8th grade books about Friendship

52 books commonly assigned to 8th grade students explore friendship— every title’s grade range covers 8th grade, so each is grade-appropriate by curriculum placement. Each links to its reading level, themes, and the curricula that cite it.

Reading difficulty: the typical 8th grade text-complexity band is 925–1185L (Common Core Appendix A). Of the 8 friendship titles here with a Lexile score, 0 are grade-level, 8 are more accessible, and 0 are stretch texts. Match a book to your reader’s measured Lexile rather than to the grade alone.

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Show all 52 titles

Pink and Say · Patricia Polacco
Posted · John David Anderson
Real Friends · Shannon Hale
Roll for Initiative · Jaime Formato
Saving Winslow · Sharon Creech
Simon Sort of Says · Erin Bow
Skyriders · Polly Holyoke
Smile · Raina Telgemeier
Stepping Up · Mark Fink
The Book Thief · Markus Zusak
The Cay · Theodore Taylor
The First State of Being · Erin Entrada Kelly
The Last Dragon on Mars · Scott Reintgen
The Lifters · Dave Eggers
The Lost Library · Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass
The Mark of Athena · Rick Riordan
The Maze Runner · James Dashner
The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien · John Hendrix
The Outsiders · S.E. Hinton
The Parker Inheritance · Varian Johnson
The Sherlock Society · James Ponti
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants · Ann Brashares
The Stranger Next Door · Peg Kehret
The Witch of Blackbird Pond · Elizabeth George Speare
Under the Surface · Diana Urban
Ungifted · Gordon Korman
When You Reach Me · Rebecca Stead
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town · Kimberly Willis Holt

Friendship books at other grades

Kindergarten · 1st grade · 2nd grade · 3rd grade · 4th grade · 5th grade · 6th grade · 7th grade

Other 8th grade themes

Family · Identity · Courage · Survival · History · Mystery · Perseverance · Grief

← Full 8th grade reading list · All friendshipbooks →

Frequently asked questions

What friendship books are good for 8th grade students?

52 books exploring friendship have a grade range that covers 8th grade and are assigned across US-school curricula — Common Core exemplars, AP, IB, Cambridge, and state ELA standards. Each title on this page links to its full curriculum citations and reading level.

Are these friendship books grade-appropriate for 8th grade?

Every title's grade range covers 8th grade. The typical 8th grade text-complexity band is 925–1185L (Common Core Appendix A); of the 8 books here with a Lexile score, 0 are grade-level, 8 more accessible, and 0 a stretch. Match a book to your reader's measured Lexile rather than to the grade alone.

How many friendship books are on the 8th grade list?

This page lists 52 8th grade titles about friendship, ordered alphabetically. The list expands as more curriculum references are verified.

8th grade books about Friendship

52 8th grade books about friendship

Friendship books at other grades

Other 8th grade themes

Frequently asked questions

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