Books like Girls Like Us

If you liked Girls Like Us, read Anger Is a Gift, Cursed, or Five Flavors of Dumb — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Girls Like Us by Gail Giles? 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 Girls Like Us

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Why each is a match

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Anger Is a Giftgrades 9–12
Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Cursedgrades 7–12
Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Five Flavors of Dumbgrades 8–12
Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Hurt Go Happygrades 7–10
Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (7–10), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Marcelo in the Real Worldgrades 9–12
Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Rose Under Firegrades 8–12
Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Small Stepsgrades 6–9
Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
The Running Dreamgrades 7–12
Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13Bgrades 8–12
Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
When We Collidedgrades 9–12
Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Girls Like Us for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean · grades 3–6 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
  • After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 5–8 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
  • Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin · grades 5–8 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
  • As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds · grades 4–7 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
  • Becoming Naomi Leon (Scholastic Gold) by Pam Muñoz Ryan · grades 4–7 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).

Books like Girls Like Us for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean · grades 3–6 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
  • After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 5–8 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
  • Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin · grades 5–8 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
  • As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds · grades 4–7 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
  • Becoming Naomi Leon (Scholastic Gold) by Pam Muñoz Ryan · grades 4–7 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Girls Like Us?
The 10 closest matches to Girls Like Us by Gail Giles on ReadingList include Anger Is a Gift, Cursed, Five Flavors of Dumb, Hurt Go Happy, and Marcelo in the Real World. Each is scored on shared themes, 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 Girls Like Us 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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