What books are similar to The Poet X?

The 10 closest matches to The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo on ReadingList include The Fault in Our Stars, The Crossover, The Outsiders, American Born Chinese, and Everything We Never Had. Each is scored on shared themes (identity, coming of age, and family), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 8–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Poet X reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 8–12), 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 The Poet X

If you liked The Poet X, read The Fault in Our Stars, The Crossover, or The Outsiders — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (Young Adult Fiction · 800L · grades 8–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of identity, coming of age, 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 8–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Fault in Our Stars850L: Shares themes of coming of age, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Young Adult Fiction). Amazon →
The Crossover750L: Shares themes of identity and family, both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list, and a close reading level (750L vs 800L). Amazon →
The Outsiders750L: Shares themes of identity and family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (750L vs 800L). Amazon →
American Born Chinese530L: Shares themes of identity and coming of age, both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, and same genre (Young Adult Fiction). Amazon →
Everything We Never Hadgrades 7–12: Shares themes of identity and family, both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, and same genre (Young Adult Fiction). Amazon →
Shut Up, This Is Seriousgrades 9–12: Shares themes of identity and family, both on the Pura Belpré Author Award list, and same genre (Young Adult Fiction). Amazon →
Ghost730L: Shares themes of identity, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (730L vs 800L). Amazon →
Long Way Down720L: Shares themes of family, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, and same genre (Young Adult Fiction). Amazon →
Speak690L: Shares themes of identity and voice and silence, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (690L vs 800L). Amazon →
Rebound780L: Shares themes of coming of age and family and a close reading level (780L vs 800L). Amazon →

Books like The Poet X for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (750L vs 800L).
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (860L vs 800L).
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey · 730L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (730L vs 800L).
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (590L vs 800L).
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Shares themes of identity.

Books like The Poet X for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian · 820L — Shares themes of identity and family and a close reading level (820L vs 800L).
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson · 990L — Shares themes of identity and family, both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, and a close reading level (990L vs 800L).
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes · 360L — Shares themes of identity and family and both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list.
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, and a close reading level (800L vs 800L).
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman · 820L — Shares themes of identity and coming of age and a close reading level (820L vs 800L).

Books like The Poet X for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian · 820L — Shares themes of identity and family and a close reading level (820L vs 800L).
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson · 990L — Shares themes of identity and family, both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, and a close reading level (990L vs 800L).
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes · 360L — Shares themes of identity and family and both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list.
Never Thought I'd End Up Here by Ann Liang · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of identity and family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12).
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, and a close reading level (800L vs 800L).

Books like The Poet X for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou · 1070L — Shares themes of identity, family, and voice and silence and overlapping grades (10–12).
Never Thought I'd End Up Here by Ann Liang · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of identity and family, 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 a close reading level (780L vs 800L).
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd · 840L — Shares themes of coming of age and family and a close reading level (840L vs 800L).
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros · 870L — Shares themes of identity and writing and voice and a close reading level (870L vs 800L).

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

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