What books are similar to Control Freaks?

The 10 closest matches to Control Freaks by J.E. Thomas on ReadingList include Confessions of a Class Clown, Harriet the Spy, Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet, The First State of Being, and Grounded. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, perseverance, and school), 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 Control Freaks 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 Control Freaks

If you liked Control Freaks, read Confessions of a Class Clown, Harriet the Spy, or Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Control Freaks by J.E. Thomas (Middle Grade Fiction · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of friendship, perseverance, and school. 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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Confessions of a Class Clowngrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship, school, and identity, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Harriet the Spygrades 4–7: Shares themes of friendship, school, and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet820L: Shares themes of friendship, school, and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
The First State of Beinggrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and identity, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Groundedgrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Operation Final Noticegrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship and perseverance, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
The Superteacher Projectgrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship and school, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Blubbergrades 4–7: Shares themes of friendship, school, and identity and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L: Shares themes of friendship and school, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life890L: Shares themes of friendship, school, and identity and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →

Books like Control Freaks for younger readers (K–2)

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

The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of friendship and school and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb · grades K–2 — Shares themes of friendship and identity.
How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias · grades K–2 — Shares themes of friendship and identity.
Knight Owl by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance.
Knight Owl and Early Bird by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance.

Books like Control Freaks for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

J vs. K by Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship and school, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Curveball by Pablo Cartaya · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance and both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list.
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt · 550L — Shares themes of friendship and school, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Growing Home by Beth Ferry · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance and both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list.
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).

Books like Control Freaks for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt · 550L — Shares themes of friendship and school, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl by Julie Kagawa · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of perseverance and identity, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8).
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Skyriders by Polly Holyoke · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8).

Books like Control Freaks for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of friendship and identity.
Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship and identity and overlapping grades (5–9).
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes · 910L — Shares themes of friendship and identity and overlapping grades (8–11).
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of friendship and identity and overlapping grades (7–9).
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · 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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