LibGuides: 2025 FWCD Summer Reading: Grade 8

8th Grade Summer Reading 2025

Summer Reading for Students Entering the 8th Grade

· All students will read Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive--Adapted for Young Adults by Laura Hillenbrand and take the AR quiz. Students must purchase their own in hand copy of Unbroken to use in class once school resumes. Students will not be able to use an ebook in class.

· In addition to the required book, students will read and take AR quizzes to total 12 points. That could be one 12 point or higher book or it could be any combination grade level books. Go to AR Bookfinder to check books for a quiz and AR point values.

· Quizzes will be taken at school in the Moncrief Library. The Moncrief Library will be open most Wednesdays from 10:00 - 1:00.

· All AR quizzes are due Wednesday, August 27, 2025.

Required book

Unbroken (the Young Adult Adaptation) by Laura Hillenbrand
ISBN: 0385742517
Publication Date: 2014-11-11
A biography of Olympic runner and World War II bombardier, Louis Zamperini, who had been rambunctious in childhood before succeeding in track and eventually serving in the military, which led to a trial in which he was forced to find a way to survive in the open ocean after being shot down.

Need suggestions?

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston
ISBN: 9781368027496
Publication Date: 2019-10-01
Rom-com
After an unexpected breakup, seventeen-year-old Sophie lets members of her large, eccentric extended family set her up on ten blind dates during Christmas vacation.
Alabama Moon by Watt Key
ISBN: 9780312644802
Publication Date: 2010-08-03
Adventure survival
After the death of his father, ten-year-old Moon Blake is removed from the Alabama forest where he was raised and sent to a boy's home, where, for the first time, he has contact with the outside world and learns about friendship, love, and humanity.
Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly
ISBN: 9781338809442
Publication Date: 2024-05-07
Fantasy
When handsome thief Beau enters the castle that appeared out of nowhere he finds himself trapped in Arabella's curse, which can only be broken if she finds a boy who loves her for her true self--a seeming impossibility for a girl who has been told she is impossible to love.
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys; Steve Sheinkin
ISBN: 9780593527542
Publication Date: 2024-10-08
Historical fiction
In the summer of 1940, siblings Jakob and Lizzie Novis find themselves at Bletchley Park, where Jakob works to crack Nazi codes while Lizzie investigates the mysterious disappearance of their mother, only to discover that the two mysteries are intertwined.
Borrow My Heart by Kasie West
ISBN: 9780593643259
Publication Date: 2023-06-13
Romance
Wren is a control freak who lives by a set of rules that help her navigate life. When she meets Asher, who is being catfished by an online crush, Wren makes her first impulsive decision and pretends to be that girl to save Asher from embarrassment. Now she's fake-dating a boy she doesn't even know and they are having a great time breaking all of Wren's rules for life. But as things progress, Wren worries that he won't forgive her if he find out she's been lying about her identity.
The Downstairs Girl: Reese's YA Book Club by Stacey Lee
ISBN: 9781524740955
Publication Date: 2019-08-13
Historical fiction
1890, Atlanta. By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the cruel Caroline Payne, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for 'the genteel Southern lady.
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
ISBN: 9780375830990
Publication Date: 2005-02-08
Mystery

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.
That's when the first ace arrives in the mail. That's when Ed becomes the messenger.
In the Same Boat by Holly Green
ISBN: 9781338726633
Publication Date: 2021-07-20
Adventure
Sadie Scofield is entered in the Texas River Odyssey, 260 miles of brutal canoeing, but a chance to finally make up for ruining her father's chance of winning the previous year; but her brother Tanner suddenly opts to paddle for a different team, and she is left with Cully, a young man who was her best friend years ago, but no longer--260 miles in the same boat to sort out her relationship with the boy she once tried to defend from his abusive father and discover the truth about their feuding families.
Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
ISBN: 9780451477538
Publication Date: 2016-03-08
Fantasy

"Amani is desperate to leave the dead-end town of Dustwalk, and she's counting on her sharpshooting skills to help her escape. But after she meets Jin, the mysterious rebel running from the Sultan's army, she unlocks the powerful truth about the desert nation of Miraji...and herself.
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
ISBN: 9780142406113
Publication Date: 2006-02-16
Adventure
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.
Sweetest Darkness by Leslie Lutz
ISBN: 9780823454945
Publication Date: 2024-09-24
Horror
When fifteen-year-old clairvoyant Quinn enters the dark halls of an abandoned hotel with his friends, he accidentally unleashes a ruthless entity that threatens to wipe out his small Texas town.
Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt
ISBN: 9780618927661
Publication Date: 2008-04-21
Realistic fiction
Fourteen-year-old Henry, wishing to honor his brother Franklin's dying wish, sets out to hike Maine's Mount Katahdin with his best friend and dog. But fate adds another companion--the Cambodian refugee accused of fatally injuring Franklin--and reveals troubles that predate the accident.
The War Outside by Monica Hesse
ISBN: 9780316316699
Publication Date: 2018-09-25
Historical fiction
Teens Haruko, a Japanese American, and Margot, a German American, form a life-changing friendship as everything around them starts falling apart in the Crystal City family internment camp during World War II.