Florida 8th grade reading list

Books with a Florida citation for 8th grade include The Outsiders, Curlfriends: New in Town (a Graphic Novel) and The First State of Being. This list has 565 total books, 27 of them with a Florida-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1300L.

Top Florida 8th grade pick: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton — on 2 Florida lists

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Total books565Lexile410L–1300LSourceB.E.S.T. Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned on state lists: 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).

Our pick to start — most-cited for Florida 8th grade

These are the 27 titles named in Florida’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. The Outsiders

    S.E. Hinton

    Cited in 2 Florida curriculum documents, taught from grade 7 to 9. Covers class conflict, friendship and loyalty. At 750L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  2. Curlfriends: New in Town (a Graphic Novel)

    Sharee Miller

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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  3. The First State of Being

    Erin Entrada Kelly

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers friendship, identity and courage.

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  4. The Lost Year

    Katherine Marsh

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers family, history and perseverance.

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  5. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

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

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  6. Among the Hidden

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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  7. Brick Dust and Bones

    M.R. Fournet

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers courage, family and perseverance.

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  8. City Spies

    James Ponti

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  9. Confessions of a Class Clown

    Arianne Costner

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers friendship, humor and school.

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  10. Control Freaks

    J.E. Thomas

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers friendship, perseverance and school.

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  11. Curse of the Night Witch

    Alex Aster

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers series:emblem-island, fantasy and middle grade.

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  12. Fowl Play

    Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers mystery, family and grief.

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  13. Greetings from Witness Protection!

    Jake Burt

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers witnesses, protection and orphans.

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  14. Heroes

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers courage, friendship and history.

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  15. Invisible

    Christina Diaz Gonzalez

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  16. Legend

    Marie Lu

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers dystopia, justice and loyalty.

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  17. Mid-Air

    Alicia D. Williams

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers grief, friendship and growing up.

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  18. New Dragon City

    Mari Mancusi

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  19. Restart

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 Florida 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.

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  20. Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl

    Julie Kagawa

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers courage, perseverance and identity.

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  21. Simon Sort of Says

    Erin Bow

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers friendship, humor and courage.

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  22. Skyriders

    Polly Holyoke

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers courage, friendship and perseverance.

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  23. Stung

    Bethany Wiggins

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9.

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  24. The Neptune Project

    Polly Holyoke

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers environmental degradation, survival and genetic engineering.

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  25. The War That Saved My Life

    Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers war, resilience and disability. At 580L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  26. Touching Spirit Bear

    Ben Mikaelsen

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers survival, nature and courage.

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  27. Variant

    Robison Wells

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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27 books cited for Florida 8th grade

Assignments tied directly to Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards with a Florida-specific citation.

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538 additional grade-appropriate books for 8th grade readers

The 565-book total above includes 27 titles with direct Florida citation; these 538 additional titles cover 8th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Florida-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 538 titles

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Other Florida 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 · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois · Ohio

Browse 8th grade reading by theme

About the Florida 8th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in B.E.S.T. Standards with books from national sources that list titles for 8th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Golden Kite Award and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. ReadingList currently tracks 565 titles for 8th grade in Florida, of which 27 carry a direct Florida citation and 538 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 8th grade. 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 36 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 27 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.

Florida’s English Language Arts requirements are set by B.E.S.T. Standards (fldoe.org). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 8th grade list below blends Florida-specific assignments with widely taught national titles. 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 Florida-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

What books do 8th grade students read in Florida?
Books with a Florida-specific citation for 8th grade include The Outsiders, Curlfriends: New in Town (a Graphic Novel), The First State of Being, The Lost Year and When Stars Are Scattered. Individual schools and districts choose their own titles, so check with your child's teacher for the exact list.
How many books are assigned to 8th grade students in Florida?
This list has 565 books for 8th grade students in Florida. 27 of them have a Florida-specific citation; the other 538 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 8th grade reading in Florida?
Lexile measures across the 8th grade Florida 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?
Florida-specific entries reference B.E.S.T. Standards (published at www.fldoe.org). The other books come from national sources that list books for 8th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Golden Kite Award and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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State-specific entries sourced from www.fldoe.org. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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