8th grade Realistic Fiction books
73 books in the realistic fiction genre commonly assigned to 8th gradestudents — every title’s grade range covers 8th grade, so each is grade-appropriate by curriculum placement. Each links to its reading level, themes, and the curricula that cite it.
Reading difficulty: the typical 8th grade text-complexity band is 925–1185L (Common Core Appendix A). Of the 1 realistic fiction titles here with a Lexile score, 0 are grade-level, 1 is more accessible, and 0 are stretch texts. Match a book to your reader’s measured Lexile rather than to the grade alone.
73 8th grade realistic fiction books
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A Boy Named QueenSara Cassidy
Amal UnboundAisha Saeed
Ava and PipCarol Weston
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous JobWillo Davis Roberts
BacklashSarah Darer Littman
Becoming Muhammad AliJames Patterson
Black Brother, Black BrotherJewell Parker Rhodes
City of ThievesAlex London
Counting by 7sHolly Goldberg Sloan
Donut Feed the SquirrelsMika Song
Dragon RiderCornelia Funke
Drive-ByLynne Ewing
Drums, Girls & Dangerous PieJordan Sonnenblick- Forged by FireSharon M. DraperForged by FireSharon M. Draper
Genesis Begins AgainAlicia D. Williams
GhostJason Reynolds · 730L
Here Comes the Garbage BargeJonah Winter
HostageWillo Davis Roberts
How to Stay InvisibleMaggie C. Rudd
HummingbirdNatalie Lloyd
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the WorldKatherine Hannigan
Just GusMcCall Hoyle
Lawn BoyGary Paulsen
LochPaul Zindel
Show all 73 titles
- Look Both Ways · Jason Reynolds
- Lulu's Mysterious Mission · Judith Viorst
- Math Curse · Jon Scieszka
- Mick Harte Was Here · Barbara Park
- My Explosive Diary · Emily Gale
- No Talking · Andrew Clements
- Orbiting Jupiter · Gary D. Schmidt
- Posted · John David Anderson
- Prisoner B-3087 · Alan Gratz
- Project Mulberry · Linda Sue Park
- Romiette and Julio · Sharon M. Draper
- Ruby Lost and Found · Christina Li
- Saving Winslow · Sharon Creech
- Saving Zasha · Randi G. Barrow
- Say What? · Margaret Peterson Haddix
- Schooled · Gordon Korman
- Sharing Susan · Eve Bunting
- Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You · Barthe DeClements
- So B. It · Sarah Weeks
- Star in the Storm · Joan Hiatt Harlow
- Stargirl · Jerry Spinelli
- Stepping Up · Mark Fink
- Stuck in Neutral · Terry Trueman
- Summer Vamp · Violet Chan Karim
- Surviving the Applewhites · Stephanie S. Tolan
- Swing · Audrey Meeker
- Tangerine · Edward Bloor
- The Aquanaut · Dan Santat
- The Boys Start the War · Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
- The Golden Hour · Niki Smith
- The Gollywhopper Games · Jody Feldman
- The Honest Truth · Dan Gemeinhart
- The Library of Ever · Zeno Alexander
- The Perfect Score · Rob Buyea
- The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise · Dan Gemeinhart
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants · Ann Brashares
- The Stranger Next Door · Peg Kehret
- The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman · Gennifer Choldenko
- Togo · Robert J. Blake
- Touching Spirit Bear · Ben Mikaelsen
- Ungifted · Gordon Korman
- Weslandia · Paul Fleischman
- When Zachary Beaver Came to Town · Kimberly Willis Holt
- When the Wolves Returned · Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
- Zach's Lie · Roland Smith
- Zen and the Art of Faking It · Jordan Sonnenblick
- Zeus, Dog of Chaos · Kristin O'Donnell Tubb
- Zia Erases the World · Bree Barton
- ¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat · Raúl the Third III
Realistic Fiction books at other grades
2nd grade · 3rd grade · 4th grade · 5th grade · 6th grade · 7th grade · 9th grade · 10th grade
Other 8th grade genres
Children's · Science Fiction & Fantasy · Historical Fiction · Middle Grade Fiction · Fantasy · Adventure · Mystery · Young Adult Fiction
← Full 8th grade reading list · All realistic fictionbooks →
Frequently asked questions
What realistic fiction books are good for 8th grade students?
73 realistic fiction books have a grade range that covers 8th grade and are assigned across US-school curricula — Common Core exemplars, AP, IB, Cambridge, and state ELA standards. Each title on this page links to its full curriculum citations and reading level.
Are these realistic fiction books grade-appropriate for 8th grade?
Every title's grade range covers 8th grade. The typical 8th grade text-complexity band is 925–1185L (Common Core Appendix A); of the 1 books here with a Lexile score, 0 are grade-level, 1 more accessible, and 0 a stretch. Match a book to your reader's measured Lexile rather than to the grade alone.
How many realistic fiction books are on the 8th grade list?
This page lists 73 8th grade realistic fiction titles, ordered alphabetically. The list expands as more curriculum references are verified.
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