New Jersey 8th grade reading list

Books with a New Jersey citation for 8th grade include Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold), New Kid and When You Reach Me. This list has 548 total books, 25 of them with a New Jersey-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1300L.

Top New Jersey 8th grade pick: Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold) by Christopher Paul Curtis — on 1 New Jersey list

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Total books548Lexile410L–1300LSourceNJ Student Learning 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 New Jersey 8th grade

These are the 25 titles named in New Jersey’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. Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold)

    Christopher Paul Curtis

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 5 to 8.

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  2. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 New Jersey 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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  3. When You Reach Me

    Rebecca Stead

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers time travel (speculative), friendship and 1970s NYC. At 750L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  4. A Snicker of Magic (Scholastic Gold)

    Natalie Lloyd

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 10.

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  5. Alchemy and Meggy Swann

    Karen Cushman

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 10.

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  6. Aru Shah and the End of Time

    Roshani Chokshi

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 12.

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  7. Chinese Menu

    Grace Lin

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 10.

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  8. Clementine

    Sara Pennypacker

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

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

    Sharee Miller

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

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  10. Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

    Laurie Ann Thompson

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 10.

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  11. Iron Hearted Violet

    Kelly Barnhill

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 12.

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  12. Noah Webster and His Words

    Jeri Ferris

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 10.

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  13. P.S. Be Eleven

    Rita Williams-Garcia

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8.

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  14. Root Magic

    Eden Royce

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 12.

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  15. Savvy

    Ingrid Law

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 12.

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  16. Stella Díaz Has Something to Say

    Angela Dominguez

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

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  17. The Lost Year

    Katherine Marsh

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

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  18. The Wall

    Peter Sís

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 9.

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  19. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

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

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  20. Class Act

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race, friendship and class.

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  21. Duel

    Jessixa Bagley

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers grief, sisters and family.

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  22. Good Different

    Meg Eden Kuyatt

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers neurodiversity, identity and acceptance.

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  23. Roll for Initiative

    Jaime Formato

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers friendship, anxiety and gaming.

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  24. Simon Sort of Says

    Erin Bow

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

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  25. The War I Finally Won

    Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers WWII, healing and family.

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25 books cited for New Jersey 8th grade

Assignments tied directly to New Jersey’s NJ Student Learning Standards with a New Jersey-specific citation.

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523 additional grade-appropriate books for 8th grade readers

The 548-book total above includes 25 titles with direct New Jersey citation; these 523 additional titles cover 8th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a New Jersey-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

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Other New Jersey 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

Browse 8th grade reading by theme

About the New Jersey 8th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in NJ Student Learning 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 548 titles for 8th grade in New Jersey, of which 25 carry a direct New Jersey citation and 523 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.

New Jersey’s English Language Arts requirements are set by NJ Student Learning Standards (nj.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 8th grade list below blends New Jersey-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 New Jersey-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 New Jersey?
Books with a New Jersey-specific citation for 8th grade include Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold), New Kid, When You Reach Me, A Snicker of Magic (Scholastic Gold) and Alchemy and Meggy Swann. 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 New Jersey?
This list has 548 books for 8th grade students in New Jersey. 25 of them have a New Jersey-specific citation; the other 523 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 8th grade reading in New Jersey?
Lexile measures across the 8th grade New Jersey 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?
New Jersey-specific entries reference NJ Student Learning Standards (published at www.nj.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.nj.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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