South Charlotte Middle School

Summer Reading List 2017-2018

8th grade

Expected Reading:

The Wizard of Oz (Complete and Unabridged) by L. Frank Baum

This may be the novel that inspired the blockbuster film, but this is not the Oz you think you

know. Although this novel is considered by many to be a true American fairy tale, there is so

much more to the story. Baum’s timeless classic is, at a deeper level, an allegory of American

life and politics from the late 1800s into the new century and a remarkable example of

archetype.

*Note: Students will be assessed on this book. Additionally, it will be used to introduce allegory and

archetype, as well as review basic literary elements such as character, plot, theme, and figurative

language.

Optional Reading:

These books are not required, but recommended as additional suggestions.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le

Guin

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by

Lewis Carroll

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

by Anne Frank

Chronicles of Narnia (The Lion, the

Witch and the Wardrobe) by C.S. Lewis

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

Delirium series (Delirium, Pandemonium,

and Requiem) by Lauren Oliver

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

Eragon by Chris Paolini

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by

J.K. Rowling

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Jacob, Have I Loved by Katherine

Paterson

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette

Greene

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by

Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark

Twain

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hunger Games series (The Hunger

Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay)

by Suzanne Collins

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Swiss Family Robinson by J.D. Wyss

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

by Avi

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte