What books are similar to Never Thought I'd End Up Here?

The 10 closest matches to Never Thought I'd End Up Here by Ann Liang on ReadingList include Everything We Never Had, Shut Up, This Is Serious, The Forbidden Book, The Outsiders, and The Poet X. Each is scored on shared themes (identity, love, and family), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 7–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Never Thought I'd End Up Here reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 7–12), 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.

Books like Never Thought I'd End Up Here

If you liked Never Thought I'd End Up Here, read Everything We Never Had, Shut Up, This Is Serious, or The Forbidden Book — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Never Thought I'd End Up Here by Ann Liang (Young Adult Fiction · grades 7–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of identity, love, and family. 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 7–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Everything We Never Hadgrades 7–12: Shares themes of identity and family, both on the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award list, and same genre (Young Adult Fiction). Amazon →
Shut Up, This Is Seriousgrades 9–12: Shares themes of identity and family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon →
The Forbidden Bookgrades 7–12: Shares themes of identity, both on the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award list, and same genre (Young Adult Fiction). Amazon →
The Outsiders750L: Shares themes of identity and family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–9). Amazon →
The Poet X800L: Shares themes of identity and family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon →
The Reappearance of Rachel Pricegrades 7–12: Shares themes of identity and family, both on the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award list, and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon →
Boy 2.0grades 4–8: Shares themes of identity and family and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecygrades 3–7: Shares themes of identity and family and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Ruby Lost and Foundgrades 6–9: Shares themes of identity and family and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon →
Something Like Homegrades 6–8: Shares themes of identity and family and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →

Books like Never Thought I'd End Up Here for younger readers (K–2)

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

Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of identity.
Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity.
Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Shares themes of family.
How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide by Ame Dyckman · grades K–2 — Shares themes of family.
How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity.

Books like Never Thought I'd End Up Here for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight by Rey Terciero · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and family.
Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and family.
Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of love and family.
Stand Up, Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of identity and family and overlapping grades (4–7).
Stuntboy, In-Between Time by Jason Reynolds · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and family.

Books like Never Thought I'd End Up Here for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight by Rey Terciero · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and family.
Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and family.
Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of love and family.
Stand Up, Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of identity and family and overlapping grades (4–7).
Stuntboy, In-Between Time by Jason Reynolds · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and family.

Books like Never Thought I'd End Up Here for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

The Silence That Binds Us by Joanna Ho · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12).
A Fate So Cold by Amanda Foody · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of love, both on the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award list, and overlapping grades (7–12).
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang · 530L — Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12).
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card · 780L — Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–10).
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou · 1070L — Shares themes of identity and family and overlapping grades (10–12).

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

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