A Work in Progress
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Widely assigned — 3 curriculum lists · 3 states
Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).
A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner is assigned in US schools at grades 4–8. It appears across 3 curriculum references and 3 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where A Work in Progress is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Grade range
- Grades 4–8
- Age range
- Ages 9–13
- First published
- 2024
- Genre
- Verse Novel
- ISBN-13
- 9781665905169
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook
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About this book
A middle-grade novel in verse following Will, a boy whose body-image struggles spiral into disordered eating, as he slowly finds a path toward honesty and self-acceptance. A tender, hard-hitting story from Jarrett Lerner (content note: depictions of body shaming and disordered eating). A 2026 Colorado Children's Book Award junior-book nominee.
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See all books like A Work in Progress→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Verse Novel title, typically at grades 4–8. Written in the 2020s; pairs with curriculum units on mental health and identity; cited across 3 curriculum frameworks.
Themes
Where this book is assigned
Colorado Children's Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · Coloradosource: Colorado Children's Book Award 2026 Junior Book Nominee List
- recommended·5th grade · Coloradosource: Colorado Children's Book Award 2026 Junior Book Nominee List
- recommended·6th grade · Coloradosource: Colorado Children's Book Award 2026 Junior Book Nominee List
Georgia Children's Book Award
- recommended·6th grade · Georgiasource: Georgia Children's Book Award 2025 Nominees (Grades 4-8) — University of Georgia Libraries
- recommended·7th grade · Georgiasource: Georgia Children's Book Award 2025 Nominees (Grades 4-8) — University of Georgia Libraries
- recommended·8th grade · Georgiasource: Georgia Children's Book Award 2025 Nominees (Grades 4-8) — University of Georgia Libraries
Great Stone Face Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
- recommended·5th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
- recommended·6th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
- recommended·7th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
- recommended·8th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
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Common questions
- What grade level is A Work in Progress?
- A Work in Progress is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 4–8. It appears on 3 school reading lists across 3 states. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- What curricula assign A Work in Progress?
- A Work in Progress appears on reading lists for Colorado Children's Book Award, Georgia Children's Book Award, Great Stone Face Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is A Work in Progress banned in schools?
- A Work in Progress does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
- What themes does A Work in Progress explore?
- Central themes in A Work in Progress include mental health, identity, resilience.
Why this book is on this list
How we classifyHide
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 4–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 3 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Cited in 3 states ELA frameworks or DOE list (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: book-club.