What books are similar to Grounded?

The 10 closest matches to Grounded by Aisha Saeed, S.K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Huda Al-Marashi on ReadingList include Boy 2.0, Operation Final Notice, Roll for Initiative, The Season of Styx Malone, and The Whipping Boy. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, identity, and adventure), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Grounded reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like Grounded

If you liked Grounded, read Boy 2.0, Operation Final Notice, or Roll for Initiative — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste — shares identity and adventure

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Looking for books like Grounded by Aisha Saeed, S.K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Huda Al-Marashi (Middle Grade Fiction · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of friendship, identity, and adventure. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Boy 2.0grades 4–8: Shares themes of identity and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Operation Final Noticegrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Washington Sasquatch Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Roll for Initiativegrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Washington Sasquatch Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
The Season of Styx Malone510L: Shares themes of friendship and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Whipping Boygrades 3–7: Shares themes of friendship and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Confessions of a Class Clowngrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Control Freaksgrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
The First State of Beinggrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Rewindgrades 4–8: Both on the Washington Sasquatch Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Partition Projectgrades 4–8: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Grounded for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb · grades K–2 — Shares themes of friendship and identity.
How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias · grades K–2 — Shares themes of friendship and identity.
You're So Amazing! by James Catchpole · grades K–2 — Shares themes of friendship and identity.
Yuna's Cardboard Castles by Marie Tang · grades K–2 — Shares themes of friendship and identity.

Books like Grounded for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry by Chad Morris · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of identity and adventure and overlapping grades (3–7).
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Not Nothing by Gayle Forman · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like Grounded for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry by Chad Morris · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of identity and adventure and overlapping grades (3–7).
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Not Nothing by Gayle Forman · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like Grounded for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of identity and adventure and overlapping grades (5–9).
Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of identity, both on the Washington Sasquatch Book Award list, and overlapping grades (6–9).
Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of friendship and identity.

Common questions

What books are similar to Grounded?: The 10 closest matches to Grounded by Aisha Saeed, S.K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Huda Al-Marashi on ReadingList include Boy 2.0, Operation Final Notice, Roll for Initiative, The Season of Styx Malone, and The Whipping Boy. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, identity, and adventure), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Grounded reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?: Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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