What books are similar to Grounded?

The 10 closest matches to Grounded by Aisha Saeed, S.K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Huda Al-Marashi on ReadingList include A Royal Conundrum, Boy 2.0, Confessions of a Class Clown, Control Freaks, and The First State of Being. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, identity, and adventure), 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 Grounded 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 Grounded

If you liked Grounded, read A Royal Conundrum, Boy 2.0, or Confessions of a Class Clown — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Looking for books like Grounded by Aisha Saeed, S.K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Huda Al-Marashi (Middle Grade Fiction · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of friendship, identity, and adventure. 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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A Royal Conundrumgrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship, identity, and adventure and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Boy 2.0grades 4–8: Shares themes of identity and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Confessions of a Class Clowngrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
Control Freaksgrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
The First State of Beinggrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
Harriet the Spygrades 4–7: Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Operation Final Noticegrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Washington Sasquatch Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet820L: Shares themes of friendship and identity, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Roll for Initiativegrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Washington Sasquatch Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Stuart Little920L: Shares themes of friendship and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →

Books like Grounded for younger readers (K–2)

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

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of friendship and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–4).
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.
The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of friendship and adventure and overlapping grades (2–5).
You're So Amazing! by James Catchpole · grades K–2 — Shares themes of friendship and identity.

Books like Grounded for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of friendship and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–4).
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon · 510L — Shares themes of friendship and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7).
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of friendship and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7).
Countdown to Yesterday by Shirley Marr · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship and adventure and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like Grounded for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon · 510L — Shares themes of friendship and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7).
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of friendship and adventure, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7).
Countdown to Yesterday by Shirley Marr · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship and adventure and overlapping grades (4–8).
Just Keep Walking by Erin Soderberg Downing · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like Grounded 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).
Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of identity, both on the Washington Sasquatch Book Award list, and overlapping grades (6–9).
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of identity and adventure and overlapping grades (5–9).

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

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