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45 Books for an 8th Grader Who Loves to Read

March 28, 2016 by ami 5 Comments

Elijah is currently finishing up his 8th grade year, so I am going to go ahead and share his 8th grade reading list. As always we both chose books for this list. I give him a list at the beginning of the year, and he adds to it based on his interests and authors he enjoys.

8th grade reading list

Please use PluggedIn and Common Sense Media to find reviews that include specific details about sex, profanity, violence, spiritual beliefs presented, etc. The 7th and 8th grade reading lists include more mature content than the elementary lists, but I still try to find living books that are wholesome and worthy of discussion.

Biography

Earthquake at Dawn by Kristina Gregory

Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic

The Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz

Journey to Topaz: A Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation by Yoshiko Uchida

Jonathan Goforth: An Open Door in China by Janet & Geoff Benge

C. S. Lewis: Master Storyteller by Janet & Geoff Benge

Nonfiction

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin*

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy*

The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman*

Washington at Valley Forge by Russell Freedman

Historical Fiction

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt*

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare*

Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes*

Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep

Stowaway by Karen Hesse

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse*

The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope

A Murder for Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner 

The Prospering by Elizabeth George Speare

The King’s Fifth by Scott O’Dell*

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus*

Nory Ryan’s Song by Patriica Reilly Giff

The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia by Esther Hautzig

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley*

War Horse and Farm Boy by Michael Morpurgo (two books, same story, different points of view)

Realistic Fiction

A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt*

The Garbage King by Elizabeth Laird

Adventure

Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman*

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Fantasy & Science Fiction

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead*

The White Mountains by Christopher John

Savvy by Ingrid Law*

Scumble by Ingrid Law

Switch by Ingrid Law

Classic Literature

Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Extraordinary Cases of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White

*denotes a Newbery Award or Honor Book

What books has your 8th grader enjoyed?

If you are looking for more reading lists for kids who love to read, please check out my Reading Lists for Voracious Readers page. 

Reading Lists for Voracious Readers from Walking by the Way

Filed Under: read

Comments

  1. Michele Gomez says

    November 2, 2016 at 2:31 pm

    My daughter does not like to read, but her school has a reading requirement that is a huge part of their language arts grade.  Can you recommend a few books for someone who is interested in mystery stuff, on the lines of CSI type stuff?  She's in 8th grade, 

  2. Sharon says

    May 30, 2017 at 9:04 pm

    This is for Michele, "A Murder for Her Majesty" is a mystery book, though not exactly CSI style. You might also try John Grisham's books for kids – The Theodore Boone series. The first book is "Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer".

  3. Kate says

    September 1, 2018 at 9:41 pm

    The hunger games is a great book as well

  4. Michele says

    July 16, 2019 at 10:47 am

    We have read aloud (after bible time) almost every book written by Janet & Geoff Benge. They are faith-building, and teach geography, history, and cultures. They have been the second best books we’ve read (the bible being the first).

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Welcome! I’m a big believer in inspiring kids, cultivating curiosity, delight directed learning, living books, field trip adventures, and keeping your sanity while homeschooling. I hope you find something encouraging here today! You can learn a bit more about me here.

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