What books are similar to Ghosts?

The 10 closest matches to Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier on ReadingList include Sisters, Guts, The Fourteenth Goldfish, El Deafo, and The Best School Year Ever. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Ghosts reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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 Ghosts

If you liked Ghosts, read Sisters, Guts, or The Fourteenth Goldfish — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

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Looking for books like Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–6)? 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 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Sistersgrades 4–6: Is by Raina Telgemeier, the same author, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Gutsgrades 4–8: Is by Raina Telgemeier, the same author, overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
The Fourteenth Goldfishgrades 4–6: Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
El Deafo420L: Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
The Best School Year Evergrades 3–6: Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Dogtowngrades 3–6: Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Fourth Grade Ratsgrades 4–6: Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
A Wolf Called Wandergrades 4–6: Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Wonder790L: Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Dukegrades 3–5: Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Ghosts for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

No Talking by Andrew Clements · grades 3–8 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Scranimals by Jack Prelutsky · grades 3–6 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper · 700L — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm · grades 3–6 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown · 740L — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Ghosts for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

No Talking by Andrew Clements · grades 3–8 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Scranimals by Jack Prelutsky · grades 3–6 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper · 700L — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm · grades 3–6 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown · 740L — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Ghosts for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green · 850L — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Ghosts?: The 10 closest matches to Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier on ReadingList include Sisters, Guts, The Fourteenth Goldfish, El Deafo, and The Best School Year Ever. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Ghosts reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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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