What books are similar to City of Bones?

The 10 closest matches to City of Bones by Cassandra Clare on ReadingList include Clockwork Angel, Magisterium: The Iron Trial, A Hat Full of Sky, Fat Kid Rules The World, and Hope Was Here. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like City of Bones reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), 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 City of Bones

If you liked City of Bones, read Clockwork Angel, Magisterium: The Iron Trial, or A Hat Full of Sky — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

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Looking for books like City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Children's · grades 9–12)? 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 9–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Clockwork Angelgrades 8–12: Is by Cassandra Clare, the same author and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon → books like this →
Magisterium: The Iron Trialgrades 6–9: Is by Cassandra Clare, the same author, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, and same genre (Children's). Amazon → books like this →
A Hat Full of Skygrades 9–12: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Fat Kid Rules The Worldgrades 9–12: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Hope Was Heregrades 9–12: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Peachesgrades 9–12: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Shiver (Shiver, Book 1)grades 9–12: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Boxesgrades 9–12: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Crazygrades 9–12: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Evagrades 9–12: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like City of Bones for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

A Dog's Life by Ann M. Martin · grades 4–6 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace by Donald J. Sobol · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
Paul Bunyan Swings His Axe by Dell J. McCormick · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
The Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Stewart H. Holbrook · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).

Books like City of Bones for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

A Dog's Life by Ann M. Martin · grades 4–6 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace by Donald J. Sobol · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
Paul Bunyan Swings His Axe by Dell J. McCormick · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
The Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Stewart H. Holbrook · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).

Common questions

What books are similar to City of Bones?: The 10 closest matches to City of Bones by Cassandra Clare on ReadingList include Clockwork Angel, Magisterium: The Iron Trial, A Hat Full of Sky, Fat Kid Rules The World, and Hope Was Here. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like City of Bones reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), 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.

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

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Books like City of Bones

10 books similar to City of Bones

Why each is a match

Books like City of Bones for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Books like City of Bones for middle school (grades 6–8)

Common questions

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