The Next Step
Young Adult Chapter Books
High interest content for emerging readers
*Reading Levels 2.6 – 4.5
Brouwer, SigmundCobra Strike
After discovering tainted water in the creek near his grandmother's cabin in the Kentucky hills, senior Roy Linden slowly uncovers a connection between his high school team's new star quarterback, his own football future, and the source of the pollution. (Lexile 650, RL 4)
Brouwer, SigmundBlazer Drive
When Josh, left-winger for the Kamloops Blazers, finds dead cattle on the family ranch, he might have more than a promising hockey career on the line. (Lexile 560, RL 3.8)
Brouwer, SigmundWinter Hawk Star
Tyler Watson and his teammate, the star center for the Portland Winter Hawks hockey team, discover that working with street kids has placed their own lives in danger. (Lexile 660, RL 3.8)
Cann, KateCrow Girl
Bullied by a group of girls at school, Lily Stanfield is an outsider. When she starts to feed a group of crows in the woods, her confidence grows. (Lexile 700, RL 4.5)
Choyce, LesleyRat
Tired of bullies at school, Colin decides to take a stand. Branded a rat, he finds that standing up for what you believe in can be empowering. (Lexile 580, RL 3.8)
Dekker, JamesScum
Fifteen-year-old Megan's brother is dead, apparently a random victim of violence. As Megan digs deeper, she finds that Danny was "known to police" and that nobody wants to solve the crime. (Lexile 560, RL 3)
Fehler, GeneForced Out
Zack Waddell learns that a new player has been made a starter for financial reasons. (Lexile 680, RL 4.3)
Higgins, M.G.Power Hitter
After the team decides to play in a wood bat tournament, power hitter Sammy Perez gets stuck in a batting slump and faces the biggest challenge of his baseball career. (Lexile 650, RL 4.2)
Jasper, RickOut of Control
Carlos "Trip" Costas is the team's star shortstop. His father dreams of seeing Trip play in the majors, but Trip isn't sure that he wants to pursue baseball. (Lexile 700, RL 4.5)
Kyi, Tanya LloydTruth
When a prominent local adult is killed at a teen house party, the whole school seems to know who is to blame, but no one will go to the police. (Lexile 630, RL3.2)
Loughead, DebThe Snowball Effect
After a snowballing prank causes a car accident, Dylan deals with the guilt of lying about his involvement. (RL 4.2)
McClintock, NorahOne Way
When Kenzie critically injures his ex-girlfriend, suspicion grows that it was not an accident, and his behavior seems to confirm it. (Lexile 550, RL 3.5)
McClintock, NorahMy Side
When Addie is publicly humiliated, it is terrible, but when she finds out her best friend was involved, it is almost unbearable. (Lexile 660, RL 4.1)
Michelle, SaraThe Aftermath (1)
Survivors begin to accept their new reality seven days after "The End," which came with no warning except from the predictions of Nostradamus. (Lexile 500, RL 3.8)
Michelle, SaraThe Inside (2)
Having survived "The End" and after finding an abandoned snow shelter home, Ryan and Cecilia are joined by other survivors. (Lexile 550, RL 3.9)
Michelle, SaraTheOthers (3)
Tensions are high at the refugee camp as the earthquake's survivors work to figure out their next moves, and Cecelia and Ryan experience troubles in their relationship. (Lexile 450, RL 3.5)
Peterson, LoisDisconnect
Fourteen-year-old Daria's addiction to technology creates serious problems in her life. (Lexile 430, RL 3.3)
Robinson, GaryLittle Brother of War
Sixteen-year-old Mississippi Choctaw Randy Cheska lives under the shadow of his brother who was a football hero, later killed in Iraq, until proves himself to his parents and others through the ancient game of stickball. (RL 4.5)
Ross, JeffDawn Patrol
When Kevin disappears, leaving only a cryptic note, his best friends Luca and Esme have no choice but to try and find him. Their journey takes them to the coast of Panama, where they confront monster waves, unfriendly locals and a surfer who seems bent on destroying them. (Lexile 530, RL 3.1)
Tullson, DianeRiot Act
Daniel and his best friend get caught up in a postgame riot. (Lexile 540, RL 2.6)
Van Tol, AlexKnifepoint
Jill is enduring a brutal summer job on a mountain ranch, guiding wannabe-cowboys on trail rides. On a solo ride with a handsome stranger she ends up in a fight for her life with no one to help her. (Lexile 610, RL 4)
Van Tol, AlexGravity Check
Jamie and his brother Seth stumble upon a marijuana farm when they go mountain biking in the backcountry and must save their friends who have been kidnapped by the drug dealers. (Lexile 600, RL 3)
Walters, EricJuice
Moose must decide if he should risk taking steroids to become a big star on the football team. (Lexile 610, RL 2.9)
Walters, EricSplat!
When teens Keegan and Alex are put in charge of organizing a tomato toss for a local festival, the event has some unexpected consequences. (Lexile 640, RL 4.4)
Wooding, ChrisPale
The Lazarus Serum can save your life. Bring you back from the dead. Only thing is, you came back ... different. You're a Pale. An outcast. It's the last thing Jed wants to happen to him. But then, Jed's just been hit by a car. (Lexile 310, RL 2.9)
*The Lexileframework for reading is an educational tool that uses a measure called a Lexile to match readers of all ages with books, articles and other leveled reading resources.Lexile is based on a child’s reading comprehension, not ability. The Lexile measure of a book is based on word frequency and sentence length. This measure does not address the subject matter, or quality of text or age appropriateness.
*Reading Level(RL) is measured in terms of school grade levels, indicating the minimum education level that a person would need in order to read and comprehend a piece of writing. For example, a Reading Level 4.2 indicates that a fourth grader in their second month of school would not have any problems reading and understanding the text. Reading Level is determined by lengths of words and sentence structure. It is important to note that Reading Level varies by publisher.