Reading at the ninth grade level

Unintentionally, I've been following along with the ninth grade reading list. The first book, The House on Mango Street, had been in my Amazon shopping cart for a while, but apparently I needed the impetus of several classes of preteens to get me to finally read it. Saturday, while at Barnes and Noble for teacher appreciation week (still going on, my friends. 25% off!), I happened to spot The Good Earth on the shelf, looked over the first few pages, and haven't been able to put it down since. Buoyed by these successes, I've decided to continue following along with the reading for the year. Since the books are at a level intelligible to ninth graders they are fairly quick reads, which is just perfect for a busy intern like me. The English teacher I carpool with has promised to get me a copy of the English department reading list, so I foresee much enjoyable and edifying reading in my future.