What books are similar to I'll Give You the Sun?

The 10 closest matches to I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson on ReadingList include Divergent, Scythe, The Fault in Our Stars, The Hate U Give, and The Poet X. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like I'll Give You the Sun reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), 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 I'll Give You the Sun

If you liked I'll Give You the Sun, read Divergent, Scythe, or The Fault in Our Stars — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Divergent by Veronica Roth

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Looking for books like I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson? 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 9–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Divergentgrades 8–12: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Scythegrades 7–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
The Fault in Our Stars850L: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
The Hate U Give590L: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
The Poet X800L: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
All My Ragegrades 9–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Brownstonegrades 9–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Firekeeper's Daughtergrades 9–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Maze Runnergrades 7–12: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Murder Among Friendsgrades 9–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like I'll Give You the Sun for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Front Desk by Kelly Yang · 640L — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+2 more shared lists) and the same era (2010s).
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate · 570L — Both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).

Books like I'll Give You the Sun for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Front Desk by Kelly Yang · 640L — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+2 more shared lists) and the same era (2010s).
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate · 570L — Both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).

Books like I'll Give You the Sun for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

That's Not My Name by Megan Lally · grades 9–12 — Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (9–12).
The Silence That Binds Us by Joanna Ho · grades 9–12 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (9–12).
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz · grades 9–12 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s).
Bone Gap by Laura Ruby · grades 9–12 — Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s).
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram · grades 9–12 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to I'll Give You the Sun?: The 10 closest matches to I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson on ReadingList include Divergent, Scythe, The Fault in Our Stars, The Hate U Give, and The Poet X. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like I'll Give You the Sun reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), 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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