Maine 8th grade reading list

Books with a Maine citation for 8th grade include New Kid, Smile and The Hunger Games. This list has 579 total books, 44 of them with a Maine-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1300L.

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

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Total books579Lexile410L–1300LSourceMaine Learning Results✓ 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 Maine 8th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Maine’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 Maine 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 Maine 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 Maine 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. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers running, family violence and mentorship. At 730L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  5. Puzzleheart

    Jenn Reese

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers mystery, family and puzzles.

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  6. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Maine 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 Giver

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers conformity vs individuality, memory, utopia and dystopia. At 760L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  8. A Game of Noctis

    Deva Fagan

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers adventure, ambition and fantasy.

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  9. Amir and the Jinn Princess

    M. T. Khan

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers fantasy, family and courage.

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  10. Between Two Brothers

    Crystal Allen

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers family, brothers and grief.

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  11. Boy 2.0

    Tracey Baptiste

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers identity, family and adventure.

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  12. Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody

    Patrick Ness

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers friendship, school and humor.

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  13. Code Name Kingfisher

    Liz Kessler

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers history, courage and family.

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  14. Evidence! How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Cholera

    Deborah Hopkinson

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers science, history and biography.

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  15. Falling Up

    Shel Silverstein

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

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  16. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    J. K. Rowling

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers fantasy fiction, orphans and foster homes.

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  17. Impossible Creatures

    Katherine Rundell

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers fantasy, courage and friendship.

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  18. Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness

    Donn Fendler

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

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  19. Love That Dog

    Sharon Creech

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers poetry, fiction, poetry and authorship.

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  20. Math Curse

    Jon Scieszka

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers mathematics, schools and math anxiety.

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  21. Maxi’s Secrets: (Or, What You Can Learn from a Dog)

    Lynn Plourde

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  22. Mid-Air

    Alicia D. Williams

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

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  23. Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens

    Rebecca E. Barone

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers science, history and survival.

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  24. Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic

    Candace Fleming

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers nature, science and animals.

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  25. Not Nothing

    Gayle Forman

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers redemption, friendship and history.

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  26. Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle

    Brian Dennis

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

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  27. Once They See You: 13 Stories to Shiver and Shock

    Josh Allen

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers horror, short stories and suspense.

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  28. Pink and Say

    Patricia Polacco

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers united states, united states civil war, 1861-1865 and friendship.

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  29. Popcorn

    Rob Harrell

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers anxiety, school and humor.

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  30. Primer

    Jennifer Muro

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers graphic novel, superhero’s and dc.

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44 books cited for Maine 8th grade

Assignments tied directly to Maine’s Maine Learning Results with a Maine-specific citation.

Show all 44 titles

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535 additional grade-appropriate books for 8th grade readers

The 579-book total above includes 44 titles with direct Maine citation; these 535 additional titles cover 8th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Maine-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 535 titles

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Other Maine 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 Maine 8th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Maine Learning Results 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 Maine, of which 44 carry a direct Maine citation and 535 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 33 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 24 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.

Maine’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Maine Learning Results (maine.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 8th grade list below blends Maine-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 Maine-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 Maine?
Books with a Maine-specific citation for 8th grade include New Kid, Smile, The Hunger Games, Ghost and Puzzleheart. 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 Maine?
This list has 579 books for 8th grade students in Maine. 44 of them have a Maine-specific citation; the other 535 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 8th grade reading in Maine?
Lexile measures across the 8th grade Maine 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?
Maine-specific entries reference Maine Learning Results (published at www.maine.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.maine.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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