Current List
A high school reading list for the State of Texas.
TAYSHAS takes its name from the Caddo Indian word meaning “friends or allies.” Written as texas, texios, tejas, teyas or tayshas, the word was applied to the Caddos by the Spanish in eastern Texas, who regarded them as friends and allies against the Apaches.
The goal of the TAYSHAS reading list is to motivate young adults to become livelong readers and to participate in the community of readers in Texas. Students in grades 9 – 12 are encouraged to read books for pleasure from the list which includes fiction and nonfiction titles.
2019 List
Titles in bold indicate a TAYSHAS Top Ten Book. Top Ten books are selected from those which received a unanimous vote in the committee’s initial voting process.
| Author | Title |
| Abawi, Atia | A Land of Permanent Goodbyes |
| Acevedo, Elizabeth | The Poet X |
| Adeyemi, Tomi | Children of Blood and Bone |
| Ahmed, Samira | Love, Hate & Other Filters |
| Anderson, Laurie Halse and illustrated by Carroll, Emily | Speak: The Graphic Novel |
| Anderson, M.T.; Donnelly, Jennifer; Fleming, Candace; Hemphill Stephanie; Hopkinson, Deborah; Park, Linda Sue; Sandell, Lisa Ann | Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All |
| Arcos, Carrie | We Are All That’s Left |
| Bagieu, Penelope | Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World |
| Bailey, Em | The Special Ones |
| Bayerl, Katie | A Psalm For Lost Girls |
| Bennett, Jenn | Starry Eyes |
| Benway, Robin | Far From The Tree |
| Bowman, Akemi Dawn | Starfish |
| Caletti, Deb | A Heart in a Body in the World |
| Carter, Ally | Not If I Save You First |
| Charleyboy, Lisa and Leatherdale, Mary Beth (edited by) | #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women |
| Christo, Alexandra | To Kill A Kingdom |
| Ciccarelli, Kristen | The Last Namsara |
| Clayton, Dhonielle | The Belles |
| Creedle, Laura | The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily |
| Crowder, Melanie | An Uninterrupted View of the Sky |
| Crutcher, Chris | Losers Bracket |
| Davis, Dana L | Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now |
| Firestone, Carrie | The Unlikelies |
| Flores-Scott, Patrick | American Road Trip |
| Garber, Stephanie | Caraval |
| Goo, Maurene | The Way You Make Me Feel |
| Graudin, Ryan | Invictus |
| Hawkins, Rachel | Royals |
| Harper, Jordan | She Rides Shotgun |
| Honeybourn, Jennifer | When Life Gives You Demons |
| Ireland, Justina | Dread Nation |
| Jackson, Tiffany D | Monday’s Not Coming |
| Judge, Lita | Mary’s Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein |
| Kaczynski, Heather | Dare Mighty Things |
| Kiely, Brendan | Tradition |
| Kisner, Adrienne | Dear Rachel Maddow |
| Krosoczka, Jarrett J. | Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction |
| Kwitney, Alisa | Cadaver & Queen |
| Lauren, Christin | Autoboyography |
| Leveen, Tom | Mercy Rule |
| Ludwig, Benjamin | Ginny Moon |
| Lyga, Barry | Bang |
| Marshall, Kate Alice | I Am Still Alive |
| McCullough, Joy | Blood Water Paint |
| McEwen, Scott | Camp Valor |
| McGhee, Alison | What I Leave Behind |
| McKinney, L.L. | A Blade So Black |
| Menon, Sandhya | When Dimple Met Rishi |
| Millard, Glenda | The Stars at Oktober Bend |
| Ng, Celeste | Little Fires Everywhere |
| Nye, Naomi Shihab | Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners |
| Orange, Tommy | There There |
| Pan, Emily X.R. | The Astonishing Color of After |
| Partridge, Elizabeth | Boots On The Ground: America’s War in Vietnam |
| Pollock, Tom | This Story Is a Lie |
| Prout, Chessy with Abelson, Jenn | I Have The Right To: A High School Survivor’s Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope |
| Reck, Jared | A Short History of the Girl Next Door |
| Reynolds, Jason | Long Way Down |
| Ribay, Randy | After the Shot Drops |
| Rissi, Anica Mrose | Always Forever Maybe |
| Saedi, Sara | Americanized: Rebel Without a Greencard |
| Sanchez, Erika L | I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter |
| Schaeffer, Rebecca | Not Even Bones |
| Slater, Dashka | The 57 Bus |
| Spalding, Amy | The Summer of Jordi Perez (And The Best Burger In Los Angeles) |
| Stamper, Vesper | What the Night Sings |
| Stork, Francisco X | Disappeared |
| Strasser, Todd | Price of Duty |
| Swanson, James L. | Chasing King’s Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Assassin |
| Thomas, Kara | The Cheerleaders |
| Wang, Jen | The Prince and the Dressmaker |
| Westover, Tara | Educated: A Memoir |
| Zoboi, Ibi | Pride |
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