# 8th grade reading list — Common Core, AP, IB & state curricula

**55** books commonly assigned to 8th grade students in US schools. Sourced from Common Core exemplars (Appendix B), AP Course Audit, IB Diploma Programme, Cambridge Assessment International, and 50 state department-of-education curriculum guides.

Of these, **55** have a verified curriculum citation at the 8th grade level. 

**Grade level:** 8th grade
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/grade/8
**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 reading list

- [A Lesson Before Dying](https://readinglist.school/book/a-lesson-before-dying) by Ernest J. Gaines _(750L · Grades 8–12 · pub 1993)_
- [A Long Walk to Water](https://readinglist.school/book/a-long-walk-to-water) by Linda Sue Park _(720L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2010)_
- [A Midsummer Night's Dream](https://readinglist.school/book/a-midsummer-nights-dream) by William Shakespeare _(Grades 8–12 · pub 1600)_
- [A Single Shard](https://readinglist.school/book/a-single-shard) by Linda Sue Park _(920L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2001)_
- [American Born Chinese](https://readinglist.school/book/american-born-chinese) by Gene Luen Yang _(530L · Grades 7–12 · pub 2006)_
- [Animal Farm](https://readinglist.school/book/animal-farm) by George Orwell _(1170L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1945)_
- [Anthem](https://readinglist.school/book/anthem) by Ayn Rand _(880L · Grades 8–12 · pub 1938)_
- [Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon](https://readinglist.school/book/bomb) by Steve Sheinkin _(920L · Grades 6–9 · pub 2012)_
- [Brown Girl Dreaming](https://readinglist.school/book/brown-girl-dreaming) by Jacqueline Woodson _(990L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2014)_
- [Chains](https://readinglist.school/book/chains) by Laurie Halse Anderson _(780L · Grades 5–9 · pub 2008)_
- [Dragonwings](https://readinglist.school/book/dragonwings) by Laurence Yep _(870L · Grades 6–8 · pub 1975)_
- [Ender's Game](https://readinglist.school/book/enders-game) by Orson Scott Card _(780L · Grades 6–10 · pub 1985)_
- [Flowers for Algernon](https://readinglist.school/book/flowers-for-algernon) by Daniel Keyes _(910L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1966)_
- [Ghost](https://readinglist.school/book/ghost) by Jason Reynolds _(730L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2016)_
- [Hatchet](https://readinglist.school/book/hatchet) by Gary Paulsen _(1020L · Grades 5–8 · pub 1987)_
- [I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)](https://readinglist.school/book/i-am-malala-young-readers) by Malala Yousafzai _(830L · Grades 6–10 · pub 2014)_
- [Inside Out & Back Again](https://readinglist.school/book/inside-out-and-back-again) by Thanhha Lai _(800L · Grades 4–8 · pub 2011)_
- [Little Women](https://readinglist.school/book/little-women) by Louisa May Alcott _(1300L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1868)_
- [Long Way Down](https://readinglist.school/book/long-way-down) by Jason Reynolds _(720L · Grades 7–12 · pub 2017)_
- [Monster](https://readinglist.school/book/monster) by Walter Dean Myers _(670L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1999)_
- [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)_
- [New Kid](https://readinglist.school/book/new-kid) by Jerry Craft _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2019)_
- [Of Mice and Men](https://readinglist.school/book/of-mice-and-men) by John Steinbeck _(630L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1937)_
- [One Crazy Summer](https://readinglist.school/book/one-crazy-summer) by Rita Williams-Garcia _(750L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2010)_
- [Out of the Dust](https://readinglist.school/book/out-of-the-dust) by Karen Hesse _(740L · Grades 5–8 · pub 1997)_
- [Rebound](https://readinglist.school/book/rebound) by Kwame Alexander _(780L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2018)_
- [Refugee](https://readinglist.school/book/refugee) by Alan Gratz _(800L · Grades 5–9 · pub 2017)_
- [Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry](https://readinglist.school/book/roll-of-thunder-hear-my-cry) by Mildred D. Taylor _(920L · Grades 6–8 · pub 1976)_
- [Romeo and Juliet](https://readinglist.school/book/romeo-and-juliet) by William Shakespeare _(Grades 8–10 · pub 1597)_
- [Salt to the Sea](https://readinglist.school/book/salt-to-the-sea) by Ruta Sepetys _(560L · Grades 8–12 · pub 2016)_
- [Smile](https://readinglist.school/book/smile) by Raina Telgemeier _(410L · Grades 4–8 · pub 2010)_
- [Speak](https://readinglist.school/book/speak) by Laurie Halse Anderson _(690L · Grades 8–10 · pub 1999)_
- [Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You](https://readinglist.school/book/stamped-racism-antiracism-and-you) by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi _(1000L · Grades 7–12 · pub 2020)_
- [The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian](https://readinglist.school/book/the-absolutely-true-diary-of-a-part-time-indian) by Sherman Alexie _(600L · Grades 7–10 · pub 2007)_
- [The Adventures of Tom Sawyer](https://readinglist.school/book/the-adventures-of-tom-sawyer) by Mark Twain _(950L · Grades 5–8 · pub 1876)_
- [The Book Thief](https://readinglist.school/book/the-book-thief) by Markus Zusak _(730L · Grades 8–11 · pub 2005)_
- [The Call of the Wild](https://readinglist.school/book/the-call-of-the-wild) by Jack London _(1120L · Grades 6–10 · pub 1903)_
- [The Crossover](https://readinglist.school/book/the-crossover) by Kwame Alexander _(750L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2014)_
- [The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time](https://readinglist.school/book/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time) by Mark Haddon _(1090L · Grades 8–12 · pub 2003)_
- [The Devil's Arithmetic](https://readinglist.school/book/the-devils-arithmetic) by Jane Yolen _(730L · Grades 5–8 · pub 1988)_
- [The Diary of a Young Girl](https://readinglist.school/book/the-diary-of-a-young-girl) by Anne Frank _(1080L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1947)_
- [The Giver](https://readinglist.school/book/the-giver) by Lois Lowry _(760L · Grades 6–8 · pub 1993)_
- [The Graveyard Book](https://readinglist.school/book/the-graveyard-book) by Neil Gaiman _(820L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2008)_
- [The House on Mango Street](https://readinglist.school/book/the-house-on-mango-street) by Sandra Cisneros _(870L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1984)_
- [The Hunger Games](https://readinglist.school/book/the-hunger-games) by Suzanne Collins _(810L · Grades 6–9 · pub 2008)_
- [The Old Man and the Sea](https://readinglist.school/book/the-old-man-and-the-sea) by Ernest Hemingway _(940L · Grades 8–12 · pub 1952)_
- [The Outsiders](https://readinglist.school/book/the-outsiders) by S.E. Hinton _(750L · Grades 7–9 · pub 1967)_
- [The Parker Inheritance](https://readinglist.school/book/the-parker-inheritance) by Varian Johnson _(610L · Grades 6–8 · pub 2018)_
- [The Pearl](https://readinglist.school/book/the-pearl) by John Steinbeck _(1010L · Grades 6–9 · pub 1947)_
- [The Poet X](https://readinglist.school/book/the-poet-x) by Elizabeth Acevedo _(800L · Grades 8–12 · pub 2018)_
- [The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963](https://readinglist.school/book/the-watsons-go-to-birmingham-1963) by Christopher Paul Curtis _(1000L · Grades 5–8 · pub 1995)_
- [The Witch of Blackbird Pond](https://readinglist.school/book/the-witch-of-blackbird-pond) by Elizabeth George Speare _(850L · Grades 5–8 · pub 1958)_
- [To Kill a Mockingbird](https://readinglist.school/book/to-kill-a-mockingbird) by Harper Lee _(870L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1960)_
- [Twelve Angry Men](https://readinglist.school/book/twelve-angry-men) by Reginald Rose _(Grades 8–10 · pub 1954)_
- [When You Reach Me](https://readinglist.school/book/when-you-reach-me) by Rebecca Stead _(750L · Grades 4–8 · pub 2009)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. HTML view: https://readinglist.school/grade/8._