What books are similar to My Explosive Diary?

The 10 closest matches to My Explosive Diary by Emily Gale on ReadingList include Lulu's Mysterious Mission, A Boy Named Queen, Posted, Save Me a Seat, and Blubber. Each is scored on shared themes (bullying, spies, and bullies), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like My Explosive Diary reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–8), 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 My Explosive Diary

If you liked My Explosive Diary, read Lulu's Mysterious Mission, A Boy Named Queen, or Posted — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like My Explosive Diary by Emily Gale (Realistic Fiction · grades 2–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of bullying, spies, and bullies. 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 2–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Lulu's Mysterious Missiongrades 2–8: Shares themes of spies, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
A Boy Named Queengrades 3–8: Shares themes of bullying, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
Postedgrades 6–9: Shares themes of bullying, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon →
Save Me a Seat780L: Shares themes of bullying, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Blubbergrades 4–7: Shares themes of bullying, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Counting by 7sgrades 2–8: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon →
Fish in a Tree550L: Shares themes of bullying, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Front Desk640L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Ghost730L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →
Ghost Boys360L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →

Books like My Explosive Diary for younger readers (K–2)

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

Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by Raúl the Third III · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Say What? by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).

Books like My Explosive Diary for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen · 760L — Shares themes of bullying, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger · grades 4–6 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Trading Places with Tank Talbott by Dori Hillestad Butler · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of bullies, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Shares themes of bullying, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and overlapping grades (3–7).

Books like My Explosive Diary for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen · 760L — Shares themes of bullying, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger · grades 4–6 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Trading Places with Tank Talbott by Dori Hillestad Butler · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of bullies, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like My Explosive Diary for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2010s).
Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper · grades 7–10 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (7–10), and the same era (2010s).
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman · grades 7–10 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (7–10), and the same era (2010s).
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang · 530L — Shares themes of bullying 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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