8th & 9th Grade Good Reads

Amal Unbound book cover

Amal Unbound
Aisha Saeed

Set in Pakistan, this middle-grade debut from the author of Written in the Stars tells the compelling story of a girl's fight to regain her life and dreams after being forced into indentured servitude to pay off her family's debt.
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Piecing Me Together book cover

Piecing Me Together
Renée Watson

A timely and powerful story about a teen girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it's trying to break her.
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Skyward: Claim the Stars book cover

Skyward: Claim the Stars
Brandon Sanderson

When a long-term attack against her world by the alien Krell escalates, Spensa's dream of becoming a pilot may come true, despite her deceased father being labeled a deserter.
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Speak book cover

Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson

In this powerful novel, a teenage heroine delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school.
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Undertow book cover

Undertow
Michael Buckley

A sixteen-year-old girl is caught in an epic clash of civilizations when a society of undersea warriors marches out of the ocean into modern-day Coney Island.
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The Sun is Also a Star book cover

The Sun is Also a Star
Nicola Yoon

Natasha is a girl who believes in science and facts. Daniel has always been the good son, the good student. Every moment in their lives has brought them to this single moment. A million futures lie before them. Which will come true?
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Turtles All the Way Down book cover

Turtles All the Way Down
John Green

Turtles All the Way Down is about lifelong friendship, the intimacy of an unexpected reunion, Star Wars fan fiction, and tuatara. But at its heart is Aza Holmes, a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.
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Warcross book cover

Warcross
Marie Lu

When teenage coder Emika Chen hacks her way into the opening tournament of the Warcross Championships, she glitches herself into the game as well as a sinister plot with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.
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Caraval book cover

Caraval
Stephanie Garber

Scarlett has always dreamed of seeing Caraval, the once-a-year performance that includes the audience. This year, the long-awaited invitation arrives. Her sister, Tella, whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval's mastermind...
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A Thousand Beginnings & Endings book cover

A Thousand Beginnings & Endings
Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman

Fifteen authors of Asian descent reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia, in short stories ranging from fantasy to science fiction to contemporary, from romance to tales of revenge.
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This One Summer book cover

This One Summer
Mariko Tamaki

Rose's latest summer at a beach lake house is overshadowed by her parents' constant arguments, her younger friend's secret sorrows, and the dangerous activities of older teens.
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Slider book cover

Slider
Pete Hautman

Hoping to win a cash prize in a pizza eating contest after racking up a tab on his mother's credit card, David must juggle his competitive eating training with the responsibility of looking after his autistic younger brother.
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Refugee book cover

Refugee
Alan Gratz

A tour de force from acclaimed author Alan Gratz, this timely - and timeless - novel tells the powerful story of three different children seeking refuge.
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The Night Diary book cover

The Night Diary
Veera Hiranandani

Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary.
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Long Way Down book cover

Long Way Down
Jason Reynolds

As Will, fifteen, sets out to avenge his brother Shawn's fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know.
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From the Desk of Zoe Washington book cover

From the Desk of Zoe Washington
Janae Marks

Zoe Washington isn’t sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father she’s never met, hadn’t heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday, and who’s been in prison for a terrible crime?
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