2011 Best Paperback Books

Here are the best selling Paperbacks for 2011 as reported by the New York Times. We have added reading information and an 'rough' age guide.



THE NINE LIVES OF CHLOE KING
(The Fallen 5.2; The Stolen 5.6; The Chosen 5.6)
For a test #'s and a more information see this page.
Reading Level Info: see above

A girl with special catlike powers is hunted by assassins. 3 books in 1 cover.

Paperback: 784 pages


13 REASONS WHY
by Jay Asher

Before she commits suicide, a girl sends recordings to 13 people. (Young Adult)

Word Count: 62,496
Page Count: 336
Accelerated Reading level: 3.9 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 119218
Lexile: 550L




THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN
by Sherman Alexie

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly
**Starred Review** HornBook
**Starred Review** VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates )

A boy with a flare for art leaves his reservation to live in an all-white community. (Ages 12 and up)

Word Count: 44,275
Page Count: 228
Accelerated Reading level: 4.0 / points: 6.0
AR quiz: 117771
Lexile: 600L


ALONG FOR THE RIDE
Reading Level Info: 4.7

Teenage night owls bond during a summer at a charming beach town. (Ages 12 and up)

Paperback: 432 pages




ASK ELIZABETH: Real Answers to Everything You Secretly Wanted to Ask About Love, Friends, Your Body... and Life in General
Reading Level Info: generic 4

Advice for girls. (Ages 12 and up)

Paperback: 240 pages



BEASTLY
Reading Level Info: AR 3.7 (8 points)

This modern retelling of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST from the Beast's point of view is about a vain Manhattan private school student who is turned into a monster and must find true love before he can return to his human form.

Paperback: 336 pages


BEFORE I FALL
by Lauren Oliver

**Starred Review** VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates )
**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly

After teenage Samantha dies in a car crash, she relives the day of her death over and over again until she finally discovers a way to save herself. Plot contains profanity, drug and sexual references. (YA)

Word Count: 117,295
Page Count: 496
Accelerated Reading level: 5.4 / points: 18.0
AR quiz: 136739
Lexile: 860L

THE BOOK THIEF
by Markus Zusak

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly
**Starred Review** School Library Journal
**Starred Review** HornBook

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel, a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding.

Word Count: 118,933
Page Count: 576
Accelerated Reading level: 5.1 / points: 18.0
AR quiz: 106101
Lexile: 730L


THE CANDYMAKERS
Reading Level Info: AR 5.0 (15 points) quiz 140165

Four children have been chosen to compete in a contest to find the tastiest confection in the country. (Ages 9 to 12)

Paperback: 480 pages




THE CARRIE DIARIES
Reading Level Info: AR 4.0 ( 12 points)

A small-town girl, before “Sex and the City.” (Ages 14 and up)

Paperback: 416 pages




CHAINS
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Reading Level Info: AR 5.2 ( 11 points)

A young slave tries to win her freedom in the American Revolution. (Ages 9 and up)

Paperback: 336 pages


CLOCKWORK ANGEL
by Cassandra Clare

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. (YA)

Word Count: 131,487
Page Count: 512
Accelerated Reading level: 5.6 / points: 21.0
AR quiz: 139502



FANCY NANCY'S ELEGANT EASTER
Reading Level Info: AR 1.6

Bunnies, flowers, eggs and a soupçon of French. (Ages 4 to 8)

Paperback: 16 pages




THE GRAVEYARD BOOK
Reading Level Info: AR 5.1 (10 points)
*Starred Review* from Booklist
To avoid a killer, a boy lives in a cemetery.

Paperback: 336 pages


I AM NUMBER FOUR
by Pittacus Lore
Reading Level Info: AR 4.4 (14 points)

In rural Ohio, friendships and a beautiful girl prove distracting to a fifteen-year-old alien hiding on Earth.

Paperback: 496 pages



INFINITY (THE CHRONICLES OF NICK)
Reading Level Info: 4.5 ( 11 points)

Brain-eating demons complicate academic life. (Ages 12 and up)

Paperback: 480 pages




INCARCERON
Reading Level Info: 4.6 (14 points)

An infamous prison, where inmates don’t believe there is an outside world. (Ages 12 and up)

• Paperback: 464 pages

IF I STAY
Reading Level Info: 5.3 (8 points)

While in a coma following an accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weighs whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.

• Paperback: 201 pages

IT'S NOT SUMMER WITHOUT YOU
Reading Level Info: 3.9 (8 points)

Tragedy threatens a group’s beach house tradition (Ages 12 and up)

• Paperback: 304 pages

LUKA AND THE FIRE OF LIFE
Reading Level Info: generic 5

The Nobodaddy haunts the brother of Rushdie’s Haroun. (YA)

• Paperback: 240 pages

MATCHED
by Ally Condie

In this dystopian romance, a girl rebels against a deterministic future society. (YA)

Word Count: 89,124
Page Count: 400
Accelerated Reading level: 4.8 / points: 13.0
AR quiz: 140501


THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT
by Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Yoko Tanaka

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** School Library Journal

An orphan receives an unbelievable piece of information from a fortuneteller.

Word Count: 23,335
Page Count: 208
Accelerated Reading level: 5.0 / points: 4.0
AR quiz: 133242
Lexile: 730L


THE MAZE RUNNER (Maze Runner Trilogy #1)
Reading Level Info: AR 5.3 (15 points)

Heart pounding adventure. Dashner starts off on a run and never slows. Innovative with a great mystery. (Adults, YA and more mature MG's)

Paperback: 384



MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS
Reading Level Info: AR 5.6

The adventures of a house painter and his high-stepping penguins.

Paperback: 336 pages




NERDS
(BOOK ONE: NATIONAL ESPIONAGE, RESCUE, AND DEFENSE SOCIETY)
Reading Level Info: AR 5.3 (9 points)

Stealth is hard when you wear orthodontic headgear. (Ages 8 to 12)

Paperback: 352 pages



PINKALICIOUS AND THE PINK PUMPKIN
Reading Level Info: unknown
Looking for a special pumpkin.

Paperback: 16 pages




THE RED PYRAMID
by Rick Riordan

**Starred Review** Booklist
**Starred Review** School Library Journal

Siblings Carter and Sadie Kane, descendents of Egyptian magicians, must defeat the god Set after the gods are accidentally released in the present.

Word Count: 124,305
Page Count: 544
Accelerated Reading level: 4.5 / points: 18.0
AR quiz: 137173
Lexile: 650L



RED RIDING HOOD
Reading Level Info: AR 5.6 (9 points)

Reimagining the fairy tale, with the inclusion of a werewolf.

Paperback: 352 pages




SAVVY
Reading Level Info: AR 6.0 ( 9 points)
Mibs is about to receive the supernatural abilities that run in her family. (Ages 9 to 12)

Paperback: 368 pages





SCORCH TRIALS (Maze Runner Trilogy #2)
Reading Level Info: AR 5.0 (15 points)
Fabulous follow-up Dashner's Maze Runner.

Paperback: 384 pages






THE SMURFS MOVIE NOVELIZATION
Reading Level Info: unknown
The Smurfs navigate New York.

Paperback: 176 pages






SOUL SURFER
A True Story Of Faith, Family, And Fighting To Get Back On The Board
Reading Level Info: 6.0 (5 points)

Faith, family and a 13-year-old’s fight to surf again after a shark attack. (Ages 12 and up)

Paperback: 240 pages


SPLAT THE CAT: WHERE'S THE EASTER BUNNY?
Reading Level Info: generic 2

Splat’s Easter Bunny hunt. (Ages 2 to 6)

Paperback: 16 pages




THEODORE BOONE: KID LAWYER
Reading Level Info: 5.2 (8 points)

He’s only 13, but he knows how to handle a murder case. (Ages 8 to 12)

Paperback: 272 pages




THE GIRL WHO COULD FLY
Reading Level Info: AR 6.0 (11 points)

A girl soars into a nightmare of villains who tinker with DNA. (Ages 9 to 12)

Paperback: 352 pages




WAR HORSE
Reading Level Info: AR 5.9 (6 points)

A half-Thoroughbred farm horse is taken from his owner for battle in 1914. (Ages 8 to 14)

Paperback: 192 pages


WHEN YOU REACH ME
Reading Level Info: AR 4.5 (6 points)

A sixth-grade girl begins receiving mysterious notes. (Ages 9 and up)

Paperback: 208 pages




WITCH AND WIZARD
Reading Level Info: AR 4.9 (7 points)

Torn from their parents in a society increasingly controlled by the government, 15-year-old Wisty and her brother, Whit, are incarcerated in a totalitarian prison where they discover they have supernatural powers. The coauthor is Gabrielle Charbonnet.

Paperback: 368 pages