What books are similar to Once There Was?

The 10 closest matches to Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef on ReadingList include Ace of Spades, Aisle Nine, All the Fighting Parts, All the Noise at Once, and Black Girl Unlimited. 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 Once There Was 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.

Books like Once There Was

If you liked Once There Was, read Ace of Spades, Aisle Nine, or All the Fighting Parts — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef (Young Adult · grades 9–12)? 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.

Reading the whole similar-books list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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Why each is a match

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Ace of Spadesgrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Aisle Ninegrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
All the Fighting Partsgrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
All the Noise at Oncegrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Black Girl Unlimitedgrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appeargrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
First Love Languagegrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Hell Followed with Usgrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
It Sounded Better in My Headgrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Love, Mishagrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Once There Was for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

A Plate of Hope by Erin Frankel · grades 3–10 — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2020s).
Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson · grades 3–10 — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2020s).
Boogie Boogie, Y’all by C.G. Esperanza · grades K–5 — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list and the same era (2020s).
Chinese Menu by Grace Lin · grades 3–10 — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2020s).
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo · grades 3–10 — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2020s).

Books like Once There Was for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

A Plate of Hope by Erin Frankel · grades 3–10 — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2020s).
Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson · grades 3–10 — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2020s).
Chinese Menu by Grace Lin · grades 3–10 — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2020s).
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo · grades 3–10 — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2020s).
Demon in the Wood Graphic Novel by Leigh Bardugo · grades 3–10 — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2020s).

Books like Once There Was for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride · grades 9–12 — Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo · grades 9–12 — Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Red Flags and Butterflies by Sheryl Azzam · grades 9–12 — Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Rez Ball by Byron Graves · grades 9–12 — Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12).
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran · grades 9–12 — Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12).

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

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Books like Once There Was

10 books similar to Once There Was

Why each is a match

Books like Once There Was for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Books like Once There Was for middle school (grades 6–8)

Books like Once There Was for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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