What books are similar to Something Like Home?

The 10 closest matches to Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango on ReadingList include The Lost Year, A Work in Progress, Good Different, The Crossover, and Control Freaks. Each is scored on shared themes (family, identity, and perseverance), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Something Like Home reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), 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 Something Like Home

If you liked Something Like Home, read The Lost Year, A Work in Progress, or Good Different — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh — shares family and perseverance

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Looking for books like Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango (Verse Novel · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of family, identity, and perseverance. 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 6–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Lost Yeargrades 6–8: Shares themes of family and perseverance, both on the South Carolina Junior Book Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Work in Progressgrades 4–8: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Good Differentgrades 6–9: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Crossover750L: Shares themes of family and identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Control Freaksgrades 6–8: Shares themes of identity and perseverance and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatlgrades 6–8: Shares themes of identity and perseverance and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
It's All or Nothing, Valegrades 6–8: Is by Andrea Beatriz Arango, the same author and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Globalgrades 6–8: Shares themes of perseverance, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Bookedgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Brick Dust and Bonesgrades 6–8: Shares themes of family and perseverance and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Something Like Home for younger readers (K–2)

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

Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of perseverance and both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list.
Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike by Dashka Slater · grades K–2 — Shares themes of perseverance and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
Knight Owl by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of perseverance.
Knight Owl and Early Bird by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of perseverance.
Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius by Lynne Cox · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of perseverance.

Books like Something Like Home for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Hoops by Matt Tavares · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of perseverance and both on the South Carolina Junior Book Award list (+1 more shared list).
Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of perseverance and both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list.
Bea and the New Deal Horse by L. M. Elliott · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of family and perseverance and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of identity and perseverance.
Curveball by Pablo Cartaya · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of family and perseverance.

Books like Something Like Home for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Operation Final Notice by Matthew Landis · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of family and perseverance and overlapping grades (4–8).
The Last Hope in Hopetown by Maria Tureaud · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of family and identity, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and overlapping grades (6–8).
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga · 930L — Shares themes of family and identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Rebound by Kwame Alexander · 780L — Shares themes of family, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Skyriders by Polly Holyoke · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of perseverance and overlapping grades (6–8).

Books like Something Like Home for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Louder Than Hunger by John Schu · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of identity, both on the South Carolina Junior Book Award list, and same genre (Verse Novel).
Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard by Ronald Wimberly · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
That's Not My Name by Megan Lally · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
The Silence That Binds Us by Joanna Ho · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of family and identity, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and overlapping grades (7–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to Something Like Home?: The 10 closest matches to Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango on ReadingList include The Lost Year, A Work in Progress, Good Different, The Crossover, and Control Freaks. Each is scored on shared themes (family, identity, and perseverance), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Something Like Home reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), 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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