20 Fantastic 8th Grade Books to Read
If you are looking for a 8th grade book to read, pop in your email address below and I’ll send this printable list right to your inbox!
For the last year, I’ve been working on book lists by grade with 20 books for each grade level (you can see all the grade level lists here!).
It’s a lot of fun finding books that are good mix of classics and newer titles and a wide range of genres, some that are easier reads and some that will challenge readers a bit.
8th grade is a little tricky because it’s one of those lines where you have some readers who are still very much in the middle grade books while others are moving into more young adult!
I’ve tried for books all along that range, but you’ll know your child or student best!
Here are 20 books, roughly two per month for the school year!
20 Books Your 8th Grader Will Want to Read
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
Jessica wakes up in the hospital to find that her leg is gone, amputated just below the knee. This would be awful enough on its own, but Jessica is a huge runner. Now life as she know it is over. If you are at all a fan of contemporary young adult novels, The Running Dream is one I’d highly recommend. (Full review here)
Slugfest by Gordon Korman
Gordon Korman always delivers on funny, and this one sounds like a great lighter read to balance some of the heavier titles on this list. Star athlete Yash never thought he’d end up in summer school PE with a ragtag group of misfits – until a random technicality lands him there, and he starts uncovering a scandal that could get them all in trouble.
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
I’ve loved Linda Sue Park since I read A Single Shard years ago, and I can’t wait to read this bestseller about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan. One is a girl in 2008; the other is a boy in 1985.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
My husband and now my two oldest daughters are HUGE Brandon Sanderson fans and I’ve never read a single book by him! In this fantasy series, the great hero of legend failed to stop the evil overlord, ensuring his rise to power. After enduring years of prison and torture, the hero escapes, creates a group of specialists, and frees the people of the oppressive regime.
All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat
I picked this up when it won the Newbery Honor and LOVED it! This book made the whole true story of the rescue of these thirteen boys come vividly to life for me and even though I knew the ending, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. If you haven’t read this one yet, now is the time. (Full review here)
Beauty by Robin McKinley
I’ve always loved a good fairy tale retelling and this is one of the ones I remember best from my childhood. My mom read this Beauty and the Beast retelling aloud to us and I woke up in the middle of the night to see her reading it in the hallways because she couldn’t wait to see how it would turn out! I love that this one gives you way more backstory for Beauty’s family and I really love her sisters and their sweet relationship. It has such great character development and it’s just a delight all around.
Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
This book changed my mind about graphic novels (I’d always been a fan for my kids, but never thought of myself as a graphic novel reader). I don’t even care about basketball and I was incredibly invested in this true story of a high school team that’s trying to win the state championship title that has eluded them for decades. Packed with history, incredible stories, and a season-long chase for glory, I couldn’t put this down or stop talking about it. Even if you’ve been dubious about graphic novels, I strongly urge you to give it a try. (Full review here)
The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
This Newbery Medal winner (from 1996) is a great pick for this 8th grade book list if you are looking for something more historical. A homeless girl known only as “Brat” stumbles into an apprenticeship with a sharp-tongued midwife in medieval England, and slowly starts to become someone with a name, a purpose, and a future.
Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers by Lee Francis III
Written and illustrated by Native Americans from multiple tribal nations, this graphic novel collection captures the pride, homesickness, and courage of Native servicemen (including the famous WWI code talkers). The comic-book format makes this one an easy sell for any 8th grader who claims they don’t like to read.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
I was a massive fan of The Martian and LOVED Project Hail Maryjust as much too! In this one, Ryland Grace wakes up in a spaceship with no idea where he is, what he’s supposed to do or even what his own name is. As memories slowly start returning, he remembers that the sun was dimming and that there were only a few decades to find both the problem and a solution before life on earth became unsustainable. And he’s now in outer space on a mission alone to save all of humanity. No pressure. It’s full of humor, suspense, and science that’s (mostly) understandable to the layperson.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
When I read this more than a decade ago I gave it a 10/10, no questions asked. This book follows a young girl in Nazi Germany who finds comfort (and a little bit of rebellion) in stealing books and sharing their stories. Narrated by Death, it’s a haunting and beautiful reminder of the power of words. I reread the last few lines over and over to really soak in the ending.
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
This middle grade novel is the beginning of a trilogy about thirteen-year-old Isabel during the Revolutionary War who is fighting for her own freedom after she and her sister are enslaved to a cruel couple in New York City.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Set at the start of World War I, this one imagines an alternate history where one side fights with steam-powered machines and the other with genetically engineered animals, and two teens from opposite sides end up thrown together aboard a living airship. This steampunk twist on history sounds like such a fun way to hook a reluctant reader.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Another true classic and a 5-star for me! It’s a beautiful account of one man’s struggle to defend a black man in a racist court, as seen through the eyes of his daughter. Moving and amazing!
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Frannie’s never given much thought to hope or faith, until a poem that begins “hope is the thing with feathers” starts pulling those questions to the surface. This Newbery Honor winner sounds quiet yet powerful!
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson
One of the greatest manhunts in American history lasted a wild 12 days as Union cavalry pursued John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. What really impressed me about Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is the fact that Swanson kept the story so streamlined. This book is extraordinarily tightly edited at just 200 pages – there is not a wasted word. This is the YA version of Swanson’s Manhunt, which I have also heard great things about. (Full review here)
The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt
After Hercules Beal loses his parents in an accident, his older brother leaves behind his career to come back and raise Hercules and manage the family business. When the new school year starts, Hercules’ new teacher assigns the students a year-long project of recreating the labors of the mythical Hercules. It’s going to be a BIG task! This one is funny, heartbreaking and tender – exactly what you’d expect from Gary D. Schmidt.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
This was one I meant to read for years and didn’t get around to until it was the only audiobook I had when I was doing hours and hours of driving every week down to my elementary school libraries in Boston. And I completely got the hype. (Full review here).
Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste
Coal has just landed in a new foster home when a walk with sidewalk chalk turns into a terrifying encounter with a neighbor, the police, and somehow, Coal turning invisible. This one blends real-world tension with a superhero twist!
After the Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
This is the sequel to Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie and it sounds like such a real, honest look at what comes after the “happy ending” everyone expects. Jeffrey survived cancer, but now, as a teenager in remission, he’s dealing with the messy aftermath – a limp, struggling grades, a brother who ran off to Africa, and a girl who might actually like him back.
And if you’d like a printable copy of this list of 8th grade books to read that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
