What books are similar to Shut Up, This Is Serious?

The 10 closest matches to Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta on ReadingList include The Poet X, Everything We Never Had, Never Thought I'd End Up Here, The Forbidden Book, and The Silence That Binds Us. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, identity, and family), 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 Shut Up, This Is Serious 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 Shut Up, This Is Serious

If you liked Shut Up, This Is Serious, read The Poet X, Everything We Never Had, or Never Thought I'd End Up Here — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo — shares identity and family

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Looking for books like Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta (Young Adult Fiction · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of friendship, identity, and family. 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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The Poet X800L: Shares themes of identity and family, both on the Pura Belpré Author Award list, and same genre (Young Adult Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Everything We Never Hadgrades 7–12: Shares themes of identity and family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Never Thought I'd End Up Heregrades 7–12: Shares themes of identity and family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Forbidden Bookgrades 7–12: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Silence That Binds Usgrades 9–12: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Saints of the Householdgrades 9–12: Both on the Pura Belpré Author Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Four for the Roadgrades 9–12: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
American Born Chinese530L: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Conditions of a Heartgrades 9–12: Same genre (Young Adult Fiction), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Sky's Endgrades 7–12: Same genre (Young Adult Fiction), overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Shut Up, This Is Serious for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ursula Upside Down by Corey R. Tabor · grades K–3 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
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 Shut Up, This Is Serious for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship and identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume · grades 4–8 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and same genre (Young Adult Fiction).
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of friendship and family and both on the Pura Belpré Author Award list.
Ursula Upside Down by Corey R. Tabor · grades K–3 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
You Are Here: Connecting Flights by Ellen Oh · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.

Books like Shut Up, This Is Serious for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship and identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume · grades 4–8 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and same genre (Young Adult Fiction).
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Shares themes of family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12).
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall · grades 7–12 — Both on the Pura Belpré Author Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (7–12).
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of friendship and family and both on the Pura Belpré Author Award list.

Books like Shut Up, This Is Serious for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green · 850L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Shares themes of family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12).
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall · grades 7–12 — Both on the Pura Belpré Author Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (7–12).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky · 720L — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson · 690L — Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (8–10).

Common questions

What books are similar to Shut Up, This Is Serious?: The 10 closest matches to Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta on ReadingList include The Poet X, Everything We Never Had, Never Thought I'd End Up Here, The Forbidden Book, and The Silence That Binds Us. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, identity, and family), 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 Shut Up, This Is Serious 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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