AMS Summer Reading List: Grade 8

Looking for to give your middle schooler a good read this summer? Look no further.

The Amherst Middle School library has a suggestd reading list that is sure to include a great book to capture your child's imagination. There is also plenty of great nonfiction (NF) and graphic novels (GN) to comb through.

Got a suggestion for a great book? Let everybody know in the comments below! Also, if your student has already read one of these books, tell us what they thought.

Great Summer Reads For 8th Graders

GN) Brosgol, Vera: Anya’s Ghost

Anya, embarrassed by her Russian immigrant family and self-conscious about her body, has given up on fitting in at school but falling down a well and making friends with the ghost there just may be worse.

Carter, Ally: Heist Society

A group of teenagers uses their combined talents to re-steal several priceless paintings and save fifteen-year-old Kat Bishop's father, himself an international art thief, from a vengeful collector. Next read Uncommon Criminals.

Condie, Ally: Matched

All her life, Cassia has never had a choice. The Society dictates everything: when and how to play, where to work, where to live, what to eat and wear, when to die, and most importantly to Cassia as she turns 17, whom to marry. When she is Matched with her best friend Xander, things couldn't be more perfect. But why did her neighbor Ky's face show up on her match disk as well? If you like this book, read Crossed.

Dashner, James: The Maze Runner

Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community of boys in which he finds himself if he is to escape. Followed by The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure.

Detorie, Rick: The Accidental Genius of Weasel High

Larkin Pace, a film-obsessed high school freshman, chronicles his experiences as he tries to raise money for a new camcorder and get a date with the girl who has been his best friend since third grade.

Fisher, Catherine: Incarceron

To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape. Next read Sapphique.

NF) Hoose, Phillip M. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

Discover fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin, an African-American girl who refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa Parks, and covers her role in a crucial civil rights case.

Lowry, Lois: The Giver

Given his lifetime assignment, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives. Followed by Gathering Blue and Messenger.

Lupica, Mike: The Million-Dollar Throw

Eighth-grade star quarterback Nate Brodie's family is feeling the stress of the troubled economy, and Nate is frantic because his best friend Abby is going blind, so when he gets a chance to win a million dollars if he can complete a pass during the halftime of a New England Patriot's game, he is nearly overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed.

McCaughrean, Geraldine: The Death-Defying Pepper Roux

Having been raised believing he will die before he reaches the age of fourteen, Pepper Roux runs away on his fourteenth birthday in an attempt to elude his fate, assumes another identity, and continues to try to outrun death, no matter the consequence.

Murdock, Catherine: Gilbert Princess Ben

A girl is transformed, through instruction in life at court, determination, and magic, from sullen, pudgy, graceless Ben into Crown Princess Benevolence, a fit ruler of the kingdom of Montagne as it faces war with neighboring Drachensbett. If you like this book, read The False Princess by Eilis O’Neal.

Oliver, Lauren: Delirium

Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, she falls in love.

GF) O’Connor, George Zeus: King of the Gods

Retells in graphic novel format stories from Greek mythology about the exploits of the young Zeus and how he rallied an army and overthrew his father, Kronos, to become king of the gods.

Oppel, Kenneth: Half Brother

In 1973, when a renowned Canadian behavioral psychologist pursues his latest research project--an experiment to determine whether chimpanzees can acquire advanced language skills--he brings home a baby chimp named Zan and asks his thirteen-year-old son to treat Zan like a little brother.

Paulsen, Gary: Woods Runner

From his 1776 Pennsylvania homestead, thirteen-year-old Samuel, who is a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from the band of British soldiers and Indians who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community. Includes historical notes

Schulman, Polly: The Grimm Legacy

New York high school student Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the "New-York Circulating Material Repository," and when she gains coveted access to its Grimm Collection of magical objects, she and the other pages are drawn into a series of frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods.

Sonnenblick, Jordan: After Ever After

Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend, Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome aftereffects of their cancer treatments in preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen, who is studying drums in Africa.

NF) St. George, Judith John and Abigail Adams: An American Love Story

John Adams, second president of the United States, is known more for his political thoughts and ideas than for his deeds. As the title suggests, this book highlights his relationship with his wife.

NF) Walker, Sally M. Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland

Forensic scientists are excavating grave sites in James Fort, in Jamestown, Virginia, to understand who lived in the Chesapeake Bay area in the 1600s and 1700s. Discover what they find about the lives of a teenage boy, a ship's captain, a colonial officer, an African slave girl, and others.

Wooding, Chris: Malice

Fans Luke, Seth, and Kady have read all about the sinister world in which the villainous Tall Jake resides, but they learn more about it than they ever wanted when they are suddenly pulled into the pages of their comic book. Next come Havoc.

2041: Twelve Stories About the Future by Top Science Fiction Writers

Selected and edited by Jane Yolen Twelve fictional stories about school life, fads, inventions, and cultural activities in the future by such authors as Connie Willis, Peg Kerr, and Bruce Coville.