Books like Taking Sides
Taking Sides by Gary Soto reads as reflective, realistic. These 12 books share its genome — matched by how they actually read, not just their shelf label.
What Taking Sides is like to read
A grounded coming-of-age story about a Mexican-American teen caught between two worlds, where the basketball court becomes the arena for testing loyalty and belonging. Warm and accessible, it foregrounds identity and cultural divide over plot fireworks. Best for: middle-grade and YA readers wanting a relatable story about cultural identity, sports, and fitting in.
The House on Mango Street
Sandra Cisneros · 1984
A lyrical, intimate journey through girlhood told in interconnected vignettes — each moment crystalline and small, but accumulated into a portrait of resilience and yearning.
Maniac Magee
Jerry Spinelli · 1990
Told as tall-tale legend, it barrels along in short vignette-like chapters, its homeless boy-hero performing near-mythic feats while quietly forcing a segregated town to see itself.
145th Street
Walter Dean Myers · 2000
A mosaic of interlocking street-level stories that feel like eavesdropping on a whole block's private and public lives — gritty, warm, and unsentimental by turns.
Tyrell
Coe Booth · 2007
An immersive first-person account of a teen boy navigating poverty, temptation, and love with raw, street-inflected voice; tense but grounded rather than plot-twisty.
Drown
Junot Díaz · 1996
Linked stories tracing Dominican and Dominican-American lives across barrio and New Jersey — spare, bruising vignettes about family, masculinity, and displacement.
Lot
Bryan Washington · 2019
Both explore identity & family
Burn baby burn
Meg Medina · 2016
Both explore coming-of-age & family
An Island Like You
Judith Ortiz Cofer · 1995
Twelve linked stories offer quick, varied glimpses into Puerto Rican-American teens navigating identity and belonging, each story a self-contained slice of life.
Bang!
Sharon G. Flake · 2005
A raw, close-in account of a teenage boy navigating a fracturing family and the pull of street life, told with urgency and emotional weight rather than plot twists.
Local News
Gary Soto · 1993
A warmly observed mosaic of interconnected stories capturing the texture of Chicano youth in Fresno—balancing everyday struggles with small moments of joy and belonging.
Refugee boy
Benjamin Zephaniah · 2008
Both explore identity & family
Forged by fire
Sharon M. Draper · 1997
A tense, emotionally charged YA novel about a teenage boy shouldering the weight of protecting his younger sister from an abusive father, building toward an inevitable confrontation.
About Taking Sides — what the genome says
Is Taking Sides a complete story or a cliffhanger?
It's a complete, standalone-satisfying story.
Who is Taking Sides for?
It's written for middle-grade readers (roughly ages 8-12).
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