noone seems able to provide___ -
Goddess of Cool
Carol Jones All the other bimbettes consider May Kim Hong the ultimate winner; the coolest, most glamorous, most sophisticated teenager in their oh-so-sophisticated club. Yet inside, May Kim cannot forget her early childhood in another country, or her loving... -
Slow Burn First published 1997
Victor Kelleher Dramatic novel for teenagers about a boy whose life is dominated by the desire for revenge, following his mother's death from asbestosis. The author's other publications include 'Taronga', 'Master of the Grove' and 'The Red King'. His novels have... -
Came Back to Show You I Could Fly First published 1989
Robin Klein It's the summer holidays and eleven-year-old loner, Seymour, lodged with a fussy guardian in an inner-city suburb, is bored and unhappy in his confined world. By chance he meets Angie - beautiful, charismatic Angie. He is bewitched, and his world... -
Touching Earth Lightly First published 1996
Margo Lanagan A confronting, intensely moving story about the intricate bonds of friendship, the shock of a brutal death, the slow torment of grief, and the seeds of happiness. -
The Hero First published 1996
Louise Le Nay "Set in rural Australia during the unsettling years of World War I, The Hero is the story of an adolescent girl's growth toward adulthood and self acceptance. Nonie and her younger brothers and sisters are brought to live with their Aunt Ruth; their... -
Letters From the Inside First published 1992
John Marsden From book description on Goodreads: "Mandy wants a pen-pal. Tracey answers the ad. The two girls write to each other about their families, their lives, their ambitions and their fears. But there are dark secrets surrounding Mandy and Tracey -...
★5.0Open Library (1)
Queen Kat, Carmel and St Jude get a Life First published 1995
Maureen McCarthy A compulsively readable story which has achieved classic status. Three very different girls from the same country town share an inner-city house during their first year out of school. -
Moby Dick First published 1851
Herman Melville A literary classic that wasn't recognized for its merits until decades after its publication, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick tells the tale of a whaling ship and its crew, who are carried progressively further out to sea by the fiery Captain Ahab....
★4.0Open Library (191) ★4.0Google Books (275)
Johnny Hart's Heroes First published 1996
David Metzenthen Lal left home after her best friend died and ended up as a cook and driver for a travelling outback boxing show. One of the show's fighters is Koori Ralph, and he and Lal become best mates. They leave the show together after one too many punishing...
★4.0Open Library (1) ★1.0Google Books (6)
Gracie First published 1998
James Moloney When Gracie MacDougal returns to Seagull Point, Virginia, seeking to reform her workaholic ways, she discovers more than relaxation. The picturesque town calls to her, as does the waterfront Victorian house she envisions as the perfect...
★4.0Open Library (1)
Outside Permission First published 1997
Eleanor Nilsson Dramatic mystery novel for young teenagers. Simon and David infiltrate the mysterious House of Records, where they find out they are fated to die on the same day. But will this prediction really come true? And are there people trying to make sure it... -
Sad Boys First published 2000
Glyn Parry All Rabbit, Jacko and Ozone want is a slice of the endless summer ... sun, surf and sex. But what if it rains, the surf is flat and no chicks want to know? Real boys with real attitude, and a kick-ass read. -
Beach Baby First published 1995
Nicole Pluss A gentle, poetic lullaby for baby, filled with memories from a perfect day playing on the beach. Castles, sand dollars, seals peering out of the waves and the beat of the ocean become sweet reminders of all the magical things that await baby...
★4.0Open Library (1)
Falling (translation by John Nieuwenhuizen) First published 1997
Anne Provoost Lucas falls under the influence of an extremist who draws him into violent action against migrants - Then he meets Caitlin, who challenges his views and his very sense of himself - He must make a choice.
★4.0Open Library (1) ★5.0Google Books (1)
Stalker First published 1996
Ruth Starke The definitive account of this serial murderer, based on sixty hours of personal interviews with Ramirez himself. New edition includes interviews with women who have asked to contact Ramirez since the book was first published, and a "death row...
★3.8Open Library (13) ★4.0Google Books (1)
The Grapes of Wrath First published 1939
John Steinbeck Steinbeck’s classic novel of the Great Depression is as vivid now as ever. The story focuses on a family of Oklahoma sharecroppers, farmers who work another man’s land for a share of the crops. Driven from their home by drought and poverty they...
★3.9Open Library (110) ★4.0Google Books (41)
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde First published 1875
Robert Louis Stevenson Mr. Gabriel Utterson is a serious, austere lawyer living a humdrum life in Victorian London. Yet there is a strange clause in his friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll's will: should he disappear for more than 3 months, everything will be inherited by Hyde. But...
★3.9Open Library (148) ★3.5Google Books (4)
The Whole of the Moon First published 1998
Duncan Stuart Novel for teenagers, first published in New Zealand in 1997, based on the screenplay of the Cinar-Tucker Films co-production of the same name. Kirk has lost his friends, his skating and his health and he feels as if his world is falling apart around him. -
Camphor Laurel First published 1998
Sarah Walker Novel dealing with friendship, jealousy, betrayal, growth and change. School girls Melissa and Julietta are 'best friends' but their friendship is strained as new relationships are formed. The author's other publications include 'The Year of...
★3.0Open Library (1)
The Killing of Mud-Eye First published 1997
Celeste Waters Describing sacred waters and their associated traditions in over thirty countries and across multiple time periods, this book identifies patterns in panhuman hydrolatry. Supplying life’s most basic daily need, freshwater sources were likely the... -
Montana, 1948 First published 1993
Larry Watson "From the summer of my twelfth year I carry a series of images more vivid and lasting than any others of my boyhood and indelible beyond all attempts the years make to erase or fade them ..." So begins David Hayden' s story of what happened in... -
The House that was Eureka First published 1984
Nadia Wheatley It's 1981 and Evie is sixteen. She has left school but can't find work, and her family has just moved into the run-down inner Sydney suburb of Newtown. Noel lives in the adjoining terrace house. He's fifteen, not taking school seriously and fed up... -
My Cousin Clarette and Other Stories
Budge Wilson Collection of short stories for young adults about human relationships. In each story the protagonist, a young girl leaves the safety, innocence and comfort of childhood and discovers something of the adult world. The author has written many books... -
Falling Leaves First published 1997
Adeline Yen Mah Adeline Yen Mah was born in 1937 in Tianjin, a port city one thousand miles north of Shanghai. She was the fifth and youngest child of an affluent family. Her grand aunt - in an unprecedented achievement - had founded the Shanghai Women's Bank in...
★4.0Open Library (1)

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Curated book recommendations and classics across Years 3 to 10.