Books like All the Lovely Bad Ones

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

Closest match: Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn — shares ghosts and family

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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.

10 books similar to All the Lovely Bad Ones

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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 (+1 more shared list). 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 →
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 Ghost's Gravegrades 3–8
Shares themes of ghosts, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Horror). Amazon → books like this →
The Ghost of Fossil Glengrades 3–8
Shares themes of ghosts, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Horror). Amazon → books like this →
The Cursed Moongrades 3–6
Shares themes of ghosts and family, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Horror). Amazon → books like this →
Closed for the Seasongrades 3–8
Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Night Terrorsgrades 6–8
Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Aroundgrades 6–8
Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Hauntinggrades 6–9
Shares themes of ghosts and mystery and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →

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 Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 3–6 — Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan · 740L — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2000s).
  • Dead Man in Indian Creek by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and overlapping grades (4–6).

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 Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 3–6 — Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2000s).
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · 810L — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2000s).
  • The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan · 740L — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2000s).
  • Dead Man in Indian Creek by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and overlapping grades (4–6).

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.

  • Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2000s).
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · 810L — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2000s).
  • Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–9).
  • How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of family and mystery and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
  • Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Horror) and the same era (2000s).

Common questions

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 Ghost of Graylock, The Dollhouse Murders, The Ghost's Grave, and The Ghost of Fossil Glen. 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.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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