What books are similar to All the Lovely Bad Ones?

The 10 closest matches to All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn on ReadingList include Wait Till Helen Comes, The Dollhouse Murders, The Cursed Moon, The Ghost of Graylock, and Fowl Play. Each is scored on shared themes (ghosts, family, and mystery), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like All the Lovely Bad Ones reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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 All the Lovely Bad Ones

If you liked All the Lovely Bad Ones, read Wait Till Helen Comes, The Dollhouse Murders, or The Cursed Moon — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn (Horror · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of ghosts, family, and mystery. 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Wait Till Helen Comesgrades 4–7: Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, shares themes of ghosts and family, and both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list. Amazon → books like this →
The Dollhouse Murdersgrades 4–7: Shares themes of ghosts, family, and mystery, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Cursed Moongrades 3–6: Shares themes of ghosts and family, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Ghost of Graylockgrades 5–8: Shares themes of ghosts and mystery, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Fowl Playgrades 3–6: Shares themes of family and mystery, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Cryptid Huntersgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family and mystery and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Front Desk640L: Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Parachute Kidsgrades 3–7: Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Refugee800L: Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon → books like this →
Shiloh890L: Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like All the Lovely Bad Ones for younger readers (K–2)

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

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner · 490L — Shares themes of family and mystery.
Picture Purrfect (Bodega Cats #1) by Hilda Eunice Burgos · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Shares themes of family and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of mystery and overlapping grades (2–8).

Books like All the Lovely Bad Ones for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (3–8).
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–8).
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of ghosts and family and overlapping grades (4–7).
Final Word (The Winterton Deception #1) by Janet Sumner Johnson · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of family and mystery and overlapping grades (3–7).

Books like All the Lovely Bad Ones for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon · 1090L — Shares themes of family and mystery and overlapping grades (8–12).
The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (3–8).
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–8).
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of ghosts and family and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like All the Lovely Bad Ones for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon · 1090L — Shares themes of family and mystery and overlapping grades (8–12).
How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of family and mystery.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family and mystery and overlapping grades (7–12).
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family and mystery and overlapping grades (7–12).
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (7–10).

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

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