Connecticut 8th grade reading list

The 477 books most commonly assigned to Connecticut 8th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Books477Lexile410L–1300LSourceCT Core Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned nationally: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Middle (6–8) titles appearing in the most states are The Giver (20 states), The Hunger Games (14 states), and Ground Zero (8 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Start here — most-cited for Connecticut 8th grade

These are the 11 titles named in Connecticut’s own curriculum documents for this grade — everything below is the wider national list. Read against the Common Core Appendix A complexity band; reading level is not thematic maturity, and several sit below the band because they are assigned for discussion.

  1. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

    Get it on Amazon

  2. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers running, family violence and mentorship. At 730L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  3. The Hunger Games

    Suzanne Collins

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers authoritarianism, survival, media and spectacle. At 810L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  4. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers refugees, family and hope.

    Get it on Amazon

  5. Among the Hidden

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers freedom, identity and resistance.

    Get it on Amazon

  6. Game Changer

    Tommy Greenwald

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers football, injury and truth.

    Get it on Amazon

  7. Mick Harte Was Here

    Barbara Park

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers grief, family and safety.

    Get it on Amazon

  8. Orbiting Jupiter

    Gary D. Schmidt

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers fatherhood, loss and compassion.

    Get it on Amazon

  9. Posted

    John David Anderson

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers friendship, bullying and words.

    Get it on Amazon

  10. Restart

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers identity, bullying and memory. At 730L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  11. Unwind

    Neal Shusterman

    Cited in 1 Connecticut curriculum document, taught from grade 8 to 12. Covers justice, survival and identity.

    Get it on Amazon

477 books cited for Connecticut 8th grade

Assignments tied directly to Connecticut’s CT Core Standards or national curricula with a Connecticut-specific citation.

Show all 477 titles

Reading the whole Connecticut 8th grade reading list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Know a parent or teacher who needs this? Share it:FacebookPinterest

Teacher or librarian? Print this list as a checklist — free to photocopy for your class or library (details).

Other Connecticut grades

7th grade · 9th grade · 6th grade · 10th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

7th grade · 9th grade · 6th grade · 10th grade

Same 8th grade in other states

California · Texas · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois

Browse 8th grade reading by theme

About the Connecticut 8th grade reading list

In Connecticut schools, 8th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from CT Core Standardsalongside the national curricula that apply nationwide — Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ReadingList currently tracks 477 titles for 8th grade in Connecticut, each tied to a Connecticut-specific curriculum citation. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–1300L.

8th grade sits in the 6-8 grade band, where students are middle-grade readers. At this stage the emphasis is on analyzing theme, character, and author's craft across full-length novels and their first classics. Assigned reading skews toward full-length novels, plays, memoir, and frequently-challenged contemporary titles, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 700L to 1010L. Measured against that 925–1185L range, of the 31 titles here with a Lexile score 7 are grade-level, 23 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 1 is a stretch text that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 8th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Connecticut’s English Language Arts requirements are set by CT Core Standards (portal.ct.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 8th grade list below blends Connecticut-specific assignments with the widely-taught national canon. Every title links to its primary source on the book’s detail page, so you can confirm exactly where and why it is assigned.

How to use this list:match a title to your child’s most recent Lexile or guided-reading level rather than to the grade alone. Teachers building a 8th grade unit can pair a Connecticut-cited core text with a grade-appropriate companion novel; parents previewing summer or supplemental reading can check each book’s content notes and challenge history before assigning it.

Common questions

How many books are assigned to 8th grade students in Connecticut?
477 books appear on ReadingList for 8th grade students in Connecticut, sourced from CT Core Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 8th grade reading in Connecticut?
Lexile measures across the 8th grade Connecticut reading list range from 410L to 1300L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Entries reference CT Core Standards (published at portal.ct.gov) plus national curricula that apply to Connecticut schools: Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English Literature and Language, IB Diploma Programme, and Cambridge Assessment International. Every assignment row on each book's detail page links its primary source.

Reading guides for parents

▸Embed this list on your site

Copy + paste this snippet into any school newsletter, classroom blog, library site, or homeschool resource page. The embed shows the top 12 titles and links back to the full list. Updates automatically when ReadingList’s data changes.

<iframe src="https://readinglist.school/embed/grade/8" width="100%" height="540" style="border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-radius:6px;max-width:640px" loading="lazy" title="8th grade reading list — ReadingList.school"></iframe>

Preview: /embed/grade/8 · License: CC BY 4.0 (please credit “ReadingList.school”).

Was this page helpful?

Browse by another angle

State-specific entries sourced from portal.ct.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.