2012 Best Paperback Books

Here are the best selling Paperbacks for 2012 as reported by the New York Times. This list will grow as the weeks pass.

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


A WORLD WITHOUT HEROES (The Beyonders)
by Brandon Mull

A young boy is transported to a world ruled by an evil wizard. (Tween and middle-grades)

Word Count: 124,250
Page Count: 464
Accelerated Reading level: 5.1 / points: 19.0
AR quiz: 142617
Lexile: 710L


BEFORE I FALL
by Lauren Oliver

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

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



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
ARquiz: 139502



I AM NUMBER FOUR
by Pittacus Lore

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

Word Count: 100,385
Page Count: 496
Accelerated Reading level: 4.4 / points: 14.0
AR quiz: 139745
Lexile: 700L


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

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

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 GENIUS FILES: MISSION UNSTOPPABLE
by Dan Gutman

Twins Coke and Pepsi, soon to be thirteen, fend off strange assassins as they try to come to terms with their being part of a top-secret government organization known as The Genius Files.

Word Count: 51,339
Page Count: 304
Accelerated Reading level: 4.8 / points: 8.0
AR quiz: 142994
Lexile: 730L


THE LYING GAME
by Sara Shepard

A long-lost twin impersonates her dead sister to try to solve her murder. (YA)

Word Count: 63,047
Page Count: 329
Accelerated Reading level: 4.9 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 142969



THE RED PYRAMID
by Rick Riordan

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


SWITCHED (Trylle Trilogy)
by Amanda Hocking
Reading Level Info: unknown

When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.

Paperback: 336 pages


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

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


THEODORE BOONE: KID LAWYER
by John Grisham

The “kid lawyer” uses his legal skills to find a missing friend. (Ages 8 to 12)

Word Count: 50,657
Page Count: 272
Accelerated Reading level: 5.2 / points: 8.0
AR quiz: 137599
Lexile: 790L



WAR HORSE
by Michael Morpurgo

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

Word Count: 37,372
Page Count: 192
Accelerated Reading level: 5.9 / points: 6.0
AR quiz: 114464
Lexile: 1090L

WHEN YOU REACH ME
by Rebecca Stead

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

Word Count: 39,253
Page Count: 208
Accelerated Reading level: 4.5 / points: 6.0
AR quiz: 131144