Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
By: Varian Johnson
4.24
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
Literary powerhouse and Coretta Scott King Honor- and Boston Globe / Horn Book Honor-winning author…
Want to Read $ 5.99If you liked the contemporary plot in Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold) by Varian Johnson , here is a list of 19 books like this:
1. Attack of the Black Rectangles
By: Amy Sarig King
4.21
Format: 258 pages, Hardcover
When Mac first opens his classroom copy of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic and finds some words… read more
Want to Read $ 11.99Similar categories in Amy Sarig King's Attack of the Black Rectangles book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- audiobook
"Why do they treat kids like we don't mean anything?"-Amy Sarig King, Attack of the Black Rectangles
"If you're comfortable learning history, it's the wrong history."-Amy Sarig King, Attack of the Black Rectangles
"I love banned books. I used to read as many to you as I could when you were little, Mac."-Amy Sarig King, Attack of the Black Rectangles
"But if we want to change the world so it's good for everyone, it's important to talk about the truth."-Amy Sarig King, Attack of the Black Rectangles
2. Linked
By: Gordon Korman
4.18
Format: 256 pages, Hardcover
Link, Michael, and Dana live in a quiet town. But it's woken up very quickly when someone sneaks in… read more
Want to Read $ 7.64Similar categories in Gordon Korman's Linked book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- audiobook
"A paper chain can be done when it hits a certain number of links. But tolerance is a project you always have to keep working at."-Gordon Korman, Linked
3. Something Like Home
By: Andrea Beatriz Arango
4.31
Format: 256 pages, Library Binding
A novel in verse in which a lost dog helps a lonely girl find a way home to her family . . . only f… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Andrea Beatriz Arango's Something Like Home book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
4. Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
By: Pedro Martín
4.27
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
A poignant, hilarious, and unforgettable graphic memoir about a Mexican-American boy’s family and t… read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Pedro Martín's Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- middle grade
- childrens
- family
"It was like the driveway at Disneyland but with way more automatic weapons."-Pedro Martín, Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
"I like to say that my stories are 100% true 90% of the time. My memory and my heart like to play tricks on each other. The results are what makes my stories."-Pedro Martín, Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
5. The First State of Being
By: Erin Entrada Kelly
4.14
Format: 272 pages, Hardcover
When twelve-year-old Michael Rosario meets a mysterious boy from the future, his life is changed fo… read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Erin Entrada Kelly's The First State of Being book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- audiobook
6. The Insiders
By: Mark Oshiro
4.16
Format: 384 pages, Hardcover
Three kids who don’t belong. A room that shouldn’t exist. A year that will change everything. Pe… read more
Want to Read $ 8.49Similar categories in Mark Oshiro's The Insiders book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- audiobook
"Be yourself. Be over the top. Outlast them. Show them that no amount of fear will ever make you chance who you are."-Mark Oshiro, The Insiders
"Be yourself. Be over the top. Outlast them. Show them that no amount of fear will ever make you change who you are."-Mark Oshiro, The Insiders
7. Across the Desert
By: Dusti Bowling
4.23
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
One girl sets out on a journey across the treacherous Arizona desert to rescue a young pilot strand… read more
Want to Read $ 7.99Similar categories in Dusti Bowling's Across the Desert book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- audiobook
8. Tumble
By: Celia C. Pérez
4.16
Format: 368 pages, Hardcover
From the award-winning author of The First Rule of Punk, a dazzling novel about a young girl who co… read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Celia C. Pérez's Tumble book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- audiobook
9. The Lion of Mars
By: Jennifer L. Holm
4.07
Format: 259 pages, Paperback
A kid raised on Mars learns that he can't be held back by the fears of the grown-ups around him. … read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Jennifer L. Holm's The Lion of Mars book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- middle grade
- childrens
- fiction
- audiobook
10. Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom (Cookie Chronicles)
By: Matthew Swanson
3.99
Format: 304 pages, Hardcover
Meet Ben, a literal-minded kid with a big heart and an even bigger sweet-tooth, who cracks open a f… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Matthew Swanson's Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom (Cookie Chronicles) book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
11. And Then, Boom!
By: Lisa Fipps
4.69
Format: 256 pages, Hardcover
A gripping new novel-in-verse by the author of the Printz Honor-winning Starfish , featuring a pove… read more
Want to Read $ 10.99Similar categories in Lisa Fipps's And Then, Boom! book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- family
- fiction
- contemporary
- audiobook
"Friendship is being there to notice someone's about to fall, to try to keep them from falling, to catch them when they fall or to cushion the blow when they do, to feel what they're feeling, and to u…"-Lisa Fipps, And Then, Boom!
12. Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls (Cece Rios #1)
By: Kaela Rivera
4.34
Format: 352 pages, Hardcover
Living in the remote town of Tierra del Sol is dangerous, especially in the criatura months, when p… read more
Want to Read $ 7.99Similar categories in Kaela Rivera's Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls (Cece Rios #1) book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
"I was wandering through the cerros - the hills of the desert beyond town - at night, barely avoiding low heads of cactus. In the dark, their spines looked more menacing than they did under the sun. B…"-Kaela Rivera, Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls (Cece Rios #1)
"Because if I was doing the right thing, if I was following all the goodness I believed in, that was good enough. I didn't care how much Little Lion yelled at me or hated me, or how much I reminded hi…"-Kaela Rivera, Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls (Cece Rios #1)
13. Maizy Chen's Last Chance
By: Lisa Yee
4.29
Format: 277 pages, Hardcover
Welcome to The Golden Palace! Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota. . . until now. Her… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Lisa Yee's Maizy Chen's Last Chance book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- audiobook
"When you're in a position to help, that means you're in a good place in your own life."-Lisa Yee, Maizy Chen's Last Chance
"Sometimes people don't know their dreams until they're in it. Other times, their dreams escape them because they are too busy being busy."-Lisa Yee, Maizy Chen's Last Chance
14. An Occasionally Happy Family
By: Cliff Burke
3.92
Format: 224 pages, Hardcover
Gordon Korman meets The Great Outdoors in this funny and moving debut about a boy who goes on a dis… read more
Want to Read $ 4.99Similar categories in Cliff Burke's An Occasionally Happy Family book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- audiobook
15. Maya and the Robot
By: Eve L. Ewing
4.05
Format: 224 pages, Hardcover
An illustrated middle grade novel about a forgotten homemade robot who comes to life just when aspi… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Eve L. Ewing's Maya and the Robot book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- fiction
- contemporary
- audiobook
16. Iveliz Explains It All
By: Andrea Beatriz Arango
4.19
Format: 272 pages, Library Binding
How do you speak up when it feels like no one is listening? One girl takes on seventh grade while f… read more
Want to Read $ 7.99Similar categories in Andrea Beatriz Arango's Iveliz Explains It All book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- audiobook
"and it's important to stop, be kind to ourselves, and ask for help- ask for love."-Andrea Beatriz Arango, Iveliz Explains It All
"But you have to be somewhere I can find. You understand? Somewhere I can find. I nod, because I know what he is saying and what he is not saying. He can't find me if I'm not here. (p. 113 of the hard…"-Andrea Beatriz Arango, Iveliz Explains It All
"I am not okay, and sometimes I wish people wouldn't believe me when I say I am. I wish they would ask, just one more time, and I wish they wouldn't tiptoe around me like I'm a poem, so I could show t…"-Andrea Beatriz Arango, Iveliz Explains It All
17. What Happened to Rachel Riley?
By: Claire Swinarski
4.23
Format: 352 pages, Hardcover
An eighth grader uses social media posts, passed notes, and other clues to find out why a formerly … read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Claire Swinarski's What Happened to Rachel Riley? book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- audiobook
18. The Boys in the Back Row
By: Mike Jung
3.88
Format: 240 pages, Hardcover
Best friends Matt and Eric are hatching a plan for one big final adventure together before Eric mov… read more
Want to Read $ 6.99Similar categories in Mike Jung's The Boys in the Back Row book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- audiobook
19. Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
By: Varian Johnson
4.24
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
Literary powerhouse and Coretta Scott King Honor- and Boston Globe / Horn Book Honor-winning author… read more
Want to Read $ 5.99Similar categories in Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold) book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- coming of age
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- african american
- audiobook
20. Concealed
By: Christina Diaz Gonzalez
3.92
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
Ivette Joanna And now: Katrina Whatever her name is, it won't last long. Katrina doesn't k… read more
Want to Read $ 5.99Similar categories in Christina Diaz Gonzalez's Concealed book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- audiobook
21. 365 Days to Alaska
By: Cathy Carr
4.14
Format: 272 pages, Hardcover
A thoughtful middle-grade debut about a girl from off-the-grid Alaska adjusting to suburban life … read more
Want to Read $ 7.99Similar categories in Cathy Carr's 365 Days to Alaska book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- coming of age
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
22. Barakah Beats
By: Maleeha Siddiqui
4.17
Format: 288 pages, Hardcover
For fans of The First Rule of Punk and Save Me a Seat, Barakah Beats is a sweet, powerful, and joyo… read more
Want to Read $ 7.17Similar categories in Maleeha Siddiqui's Barakah Beats book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- audiobook
23. The Great Pet Heist (The Great Pet Heist #1)
By: Emily Ecton
4.02
Format: 256 pages, Hardcover
Ocean’s Eleven meets The Secret Life of Pets in this hilarious and delightfully illustrated novel f… read more
Want to Read $ 7.12Similar categories in Emily Ecton's The Great Pet Heist (The Great Pet Heist #1) book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- middle grade
- childrens
- fiction
- audiobook
24. Stowaway (The Icarus Chronicles, #1)
By: John David Anderson
3.93
Format: 384 pages, Hardcover
The first book in a coming-of-age sci-fi duology about Leo, a kid trying to navigate the galaxy in … read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in John David Anderson's Stowaway (The Icarus Chronicles, #1) book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- middle grade
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
25. Worst-Case Collin
By: Rebecca Caprara
4.42
Format: 384 pages, Hardcover
This poignant middle grade novel in verse follows twelve-year-old Collin who manages his anxiety by… read more
Want to Read $ 10.99Similar categories in Rebecca Caprara's Worst-Case Collin book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- family
"Gravity might always win, but I've got a choice: fall or dive. And I choose to dive."-Rebecca Caprara, Worst-Case Collin
"Discovery is a messy process, Mom would say. Your father works best in a state of creative chaos."-Rebecca Caprara, Worst-Case Collin
"there is space inside the human heart for infinite love and infinite sadness and all the messiness in between."-Rebecca Caprara, Worst-Case Collin
"Back then, our house felt full. Bursting, even. But never crowded, cluttered, claustrophobic. Because Love doesn't take up too much room."-Rebecca Caprara, Worst-Case Collin
26. Fast Pitch
By: Nic Stone
4.09
Format: 192 pages, Hardcover
From Nic Stone, the New York Times bestselling author of Clean Getaway, comes a challenging and he… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Nic Stone's Fast Pitch book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- audiobook
27. Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year
By: Nina Hamza
4.00
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
An Indian Muslim #ownvoices debut about an underachiever who must start over in a new state with th… read more
Want to Read $ 9.49Similar categories in Nina Hamza's Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- audiobook
28. Cuba in My Pocket
By: Adrianna Cuevas
4.34
Format: None pages, None
A middle grade historical novel about a twelve-year-old boy who leaves his family in Cuba to immigr… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Adrianna Cuevas's Cuba in My Pocket book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- family
- audiobook
29. The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
By: Gennifer Choldenko
4.55
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
Readers will be rooting for a happy ending for Hank in Newbery-Honor-winner Gennifer Choldenko’s gr… read more
Want to Read $ 10.99Similar categories in Gennifer Choldenko's The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- childrens
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
- audiobook
30. City of Thieves (Battle Dragons #1)
By: Alex London
3.97
Format: 272 pages, Hardcover
In a modern mega-city built around dragons, one boy gets caught up in the world of underground drag… read more
Want to Read $ 4.99Similar categories in Alex London's City of Thieves (Battle Dragons #1) book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- middle grade
- young adult
- audiobook
"Secrets between friends are like dragon bile."-Alex London, City of Thieves (Battle Dragons #1)
"Um..." Abel feared "um" was officially his catchphrase."-Alex London, City of Thieves (Battle Dragons #1)
"WW3D" they added, which was a code they used whenever one of them was feeling nervous about something."-Alex London, City of Thieves (Battle Dragons #1)
"How do you know it's a him?" Abel asked. "He's not wearing his pronouns on a name tag." "Male Sunrise Reapers have orange eyes," Roa said. "Females have red or yellow." "But what if he's nonbinary?" …"-Alex London, City of Thieves (Battle Dragons #1)
31. Now You Say Yes
By: Bill Harley
4.23
Format: 384 pages, Hardcover
A middle grade novel about two orphaned siblings on a cross-country journey in search of their plac… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Bill Harley's Now You Say Yes book and Varian Johnson's Playing the Cards You're Dealt (Scholastic Gold)
- realistic fiction
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- contemporary
- family
