Books for 8th graders boys

He learns that there is an open casting call for a musical and makes a daring trip to New York City to be there for it. She just wants to get an internship to help her get into a good college. Margarita lives in Los Angeles, except when she lives in Cuba during the summer with her mother. Margarita loves Cuba and lives for those summer months.

Calliope has never felt like she fits in, which is perhaps why she turns to the night skies. She loves astronomy, and the stars do not judge her for having Tourettes like the kids at school do. The boys live on the outskirts of society and sometimes scuffles break out between the two groups. One night, things go too far. Virginia is a plus-sized teenager, which makes everything about being a teenager harder.

She feels pathetic next to her perfect family, especially her perfect brother. Steve Harmon is 16 and is being tried for murder after he was the lookout in the shooting of a drugstore owner. Steve, prior to the murder trial, was an amateur filmmaker so he transcribes his experiences, and Monster is the result. Here, she suffers a horrific accident that leaves her in a full body cast for an entire year.

Suddenly, the neighborhood is on house arrest. This is a multi-genre novel told in many formats including comics, poems, and letters. Algernon is a lab mouse who has undergone surgery to increase his IQ, and soon this surgery is applied to Charlie Gordon. This is the first in a six-book fantasy series. This book for 8th graders boys installment is about Nicholas Flamel, the famed alychemist.

Legend has it, he did not die inas his tomb states, but that he lives on today making the elixir that keeps him immortal. Millionaire Samuel W. Westing dies at the beginning of the book and the tenants in his building are named as heirs in his will. At the beginning of the book, protagonist Conor is fighting a number of monsters — bullies at school, a monster in his nightmares, and the grief associated with an ill family member.

Then a real monster shows up and Conor is forced to face some truths within himself. Perry volunteers for the Vietnam War, and he is sent to the front lines where he must face the horrors of war. Miranda receives mysterious notes that predict the future. So, when the notes instruct her to write a letter, she feels she must do as she is told.

There is a nice mystery woven in, and some time travel to boot. In this fascinating and creative futuristic world, cities have been turned into rolling behemoths that hunt down and tear apart other cities. This is the first book in a four-part series. Perfect for: Young politicos who enjoy cultural criticism and political philosophy. His evil uncle Ebenezer wants the fortune for himself, so he hires a ship captain to kidnap the lad and sell him into slavery in the Carolinas.

When the boat crashes in the Hebrides, David escapes with a French daredevil who helps him return home after multiple escapades in the wild Highlands. Packed with clan intrigue, Scotch dialect, bagpipes, danger, and romance. Find Kidnapped at your local library. After fishing for 84 days in the Gulf Stream without a single catch, Santiago — an elderly Cuban — hooks a giant marlin.

Painfully battling the monstrous prize for three days, he reels it close enough to harpoon it, kill it, and strap it to the side of his skiff. Still, Santiago cannot celebrate his conquest. Sharks discover his prize as he returns to port. He slays one, then five, but the attacks continue until the marlin is only a battered skeleton. Find The Old Man and the Sea at your local library.

Wolf Larsen is the powerful, sociopathic sea captain of the Ghost, a seal-hunting schooner in the northern Pacific. His companions are a mutinous crew and two accidental passengers: an intellectual gentleman and a refined lady. Brutal struggles for physical dominance rock the boat, with heated books for 8th graders boys between the nihilistic Wolf with the two soft idealists.

This tale is emotionally turbulent, violently exciting, and philosophically profound. Perfect for: Those who enjoy terrifying tales and contrasting viewpoints of life. She decides she is many Meilans, each inspired by a different Chinese character with the same pronunciation as her name. Meilan keeps her facets separate until an injustice at school shows her the power of bringing her many selves together.

Robin is 14 when she and her mother leave for one of their regular visits to the US. When they arrive in Huntsville, Robin realizes that her mother is there to visit a man she has been corresponding with. His family welcomes them, but Robin feels out of place since she can neither speak nor understand English. She dreams of returning to Korea when the vacation is over.

But when Will was knocked out cold during a football game, resulting in a brain injury—everything changed. But when the brother he loves so much becomes more and more withdrawn, and escalates to stealing money and ditching school, Trace realizes some secrets cannot be kept if we ever hope to heal. Fifteen-year-old Jessie, a quirky loner obsessed with the nineties, is diagnosed as autistic just weeks before starting high school.

Determined to make a fresh start and keep her diagnosis a secret, Jessie creates a list of goals that range from acquiring two distinct eyebrows to getting a magical first kiss and landing a spot in the school play. Within the halls of Holy Trinity High, she finds a world where things are no longer black and white and quickly learns that living in color is much more fun.

But Jessie gets more than she bargained for when two very different boys steal her heart, forcing her to go off-script. Zora Emerson is not here to play. As in, his parents are the king and queen of a small European country. This is a charming young adult novel featuring a positive representation of Black teens. There are also strong undercurrents of community outreach, strong female friendshipsand being true to oneself.

But he has no idea just how bad things are going to be. Getting knocked into a mud puddle by a trio of bullies. Having his secret crush revealed to the entire math class. And then that snot bubble … No, Dave is totally not killing it at Muddle School. He may just have to resign himself to dorkdom, content with drawing in his sketchbook to deal with life.

But then Dave begins working on a time machine for the science fair and he gets a brilliant idea. What if he goes back in time to that first day of school? What if he has a redo, and avoids doing all the dumb and embarrassing stuff he did? Could that turn everything around for him? Could Dave actually become … cool? Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way.

And Jade has: every day she rides the bus away from her friends and to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference.

Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy, including the loss of his mother. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming Blade will become just like his father. In reality, the only thing Blade and Rutherford have in common is the music that lives inside them.

And songwriting is all Blade has left after Rutherford, while drunk, crashes his high school graduation speech and effectively rips Chapel away forever. But when a long-held family secret comes to light, the music disappears. Everett, aspiring Broadway star, hopes to nab the lead role in an Ohio theater production, but soon realizes that talent and drive can only get her so far.

Because when Jessica was pulled over by the principal and missed a math quiz, her teacher gave her an F. And so Molly starts a podcast where girls can tell their stories, and before long, her small rebellion swells into a revolution. Even more confusing is when Jeremy hovers too close and hugs a little too long. Then her mom surprises her by buying a dilapidated house in their neighborhood.

Lydia hopes to find a little bit of magic in their new home. But just like the adults in her life, and God, and her friends, the magic Lydia deeply believes in eventually loses its power to keep her safe. And as seventh grade begins, Lydia wonders: Is there a secret to figuring out how to be a girl in the world? For seventh-grader Mila, it starts with some boys giving her an unwanted hug on the school blacktop.

And how can she say no? According to her friend, Zara, Mila is being immature and overreacting. On the bus. In the halls. During band practice—the one place Mila could always escape. Thanks to a chance meeting, Mila begins to find solace in a new place: karate class. Slowly, with the help of a fellow classmate, Mila learns how to stand her ground and how to respect others—and herself.

Thirteen-year-old Blue Broen is on the hunt for a legendary ship of gold, lost centuries ago when her ancestors sailed to New York. Will Blue unravel a three hundred year-old family mystery, learn to stand up for herself, and find the missing treasure? Long ago, best friends Bridge, Emily, and Tab made a pact: no fighting. He wonders: what does it mean to fall for a girl—as a friend?

Can they grow up without growing apart? When Jarrett J. Krosoczka was in high school, he was part of a program that sent students to be counselors at a camp for seriously ill kids and their families. But instead of the shadow of death, Jarrett found something else at Camp Sunshine: the hope and determination that gets people through the most troubled of times.

Not only was he subject to some of the usual rituals that come with being a camp counselor wilderness challenges, spooky campfire stories, an extremely stinky mascot costumebut he also got a chance to meet some extraordinary kids facing extraordinary circumstances. He learned about the captivity of illness, for sure but he also learned about the freedom a safe space can bring.

But when her cousin Cal moves in with her family, everything changes.

Books for 8th graders boys

Cal tells half-truths and tall tales, pranks Hannah constantly, and seems to be the reason her parents are fighting more and more. Nothing is how it used to be. She knows that Cal went through a lot after his mom died and she is trying to be patient, but most days Hannah just wishes Cal never moved in. For his part, Cal is trying his hardest to fit in, but not everyone is as appreciative of his unique sense of humor and storytelling gifts as he is.

Collated by her father Otto, after the second world war, this is the diary of Anne Frank who, aged between 13 and 16 wrote about being in hiding from the Nazis and Amsterdam. Poignant and moving, this is a book that should be on every high school curriculum. Arguably one of the most important books written in the 20th century. Autobiography Classic.

A gripping and moving story about a misfit and awkward teen, Dill, who lives in a small community Bible belt Tennessee. When deals father becomes a hated figure, Dill cannot cope and relies on the support of his two best friends. A heart-rending and powerful story about forgiveness and redemption. A multi-award-winning novel about Starr Carter, a teenager who has one foot in the exclusive preppy world of her school and the other foot in the deprived book for 8th graders boys of her home.

When her best friend is shot by a police officer, she is the only person who knows what really happened. A startlingly powerful young adult novel. A great book to discuss in 8th grade reading clubs. Diverse Contemporary. A powerful psychological and unrelenting study of growing up in an abusive environment. When the protagonist, a year-old boy, realizes that his family is not all that it seems, he starts to rebel against his self-righteous preacher stepfather in this gritty landmark first novel set in Harlem.

Family Contemporary. When a scientist discovers a mysterious object on the Moon, mankind embarks on an expedition to the furthest reaches of space in search of an alien civilization. However, the voyage is a slowly building battle between man and computer, heading towards an inevitable catastrophe. Science fiction Classic. A disgraced naval officer redeems himself by protecting villagers from a local bandit.

Written as a series of manuscripts told by a third party, using time shifts, this is a great book for eighth-graders to study. Adventure Classic. A unique and genre-defying young adult novel that is perfectly suited to grade 8 book clubs. A more challenging read for grade 8 students, Life of Pi chronicles year-old Pi, the only survivor of a shipwreck.

His only companions in the lifeboat are a hyena, and orangutan, and a huge tiger. Memorable, and beautifully written. An inspirational and motivating book which is bound to appeal to middle school and junior high school students in grade 8. Extremely readable and popular, this five volume set is a great way to reignite the fire of reading in disenchanted teenagers.

Fantasy Romance. This is no ordinary historical story about dragons and heroes. Nimona is a classic graphic novel in the making — peppered with ironic observations and quick, pointed humor that will appeal to 8th grader readers. Stunningly illustrated. This study of what it is to be displaced and a refugee is a modern classic. This is a book that will stimulate discussion and debate in 8th grade reading groups.

Historical fiction. This multi-award-winning novel follows his journey in the face of discrimination and poverty.