What books are similar to Powerless?

The 10 closest matches to Powerless by Matthew Cody on ReadingList include The Indian in the Cupboard, Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism, City of Ghosts, Eragon, and Hoot. Each is scored on shared themes (superheroes, friendship, and memory), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Powerless reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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 Powerless

If you liked Powerless, read The Indian in the Cupboard, Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism, or City of Ghosts — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Powerless by Matthew Cody (Fantasy · grades 4–7)? It’s most often read for its themes of superheroes, friendship, and memory. 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 4–7 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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The Indian in the Cupboardgrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon →
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotismgrades 3–8: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
City of Ghostsgrades 4–7: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Eragongrades 6–9: Both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon →
Hoot760L: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatchergrades 4–6: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
Keeper of the Lost Citiesgrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
The Dragonet Prophecygrades 3–7: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
The Liftersgrades 3–8: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)740L: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →

Books like Powerless for younger readers (K–2)

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

Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton · 530L — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (2–5).
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows · 580L — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (2–4).
Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo · 450L — Shares themes of friendship.
A Lot to Like! by Derek Anderson · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (2–5).
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Shares themes of friendship.

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

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

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of memory, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine · grades 4–7 — Both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling · 880L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).

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

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

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of memory, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
The Maze Runner by James Dashner · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of friendship and memory and overlapping grades (7–12).
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine · grades 4–7 — Both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling · 880L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Powerless for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

My Ántonia by Willa Cather · 1010L — Shares themes of friendship and memory.
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of memory, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
The Maze Runner by James Dashner · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of friendship and memory and overlapping grades (7–12).
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and overlapping grades (6–9).

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

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