# 8th grade books about identity

**43** books commonly assigned to 8th grade students in US schools that explore identity. Every title's grade range covers 8th grade, so each is grade-appropriate by curriculum placement. Sourced from Common Core exemplars, AP, IB, Cambridge, and 50 state ELA curricula.

**Reading difficulty:** the typical 8th grade band is 925–1185L (Common Core Appendix A). Of the 15 titles here with a Lexile score, 2 are grade-level, 13 more accessible, and 0 a stretch.

**Grade:** 8th grade  ·  **Theme:** identity
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/grade/8/identity
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.
**Primary source — Common Core ELA exemplars:** https://achievethecore.org/page/2699

## 8th grade identity reading list

- [A Work in Progress](https://readinglist.school/book/a-work-in-progress) by Jarrett Lerner _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [American Born Chinese](https://readinglist.school/book/american-born-chinese) by Gene Luen Yang _(530L · Grades 7–12 · pub 2006)_
- [Among the Hidden](https://readinglist.school/book/among-the-hidden) by Margaret Peterson Haddix _(Grades 5–8 · pub 1998)_
- [Anthem](https://readinglist.school/book/anthem) by Ayn Rand _(880L · Grades 8–12 · pub 1938)_
- [Black Brother, Black Brother](https://readinglist.school/book/black-brother-black-brother) by Jewell Parker Rhodes _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2021)_
- [Boy 2.0](https://readinglist.school/book/boy-2-0) by Tracey Baptiste _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Brown Girl Dreaming](https://readinglist.school/book/brown-girl-dreaming) by Jacqueline Woodson _(990L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2014)_
- [Confessions of a Class Clown](https://readinglist.school/book/confessions-of-a-class-clown) by Arianne Costner _(Grades 6–8 · pub 2023)_
- [Control Freaks](https://readinglist.school/book/control-freaks) by J.E. Thomas _(Grades 6–8 · pub 2023)_
- [Divergent](https://readinglist.school/book/divergent) by Veronica Roth _(Grades 8–12 · pub 2012)_
- [Drama](https://readinglist.school/book/drama) by Raina Telgemeier _(Grades 5–9 · pub 2012)_
- [Ender's Game](https://readinglist.school/book/enders-game) by Orson Scott Card _(780L · Grades 6–10 · pub 1985)_
- [Everything We Never Had](https://readinglist.school/book/everything-we-never-had) by Randy Ribay _(Grades 7–12 · pub 2024)_
- [Flowers for Algernon](https://readinglist.school/book/flowers-for-algernon) by Daniel Keyes _(910L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1966)_
- [Genesis Begins Again](https://readinglist.school/book/genesis-begins-again) by Alicia D. Williams _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2020)_
- [Ghost](https://readinglist.school/book/ghost) by Jason Reynolds _(730L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2016)_
- [Good Different](https://readinglist.school/book/good-different) by Meg Eden Kuyatt _(Grades 6–9 · pub 2023)_
- [Grounded](https://readinglist.school/book/grounded-airport) by Aisha Saeed, S.K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Huda Al-Marashi _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2023)_
- [I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)](https://readinglist.school/book/i-am-malala-young-readers) by Malala Yousafzai _(830L · Grades 6–10 · pub 2014)_
- [Keeper of the Lost Cities](https://readinglist.school/book/keeper-of-the-lost-cities) by Shannon Messenger _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2025)_
- [Louder Than Hunger](https://readinglist.school/book/louder-than-hunger) by John Schu _(Grades 7–12 · pub 2024)_
- [Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave](https://readinglist.school/book/narrative-of-the-life-of-frederick-douglass) by Frederick Douglass _(1080L · Grades 8–12 · pub 1845)_
- [Never Thought I'd End Up Here](https://readinglist.school/book/never-thought-id-end-up-here) by Ann Liang _(Grades 7–12 · pub 2025)_
- [Restart](https://readinglist.school/book/restart) by Gordon Korman _(730L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2017)_
- [Ruby Lost and Found](https://readinglist.school/book/ruby-lost-and-found) by Christina Li _(Grades 6–9 · pub 2023)_
- [Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl](https://readinglist.school/book/shinji-takahashi-and-the-mark-of-the-coatl) by Julie Kagawa _(Grades 6–8 · pub 2022)_
- [So B. It](https://readinglist.school/book/so-b-it) by Sarah Weeks _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2009)_
- [Something Like Home](https://readinglist.school/book/something-like-home) by Andrea Beatriz Arango _(Grades 6–8 · pub 2023)_
- [Speak](https://readinglist.school/book/speak) by Laurie Halse Anderson _(690L · Grades 8–10 · pub 1999)_
- [The Crossover](https://readinglist.school/book/the-crossover) by Kwame Alexander _(750L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2014)_
- [The False Prince](https://readinglist.school/book/the-false-prince) by Jennifer A. Nielsen _(Grades 5–9 · pub 2012)_
- [The First State of Being](https://readinglist.school/book/the-first-state-of-being) by Erin Entrada Kelly _(Grades 6–8 · pub 2024)_
- [The Forbidden Book](https://readinglist.school/book/the-forbidden-book) by Sacha Lamb _(Grades 7–12 · pub 2024)_
- [The Graveyard Book](https://readinglist.school/book/the-graveyard-book) by Neil Gaiman _(820L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2008)_
- [The House of the Scorpion](https://readinglist.school/book/the-house-of-the-scorpion) by Nancy Farmer _(Grades 7–10 · pub 2022)_
- [The House on Mango Street](https://readinglist.school/book/the-house-on-mango-street) by Sandra Cisneros _(870L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1984)_
- [The Last Bloodcarver](https://readinglist.school/book/the-last-bloodcarver) by Vanessa Le _(Grades 7–8 · pub 2024)_
- [The Last Hope in Hopetown](https://readinglist.school/book/the-last-hope-in-hopetown) by Maria Tureaud _(Grades 6–8 · pub 2024)_
- [The Outsiders](https://readinglist.school/book/the-outsiders) by S.E. Hinton _(750L · Grades 7–9 · pub 1967)_
- [The Partition Project](https://readinglist.school/book/the-partition-project) by Saadia Faruqi _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [The Poet X](https://readinglist.school/book/the-poet-x) by Elizabeth Acevedo _(800L · Grades 8–12 · pub 2018)_
- [The Reappearance of Rachel Price](https://readinglist.school/book/the-reappearance-of-rachel-price) by Holly Jackson _(Grades 7–12 · pub 2024)_
- [Unwind](https://readinglist.school/book/unwind) by Neal Shusterman _(Grades 8–12 · pub 2007)_

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