Books like A Work in Progress
Looking for books like A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner (Verse Novel · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of mental health, identity, and resilience. The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to A Work in Progress
Louder Than HungerJohn Schu
Good DifferentMeg Eden Kuyatt
In the Beautiful CountryJane Kuo
Mid-AirAlicia D. Williams
Something Like HomeAndrea Beatriz Arango
I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)Malala Yousafzai · 830L
Other Words for HomeJasmine Warga · 930L
SpeakLaurie Halse Anderson · 690L
The CrossoverKwame Alexander · 750L
A Royal ConundrumLisa Yee
Get the whole similar-books list in one click
Adds the 10 books with Amazon listings to your cart — keep what you need, remove the rest. Prime shipping where available.
🎧 Prefer audiobooks? Listen free for 30 days with an Audible trial.
As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you. Prices + availability shown on Amazon.
Why each is a match
- Louder Than Hungergrades 7–12
- Shares themes of mental health, identity, and resilience, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (7–12).
- Good Differentgrades 6–9
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (6–9).
- In the Beautiful Countrygrades 3–6
- Shares themes of resilience, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (3–6).
- Mid-Airgrades 6–8
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (6–8).
- Something Like Homegrades 6–8
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (6–8).
- I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)830L
- Shares themes of identity and resilience and overlapping grades (6–10).
- Other Words for Home930L
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (4–7).
- Speak690L
- Shares themes of mental health and identity and overlapping grades (8–10).
- The Crossover750L
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (5–8).
- A Royal Conundrumgrades 3–6
- Shares themes of identity and overlapping grades (3–6).