What books are similar to Two Degrees?

The 10 closest matches to Two Degrees by Alan Gratz on ReadingList include Allies, Refugee, Touching Spirit Bear, Hatchet, and The River. Each is scored on shared themes (climate, survival, and courage), 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 Two Degrees 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 Two Degrees

If you liked Two Degrees, read Allies, Refugee, or Touching Spirit Bear — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Allies by Alan Gratz — shares courage

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Looking for books like Two Degrees by Alan Gratz (Adventure · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of climate, survival, and courage. 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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Alliesgrades 5–9: Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, shares themes of courage, and both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list). Amazon → books like this →
Refugee800L: Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, shares themes of survival, and both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list. Amazon → books like this →
Touching Spirit Beargrades 6–9: Shares themes of survival and courage, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Hatchet1020L: Shares themes of survival, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and same genre (Adventure). Amazon → books like this →
The Rivergrades 5–8: Shares themes of survival and courage, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Stormbreakergrades 5–8: Shares themes of courage, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and same genre (Adventure). Amazon → books like this →
The Hunger Games810L: Shares themes of survival, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list (+3 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Cryptid Huntersgrades 5–8: Shares themes of survival, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Red Midnightgrades 3–8: Shares themes of survival, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Code Name Kingfishergrades 4–8: Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Two Degrees for younger readers (K–2)

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

Chez Bob by Bob Shea · grades K–2 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2020s).
Smoky Night by Eve Bunting · grades 1–4 — Same genre (Adventure).
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon · grades K–3 — Same genre (Adventure).

Books like Two Degrees for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, shares themes of courage, and both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list.
Grenade by Alan Gratz · grades 4–7 — Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz · grades 3–8 — Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8).
Crash by Jerry Spinelli · grades 3–8 — Both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (3–8).
The Last Musketeer by Stuart Gibbs · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Two Degrees for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, shares themes of courage, and both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list.
Ground Zero by Alan Gratz · grades 6–8 — Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8).
Heroes by Alan Gratz · grades 6–8 — Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, shares themes of courage, and overlapping grades (6–8).
Grenade by Alan Gratz · grades 4–7 — Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz · grades 3–8 — Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like Two Degrees for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Is by Alan Gratz, the same author, shares themes of courage, and both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list.
Downriver by Will Hobbs · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of survival and same genre (Adventure).
Pursuit by Michael French · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of survival and same genre (Adventure).
Freak the Mighty by W. R. Philbrick · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Run, Hide, Fight Back by April Henry · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (6–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to Two Degrees?: The 10 closest matches to Two Degrees by Alan Gratz on ReadingList include Allies, Refugee, Touching Spirit Bear, Hatchet, and The River. Each is scored on shared themes (climate, survival, and courage), 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 Two Degrees 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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