What books are similar to A Work in Progress?

The 10 closest matches to A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner on ReadingList include Louder Than Hunger, Good Different, Other Words for Home, In the Beautiful Country, and Something Like Home. Each is scored on shared themes (mental health, identity, and resilience), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like A Work in Progress reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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 A Work in Progress

If you liked A Work in Progress, read Louder Than Hunger, Good Different, or Other Words for Home — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

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 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Louder Than Hungergrades 7–12: Shares themes of mental health, identity, and resilience, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon →
Good Differentgrades 6–9: Shares themes of identity, both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Verse Novel). Amazon →
Other Words for Home930L: Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and same genre (Verse Novel). Amazon →
In the Beautiful Countrygrades 3–6: Shares themes of resilience, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Something Like Homegrades 6–8: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)830L: Shares themes of identity and resilience and overlapping grades (6–10). Amazon →
Parachute Kidsgrades 3–7: Shares themes of resilience, both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Speak690L: Shares themes of mental health and identity and overlapping grades (8–10). Amazon →
The Crossover750L: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Verse Novel), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →
A Rover's Storygrades 4–5: Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →

Books like A Work in Progress for younger readers (K–2)

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

Millie Fleur's Poison Garden by Christy Mandin · grades K–3 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Colorado Children's Book Award list.
Time to Make Art by Jeff Mack · grades K–3 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Colorado Children's Book Award list.
Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of identity and overlapping grades (2–5).
Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity.
How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity.

Books like A Work in Progress for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Millie Fleur's Poison Garden by Christy Mandin · grades K–3 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Colorado Children's Book Award list.
Time to Make Art by Jeff Mack · grades K–3 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Colorado Children's Book Award list.
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8).
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson · 990L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8).
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan · 750L — Shares themes of resilience, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like A Work in Progress for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8).
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson · 990L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8).
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan · 750L — Shares themes of resilience, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt · 550L — Shares themes of resilience, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8).

Books like A Work in Progress for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou · 1070L — Shares themes of identity and resilience.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger · 790L — Shares themes of mental health and identity.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker · 670L — Shares themes of identity and resilience.
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of identity and overlapping grades (7–12).
Never Thought I'd End Up Here by Ann Liang · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of identity and overlapping grades (7–12).

Book data last updated 2026-07-07. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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