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.
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.
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,
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".
The hunger games is a great book as well
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).