i observed last year when i selected novels specific for my read 180 groups that the groups were more engaged because the reading was low level enough for them to comprehend as well as interesting enough for them to pay attention.  for example     dancing on the edge for the ladies,  catcher in the rye for the boys they loved reciting holdens vulgarity,  lord of the flies for another group of boys who liked the action and suspense

it took almost twenty weeks to finish the novels

when i tried some other more challenging works in cycle 4 i felt they flopped....i will utlize some of the engaging stories in the 9th grade text when we finish reading the novels in cycle 3