Eighth graders can be a tough crowd to choose books for. They’re still middle schoolers but their taste in books is probably somewhere in between middle grade books and young adult novels. Therefore, this list of realistic fiction books for 8th graders includes a mix of middle grade and YA books! Whether your 8th graders like historical fiction, clean romance, K-dramas, thrillers, graphic novels, or verse novels, there’s a book for them on this list!
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20 Best Realistic Fiction Books for 8th Graders
Here are 20 of my favorite realistic fiction books for 8th graders:
The Fort
Published: June 28, 2022
Four eighth-grade buddies and a new tag-along (whom they’re reluctant to include) discover a posh underground bunker in the wake of a hurricane in their small town. CJ, Evan, Jason, Mitchell, and Ricky quickly begin to hang out at the fort for different reasons.
One of the boys is escaping an abusive step-parent, another is dodging his big brother and his bully of a friend, yet another loves to study there, while one just wants to stop hiding the hideout from his new girlfriend. When things get intense for the boys, their safe space becomes at risk of exposure — but maybe that’s the only way they can stay safe?
The Noh Family
Published: May 3, 2022
Chloe Chang lives a boring life in Oklahoma — with her busy single mom and her two best friends — where she loves watching K-dramas. But when her best friends gift her a 23-and-me test kit for her birthday, things take a dramatic turn. She finds out that her father was a son of the Noh family, a prestigious family in Seoul, South Korea and before she knows it, she’s off to meet them for the first time. Unfortunately, she’s thrust into a web of lies as she realizes that the family might have ulterior motives for reaching out to her.
My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding
Published: April 19, 2022
If your 8th grader likes wholesome young adult stories featuring big families and all the associated drama, this is one to have on your radar. Zurika Damani plays the violin with a sprinkle of hip hop and has just been rejected by Julliard. Her current options are to go to college for pre-law or compete in a contest judged by major college scouts (including Julliard scouts). The only problem is that the contest is during her big sister’s week-long Indian wedding.
Thankfully, her cousins band together to help her disappear during the ceremony without being discovered. But things get complicated when Zurika finds out that the group South African cousin is a fellow contestant. This is a rambunctious, chaotic story with plenty of family, music, and a swoony enemies-to-lovers romance.
The Liars Society
Published: February 6, 2024
Weatherby is a new kid to a Boston private school. She’s at the school on a sailing scholarship and immediately is thrust into a world she knew nothing about. Old school phone booths, scrambled phone service at school, friends with kids who go to the country club, and a boy who seems to hate her guts.
Jack is a rich kid at the school who is also on the sailing team who is constantly pressured by his father to be the best. When the money for a famed school trip is stolen, Jack, Weatherby, and some of their friends are invited to play a high-stakes secret game that leads to the revelation of shocking family secrets. This suspenseful mystery told from Jack’s and Weatherby’s perspectives is fast paced and high-stakes, perfect for the upper middle grade crowd.
Match Point
Published: September 19, 2023
Rosie’s dad wants her to play racquetball even though she says she wants no part and has no interest. He used to love it when he was a kid and he pushes Rosie to improve by constantly critiquing her game. But Rosie has a bad attitude about the sport because of the pressure he puts on her.
Blair is a new student with a warm family who are all into racquetball and Rosie wants her to compete in her behalf. But as Rosie hangs out with Blair’s family away from her father’s harsh supervision, she realizes what it means to play for fun.
10 Blind Dates
Published: October 1, 2019
Sophie is looking forward to getting time away from her parents for the holidays. They’re visiting her heavily pregnant sister over the holidays. But she’s especially happy because she’s looking forward to spend time with her boyfriend, Griffin. So she’s thrown for a loop when she overhears Griffin discussing his desire to break up with her — and then of course, she breaks up with him.
Sophie’s large family is very happy to have her with them for the holidays, particularly her cousins Olivia and Charlie whom she’s closest to. The family wants Sophie to enjoy the holidays and decide they will set her up on a date every day for the last 10 days of the year. 10 family members get to choose a different date — location, person, and all — for each day. She has the ability to decline one date.
In the midst of all the chaos, Sophie begins to rediscover her connection with Charlie’s friend, Wes.
The Many Meanings of Meilan
Published: August 17, 2021
After Meilan Hua’s Nai Nai dies, her extended family is split apart by a family feud with Meilan’s parents leaving Boston’s Chinatown to Redbud Ohio with her grieving grandfather. In Redbud, Meilan’s principal changes her name to Melanie, causing Meilan to delve into what her real name really means. As Meilan comes to value her name and all its meanings, she also dodges middle school bullies and works on a project than unites her and her grandfather. This is a unique story rich in connections to Chinese folktales and highlighting the importance of valuing one’s identity and fighting back against prejudice.
Bubble Trouble
Published: July 18, 2023
Since her mom died during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been just Chloe and her dad. She worries about their finances so when she has the chance to go on a school trip to Broadway, she’s hesitant to tell him. On a good note, there’s a boy she maybe likes? He works at a boba tea place in her neighborhood and things are going well until an altercation at the shop ends with Chloe being banned from the boba tea place.
What unfolds is a string of chaotic, surprising, and satisfying events including a boba making business, two lost lovers reuniting, and a new furry family member. This is a lighthearted, fun story that I think many kids are constantly looking for. It has many realistic elements but is ultimately a feel-good story with lots of information about making boba, being a good friend, and giving romance a chance.
The Davenports
Published: January 31, 2023
This is a full-on historical romance for teens, BUT it’s squeaky clean in terms of language and features four Black sisters who stumble into love in different ways. It’s also about the Davenport family business and features side characters who are dealing with compelling issues, like a maid trying to start a business and a best friend whose parents are forcing her to form a relationship with the Davenport’s only son. The Davenports is an exhilarating romance that manages to still be appropriate for older teens ages 12+
I Am Kavi
Published: September 19, 2023
It’s 1998 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In the middle of the Sri Lankan Civil War, Kavi is dealing with her own personal upheavals. Her mother has remarried her father’s best friend after his death and is expecting a new baby. Meanwhile Kavi is getting sent to the city on a scholarship to an elite private school. There, she starts telling lies of a life of wealth and grandeur– small at first, then bigger and bigger — to fit in with the rich kids, until she begins to lose herself.
I really liked this debut verse novel. The Sri Lankan setting was rich and full of history—especially one I’ve so rarely seen in middle grade literature. Readers will see that often life goes on in the midst of war. I also liked seeing Kavi’s growth as she came to understand her mother and stepfather.
We Still Belong
Published: August 1, 2023
We Still Belong follows young Wesley on one special Indigenous People’s Day, on which she plans to ask her crush to the Tolo dance. She’s also expecting the publication of her poem about Indigenous pride in the school newspaper. But suddenly, the day is not going to plan. Instead of her crush, she has a new lab partner, her English teacher doesn’t think her poem is all that great, and things may be changing at home.
The Queens of New York
Published: June 6, 2023
Jia, Everett, and Ariel are high school besties whose summer plans could not be any more different. Jia is a Chinese-American helping out at her family’s restaurant in Chinatown while looking after her little sister and grandmother. Everett is a Vietnamese-American off to theater camp in Ohio, while Ariel, the genius Korean-American is in pre-college grieving the death of her older sister months before.
As the summer progresses, all three girls will need their friendship to anchor them through the waves of grief, first loves, and standing up for yourself. I LOVED the depiction of friendship in this book and the way the author brings cities and characters to life. This YA book is free of profanity and other mature content, so it’s perfect for younger readers.
Alone
Published: January 12, 2021
Alone is Megan E. Freeman’s debut survival middle-grade novel in verse. It follows 12-year-old Maddie who gets abandoned by some twist of fate when her entire town is mysteriously evacuated. Left alone with no human in sight, she bonds with a Rottweiler named George who is one of many abandoned pets. Soon after, they lose power and then water and Maddie has to fend for herself using a variety of ingenious means and the town resources at her disposal, including an empty library, grocery store, neighbors’ homes — you get the picture.
Maddie is alone for months and has to safeguard herself from wild animals, terrible weather, and dangerous intruders, on top of the fear and loneliness of being all by herself.
The Lost Year
Published: December 27, 2022
It’s 2020, and Matthew is sick of being inside with the pandemic raging outside. While reluctantly helping his great-grandmother sort through her belongings, he finds a picture of two girls. As she shares her experience during the Ukrainian famine, the story alternates between three narrators: Matthew, Helena, and Mila. A powerful, unforgettable account of historical events.
Control Freaks
Published: June 13, 2023
As the kids in Benjamin Banneker College Prep compete in their STEAM contest, two of the boys navigate complicated familial changes. Doug and T.W. are sorta brothers. Doug’s dad is T.W.’s stepfather, and Doug has a stepdad of his own too. Both boys will need to build a relationship on their own even as Doug learns to balance having two different kinds of dads. This book offers not just strong STEAM depictions, but a heartwarming examination of the challenges some blended families face.
Barely Floating
Published: August 29, 2023
Nat is a chubby 12-year-old with major swimming skills and a fiery temper. After spotting The LA Mermaids, a synchronized swimming group at a neighborhood pool, Nat is convinced that it’s the sport for her. Her parents aren’t so sure. So Nat auditions for and joins the team behind their backs, getting her older cousin to take her to practice.
This book is compulsively readable, and Nat is a well-drawn, rarely represented type of female character with many flaws and a lot of confidence. She learns how to be a good friend and why it’s important to be honest. The author also delves into discourse about body image. Readers may also want to know that a side character is disowned by her parents after coming out as gay.
The Labors of Hercules Beal
Published: May 23, 2023
Herc Beal is the smallest kid in his class and has recently lost both parents in a car accident. His older brother is now his legal guardian after moving back home to take over their family business. Hercules is feeling particularly lost when he gets into a new middle school. So when his homeroom teacher at his new middle school gives him the assignment of duplicating the mythical Hercules’s amazing feats in real life, he’s skeptical. After all, there are no Nemean Lions on Cape Cod—and not a single Hydra in sight.
Missing his parents terribly and wishing his older brother wasn’t working all the time, Herc figures out how to take his first steps along the road that the great Hercules himself once walked. Soon, new friends, human and animal, are helping him. And though his mythical role model performed his twelve labors by himself, Herc begins to see that he may not have to go it alone.
Ultraviolet
Published: April 2, 2024
This is a 2024 verse novel that captured my heart from the first page. It’s about 8th grader Elio Solis who’s in the midst of his first real relationship with his girlfriend Camelia. His Pops is always reminding him to man up but when he gets into a fight for Camelia’s honor, he gets an unexpected lesson in consent, masculinity, and what it means to be a man. Pegged as Judy Blume for boys, I’m excited to see more readers experience this story.
What Happened to Rachel Riley?
Published: January 10, 2023
When Anna Hunt moves from Chicago to Wisconsin for her mother’s new job, she soon realizes that something’s off about her new eighth-grade class. One student, Rachel Riley, who was once popular is now treated as a social pariah. So when their English teacher assigns them an un-essay — which is an exploration of a topic in any other format besides an essay — Anna decides to investigate the question: What happened to Rachel Riley? Of course, the teacher rejects Anna’s topic despite her lawyer mom’s protests. But with some hesitant help from Rachel and some other schoolmates, Anna pieces together the mystery.
Give Me a Sign
Published: July 11, 2023
In Give Me a Sign, Lilah is a teen with hearing loss but who isn’t profoundly deaf. So she has always felt caught in the middle — not deaf enough to be part of the Deaf community and not fully hearing to fit in completely there either. But when she becomes a counselor at a summer camp for deaf and blind kids, her experiences (and the boy she falls in love with) change the way the views her disability.
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There they are: 20 of the best realistic fiction books for 8th graders! Which of these have you read and loved? What did I miss?
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