Indiana 8th grade reading list

Books with an Indiana citation for 8th grade include New Kid, Smile and The Hunger Games. This list has 579 total books, 45 of them with an Indiana-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1300L.

Top Indiana 8th grade pick: New Kid by Jerry Craft — on 1 Indiana list

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Total books579Lexile410L–1300LSourceIndiana Academic 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 Indiana 8th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Indiana’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 Indiana curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

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  2. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers growing up, friendship and self-acceptance. At 410L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  3. The Hunger Games

    Suzanne Collins

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 2 national references, 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.

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  4. Forged by Fire

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers abuse, family and resilience.

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  5. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, resilience and self-reliance. At 1020L it falls inside the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  6. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers refugees, survival and family. At 800L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  7. The House of the Scorpion

    Nancy Farmer

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers identity, freedom and cloning.

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  8. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

    Ann Brashares

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers friendship, growing up and family.

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  9. A Deadly Game of Magic

    Joan Lowery Nixon

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers mystery and detective stories, magic tricks, murder.

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  10. Among the Hidden

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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  11. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers puberty, menarche and christians.

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  12. Cardboard

    Doug TenNapel

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

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  13. Cryptid Hunters

    Roland Smith

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, mystery and family.

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  14. Don't Hurt Laurie

    Willo Davis Roberts

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers child abuse, child abuse, fiction, parent and child, fiction.

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  15. Don't Look Behind You

    Lois Duncan

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers detective and mystery stories, mystery and detective stories, household moving.

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  16. Harris and Me

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers farm life, cousins and boys.

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  17. Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library

    Eth Clifford

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers libraries, blizzards, adventure and adventurers, fiction.

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  18. How to Eat Fried Worms

    Thomas Rockwell

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers humor, friendship and school.

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  19. Jelly Belly

    Robert Kimmel Smith

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers weight control and weight loss.

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  20. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

    Richard Paul Evans

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers powers, friendship and courage.

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  21. Mick Harte Was Here

    Barbara Park

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

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  22. Nightjohn

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers slavery, manfred mann and freundschaft.

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  23. Operation: Dump the Chump

    Barbara Park

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8.

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  24. Orbiting Jupiter

    Gary D. Schmidt

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

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  25. Restart

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 Indiana 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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  26. Romiette and Julio

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers love, prejudice and courage.

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  27. Scythe

    Neal Shusterman

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 12. Covers mortality, power and ethics.

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  28. So B. It

    Sarah Weeks

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, identity and journey.

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  29. Stargirl

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers individuality, conformity and first love.

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  30. Stranger with My Face

    Lois Duncan

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers astral projection, twins, mystery and detective stories.

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45 books cited for Indiana 8th grade

Assignments tied directly to Indiana’s Indiana Academic Standards with a Indiana-specific citation.

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534 additional grade-appropriate books for 8th grade readers

The 579-book total above includes 45 titles with direct Indiana citation; these 534 additional titles cover 8th grade in the broader canon. They don't have an Indiana-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

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Other Indiana 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

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About the Indiana 8th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Indiana Academic 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 579 titles for 8th grade in Indiana, of which 45 carry a direct Indiana citation and 534 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 34 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 25 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.

Indiana’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Indiana Academic Standards (in.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 8th grade list below blends Indiana-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 Indiana-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 Indiana?
Books with an Indiana-specific citation for 8th grade include New Kid, Smile, The Hunger Games, Forged by Fire and Hatchet. 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 Indiana?
This list has 579 books for 8th grade students in Indiana. 45 of them have an Indiana-specific citation; the other 534 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 8th grade reading in Indiana?
Lexile measures across the 8th grade Indiana 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?
Indiana-specific entries reference Indiana Academic Standards (published at www.in.gov). 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.in.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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