Monster
by Walter Dean Myers
Middle grade · ages 12–18 · 700L (~4th grade) · 281 pages · 2006
Why we'd hand it over
A landmark YA novel that treats a 16-year-old as morally complex and intellectually capable; the dual-format (screenplay + journal) is not gimmicky but essential to the theme, and the refusal to answer 'guilty or innocent' honestly respects the reader's judgment.