A Small Diversion

Ok, I do have some awesome recipes and things to share with you, but I wanted to get opinions on something a little more pressing in my world.

I'm teaching 9th grade English next year to my special education kids. This means most of them either have difficulty reading or writing. I'm trying to decide what to cover so I can start working on my curriculum for the class. The trouble is I have too many ideas and I need to narrow it down.

Books I'm considering:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Speak
Monster (by Walter Dean Myers)
Out of the Dust
The Secret Life of Bees
Lord of the Flies
Whale Talk
Face on the Milk Carton

I will be covering Night by Elie Wiesel, supplemented with pieces from Maus I and II, and Romeo and Juliet.

The top 5 on the list are books I've read and loved. The bottom 3 are ones I haven't read but I've seen on a lot of 8th grade reading lists.

My question to you all is: what do you recommend? If you've read any of the books on the list and think they would be good for a class of freshmen, let me know, especially if it's one of the ones I haven't read.

I need to narrow the list down to 3 or 4 at the max.

I know this might not be your area of expertise, but I thought I'd ask because I'm really struggling with choosing the right things.