High-Interest Books I Recommend for 8th Grade Boys

Five private school teen boys go target shooting, and one of them ends up dead, shot by his own gun — with the fingerprints of all four friends on the gun. All the boys claim they don’t know what happened. The story is told from two perspectives: that of the unknown killer and that of a schoolmate, Kate, in the new public school the boys attend. As things progress, it seems nothing is as it seems, both with Kate and with the boys in question, and Kate gets more involved as the stakes get higher in finding the killer. This Is Our Story is a gripping mystery for fans of McManus’s One of Us Is Lying that tackles pressing contemporary issues.

When Calvin and his parents move from Chicago to the Levittown suburbs in Pennsylvania, he’s torn between leaving his culture and older brother behind in the black neighborhoods and assimilating into the all-white neighborhood. Meeting and falling for the new black girl in his town doesn’t help as he finds himself caught up in organizing to get more Black teens into his school. But things quickly turn dangerous for him and his friends as loyalties are tested across the board. The Color of the Lie is a propulsive YA coming-of-age historical fiction/thriller that examines racial passing in the 1950s.

Jay Murphy is just trying to do right by his grandmother, who’s been raising him and his older sister Nic since his father’s death and his mother’s imprisonment for a drug-related offense. But then Nic, who’s been hanging with the wrong crowd, goes missing. It’s up to Jay to follow the clues, question the right people, and find law enforcement officers who will listen to a kid like him — all to find Nic. I was hooked from the first word, and I loved Jay’s character, his friendship with Bowie, and the romance that blossomed between him and Alexis. (Some language.)

What if Nazi Germany won WWII? That’s the chilling question this time-travel thriller explores. Two sets of a friendship trio — one in 2023 and the other in 1944 — discover that they can communicate over a radio device present in both timelines. As the two groups figure out the differences in their timelines while trying to avoid making any changes to history, they discover that they’ve unwittingly made an enormously impactful change with shocking consequences. Westfallen is a chilling exploration of a terrifying alternate reality for fans of high-action time travel fiction.

I was skeptical (as I am of all superhero stories) of this book, especially because I thought it was more supernatural than sci-fi. But I’m happy to report that I was hooked from the very first chapter of the audiobook. Coal is a foster kid taken in by the boisterous McKay family when his foster parent has a mental breakdown. Not long after, he realizes that his skin has camouflaging abilities, essentially making him invisible. This is more than a superhero origin story with plenty of family humor (for fans of The Vanderbeekers), lots of male friendship banter, musings on the foster care system, and a heartwarming ode to Black history and culture. I can’t wait for book two, and I expect young, hesitant readers to love this if they crack open the first couple of pages. 

Castle Cranshaw, aka Ghost, hasn’t had an easy life, but when he stumbles upon some kids training on a race track on his way home from school, he doesn’t know that his life is about to change. With a coach who demands better of him and new teammates who aren’t as easy to win over, Ghost may just be one step closer to healing from his traumatic past. Ghost is a fast-paced, voice-y sports story about determination and community that gets Reynolds’ Track series off to an impeccable start.

This is an incredible (mostly) verse novel about a boy who vandalizes a gravestone of a 46er Adirondack woman and is tasked with hiking all 46 peaks as reparations. I read this one from start to finish in a single day, and I loved the multiple formats — written in posters, pictures, text messages, letters, recipes, and yes, verse. Finn is angry a lot, and the hike introduces him to people who knew his dad and a slobbery dog, Seymour. This one combines adventure, heart, mystery, suspense, and flashbacks beautifully. It’s just really clever, has a strong kid appeal, and is full of emotional depth.

After 12-year-old Atlas’s mother dies, he and his father throw themselves into mountain climbing as a way to manage their grief. When Atlas’s father joins an expedition to conquer Mount Everest, Atlas sees it as his chance to prove himself. However, his father has other ideas. Left at base camp with a young American girl and an injured Sherpa, Atlas must navigate Everest’s brutal elements to rescue the team after an avalanche strikes. A Nazi subplot turns this survival tale into a historical thriller, perfect for kids who want their history served alongside an incredible adventure.

It’s 2016, and Kareem is a Syrian-American football fan who really wants to play on his middle school team but flunks his tryouts. The coach’s son, Austin, then tells Kareem that he can help him get in with the team if he helps him with his homework and some schoolwork, too. Kareem also generally wants to stay on Austin’s good side and so is afraid to stand up to him when Austin starts bullying a new Syrian immigrant whose family is friends with Kareem’s. Then things go haywire when Kareem’s mother has to go to Syria to get her parents to the US, and Trump’s order bans flights from Syria and some other predominantly Muslim countries. Kareem Between is a powerful coming-of-age story about standing up for what is right.

Whether or not they’ve read The Hunger Games series, I can see so many 8th graders enjoying this prequel. It stands on its own, providing enough background information so that readers don’t need to have read the rest of the books to enjoy it. Sunrise on the Reaping follows 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, who is reaped on his birthday and has to fight to survive during the 50th Hunger Games. As with the rest of these books, it’s high suspense with impeccable character development, and if they haven’t read the other books, you’ve opened the door to a complete series!

This YA novel is set in a dystopian world where every part of the earth is living with frigid temperatures except for Snowglobe–akin to The Capitol in the Hunger Games. While residents of all the other settlements work hard to generate resources for Snowglobe, its inhabitants live life under the camera lens, their lives fodder for reality TV and controlled by prestigious directors. When the star of one of the most popular shows dies, another girl outside Snowglobe who resembles her eerily is recruited to take her place, opening a can of worms about the unethical misuse of power in Snowglobe. Snowglobe is a twisty dystopian thriller for fans of The Hunger Games series that expertly combines elements of a thriller, dystopian fiction, and a mystery subplot while also meditating on privacy, ethics, and reality television. 

This dystopian YA book is at once chilling, thought-provoking, and compulsively readable. Set in a world where humans have conquered sickness, death, and all threats to life but now have appointed scythes to manage the population by gleaning humans periodically, this book follows two unwilling teens selected as apprentice scythes and their journey to attaining the position — or will they? 

Incredibly emotive and authentic writing from Saadia Faruqi in this book about a teenage boy whose father is living with schizophrenia. Mo’s mother is serving a UNESCO mission and has left Mo and his dad to move in with Mo’s aunt and her son. Mo quickly bonds with Rayyan, his cousin, and becomes his defender against a bully, Frankie. But as Mo’s father’s episodes worsen, he realizes the need to rely on others, allow his heart to be vulnerable, and find a way to love his father, even though he seems monstrous at times. This book is just phenomenal. I’ve followed Faruqi’s writing over the years, and this is her best work yet. Mo is realistically drawn with a distinct voice. He is angsty and tries so hard to seem tough, but readers will easily see through that tough exterior. The voice reminds me a lot of Jason Reynolds’ Ghost, and the focus on mental illness is much-needed, so honest and utterly moving.

Some readers may know Connor as Aven Green’s bestie from the book Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, but he’s all grown up in this standalone novel. Connor is entering his first year of high school in a new town where he’s friendless. His dad, who was unkind to him in the past, is also trying to re-enter his life. With all the changes, Connor still has to manage his Tourette’s tics, while trying to find and keep new friends and handle a school bully. This story is tender, relatable, and mature in a way that will appeal to older middle grade readers and young high schoolers.

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 Fort is a realistic, suspense-filled, and heartwarming middle grade book about male friendships, history, and domestic violence.

This is a FANTASTIC graphic memoir about Tyler Page’s life with ADHD. Early on, his parents realized that Tyler couldn’t seem to stay focused. He acts out in class, is impulsive, and often distracts his classmates. He can’t finish his work in time, even though he’s smart and creative. Most intriguing, he doesn’t actually want to cause trouble but can’t stop himself. Tyler is eventually diagnosed with ADHD and gets on medication for it. I loved seeing his depiction of the way ADHD affects his life and how the medication changes it. We also learn a lot about his family and how life as a teenager changes his relationship with his ADHD meds. The book also includes back matter at the end of every chapter, providing more information (in graphics still) about ADHD.

A First Time for Everything is Dan Santat’s new graphic memoir about his school trip to Europe at the end of middle school. Middle school Dan is shy and socially awkward. He spends most of his time helping his mom, who has Lupus, and gets made fun of a bit by some girls in his grade. Thankfully, his parents are determined that he sees the world, and they support his Europe trip. As they visit Germany, France, Switzerland, and England, Dan is swept up in many, many firsts, making for a life-changing trip. A First Time for Everything is a stellar, relatable graphic novel about growing up, wading through the awkward tween years, and finding one’s voice. 

Five different students have yet to complete their community service for a school offense and must explain why (as well as what they did) to their principal. Thus, these five seemingly socially invisible kids each share from their perspectives how they got in trouble — and readers are definitely in for a ride. There’s George, the smart kid who is Latino but can’t speak Spanish; Sara, the loner; Dayara, the tough kid, Miguel, the baseball player; and Nico, the rich kid. The story is told in Spanish and English. This is a powerful, heartwarming graphic novel about immigration, homelessness, racism, and finding your tribe.

Thanks to their dad, Josh and his twin brother, Jordan, are kings on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood—he’s got mad beats, too, which help him find his rhythm when it’s all on the line. As their winning season unfolds, things begin to change. When Jordan meets a girl, the twins’ bond unravels. This is an utterly moving novel in verse.

In this powerful, inspiring narrative about his high school’s basketball team, graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang turns his pen to nonfiction. Yang, who is a high school teacher, becomes inspired by the meteoric, potentially historic run of the men’s varsity basketball team. When he decides to interview them, he realizes that each player, as well as the team’s history itself, has a fascinating personal story that might even be bigger than just one basketball season.