Grade 8 Reading List: Books with Summaries and Free Quizzes
In eighth grade, students read classic and modern novels closely and write about their themes, characters and language. In the UK this is Year 9, and in Australia Year 8. Every school and teacher picks its own books, so check the list with your child’s class. For some of the books, you will find our free printable book quiz with an answer key.
Books for grade 8
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
Ebenezer Scrooge, a cold-hearted miser, is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve and becomes a kinder man. Often studied in UK schools.
👉 Check your understanding: A Christmas Carol Book Quiz – Grade 8
The Outsiders – S. E. Hinton
Ponyboy Curtis, a greaser, tells the story of the fight between his gang and the rich Socs, and of what happens after his friend Johnny kills a boy to save him.
👉 Check your understanding: The Outsiders Book Quiz – Grade 8
Animal Farm – George Orwell
The animals of Manor Farm drive out the farmer, but the pigs who lead them slowly become just like the humans. A short fable about power.
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
In a small town in Alabama, Scout Finch watches her father, the lawyer Atticus, defend a Black man who is falsely accused.
Free book quizzes for grade 8
Each quiz has multiple-choice questions, true or false sentences, events to put in order and open questions. Every print draws different questions, so a child can take the quiz again, or each child in a class can get a different version. The Show answers switch shows the answer key.
Want one quiz a day? The learning path Book Quizzes – Grade 8 puts them in order. Quizzes for every grade are on the Book quizzes – grades 1–8 page.
How to read these books with your child
- Start early: spread a longer book over two or three weeks.
- Note down the characters’ names and the main events. They help with the quiz and with class discussions.
- After the book, do the quiz and check the answers with the answer key.
