What books are similar to Mid-Air?

The 10 closest matches to Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams on ReadingList include Between Two Brothers, Old Yeller, Holes, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Confessions of a Class Clown. Each is scored on shared themes (grief, friendship, and growing up), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Mid-Air reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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 Mid-Air

If you liked Mid-Air, read Between Two Brothers, Old Yeller, or Holes — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Between Two Brothers by Crystal Allen — shares grief

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Looking for books like Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams (Middle Grade Fiction · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of grief, friendship, and growing up. 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Between Two Brothersgrades 4–8: Shares themes of grief, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Old Yellergrades 5–8: Shares themes of grief and growing up, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Holes660L: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L: Shares themes of friendship and growing up, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Confessions of a Class Clowngrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Control Freaksgrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Harriet the Spygrades 4–7: Shares themes of friendship and growing up, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Not Nothinggrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Simon Sort of Saysgrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
The First State of Beinggrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Mid-Air for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Shares themes of growing up and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Shares themes of grief.
The Yellow Bus by Loren Long · grades K–3 — Shares themes of growing up.
Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike by Dashka Slater · grades K–2 — Shares themes of growing up.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of friendship and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).

Books like Mid-Air for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Popcorn by Rob Harrell · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Puzzleheart by Jenn Reese · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Shares themes of growing up and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).

Books like Mid-Air for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Popcorn by Rob Harrell · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Puzzleheart by Jenn Reese · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Rascal by Sterling North · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of growing up, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).

Books like Mid-Air for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Four for the Road by K.J. Reilly · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of grief and friendship.
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–9).
Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of grief and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Silence That Binds Us by Joanna Ho · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of grief.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky · 720L — Shares themes of friendship and growing up.

Common questions

What books are similar to Mid-Air?: The 10 closest matches to Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams on ReadingList include Between Two Brothers, Old Yeller, Holes, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Confessions of a Class Clown. Each is scored on shared themes (grief, friendship, and growing up), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Mid-Air reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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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