Books like The Glass Castle

If you liked The Glass Castle, read Interstellar Pig, Scythe, or Steelheart — the closest matches in our database, matched on reading level.

Closest match: Interstellar Pig by William Sleator

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Looking for books like The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Science Fiction · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of poor, problem families, and dysfunctional families. 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.

10 books similar to The Glass Castle

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Why each is a match

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Interstellar Piggrades 9–12
Same genre (Science Fiction) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Scythegrades 7–12
Same genre (Science Fiction) and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Steelheartgrades 7–12
Same genre (Science Fiction) and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
The House of the Scorpiongrades 7–10
Same genre (Science Fiction) and overlapping grades (7–10). Amazon → books like this →
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogginggrades 9–12
Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
My Sister's Keepergrades 9–12
Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
The House Next Doorgrades 9–12
Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Ugliesgrades 9–12
Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Unwindgrades 8–12
Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Wolf Rider: A Tale of Terrorgrades 9–12
Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Glass Castle for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Books like The Glass Castle for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer · grades 6–8 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list and same genre (Science Fiction).
  • Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde · grades 6–8 — Same genre (Science Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
  • Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Science Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
  • Aliens Ate My Homework by Bruce Coville · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Science Fiction).
  • Aliens for Breakfast by Jonathan Etra · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Science Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Glass Castle?
The 10 closest matches to The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls on ReadingList include Interstellar Pig, Scythe, Steelheart, The House of the Scorpion, and Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. Each is scored on shared themes (poor, problem families, and dysfunctional families), 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 The Glass Castle 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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