Comprehension is a vital requirement for every student as he or she progresses through school, and a student's motivation to read can directly affect comprehension skills. Many strategies are used to increase reading comprehension across grade levels. At a suburban middle school in the Midwest, 67 students in three sixth-grade reading classes participated in a study to determine if the use of literature circles would increase reading comprehension as well as student motivation to read. Students were taught how to operate and participate in literature circle discussions with various readings. They were then divided into groups, and each group was given a different novel to read and discuss within literature circles. Comprehension was assessed by studying student journal response entries while motivation was assessed by comparing survey results. Using the aforementioned assessments, a slight gain in comprehension was recorded, but results varied for the use of literature circles affecting motivation to read. Keywords: comprehension, reading, motivation, middle school