What books are similar to How to Survive Your Murder?

The 10 closest matches to How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine on ReadingList include That's Not My Name, Under the Surface, Not Quite Dead Yet, The Reappearance of Rachel Price, and The Agathas. Each is scored on shared themes (mystery, survival, and family), 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 How to Survive Your Murder 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 How to Survive Your Murder

If you liked How to Survive Your Murder, read That's Not My Name, Under the Surface, or Not Quite Dead Yet — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: That's Not My Name by Megan Lally — shares mystery and survival

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Looking for books like How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine (Mystery · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of mystery, survival, and family. 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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That's Not My Namegrades 9–12: Shares themes of mystery and survival, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Mystery). Amazon → books like this →
Under the Surfacegrades 7–12: Shares themes of mystery and survival, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Not Quite Dead Yetgrades 7–12: Shares themes of mystery and family, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Reappearance of Rachel Pricegrades 7–12: Shares themes of mystery and family, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Agathasgrades 9–12: Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Thirteen Reasons Whygrades 9–12: Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Inheritance Gamesgrades 9–12: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Daughter of the Starsgrades 9–12: Shares themes of family, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Mystery). Amazon → books like this →
Fake IDgrades 9–12: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
One of Us Is Lyinggrades 9–12: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like How to Survive Your Murder for younger readers (K–2)

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

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of mystery and same genre (Mystery).
In a Dark, Dark Room by Alvin Schwartz · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list and same genre (Mystery).
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Shares themes of mystery.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner · 490L — Shares themes of mystery and family.
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Shares themes of survival and family.

Books like How to Survive Your Murder for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin · 750L — Shares themes of mystery, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Mystery).
Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detective by Janet Tashjian · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of mystery and same genre (Mystery).
The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of mystery and family and same genre (Mystery).
Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of mystery, survival, and family.
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of mystery and same genre (Mystery).

Books like How to Survive Your Murder for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin · 750L — Shares themes of mystery, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Mystery).
Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detective by Janet Tashjian · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of mystery and same genre (Mystery).
The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of mystery and family and same genre (Mystery).
Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of mystery, survival, and family.
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of mystery and same genre (Mystery).

Books like How to Survive Your Murder for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Plague Year by Stephanie S. Tolan · grades 9–12 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12).
The Man in the Woods by Rosemary Wells · grades 9–12 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Eat Your Heart Out by Kelly deVos · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2020s).
Unwind by Neal Shusterman · grades 8–12 — Shares themes of survival, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and overlapping grades (8–12).
Sky's End by Marc J. Gregson · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (7–12).

Common questions

What books are similar to How to Survive Your Murder?: The 10 closest matches to How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine on ReadingList include That's Not My Name, Under the Surface, Not Quite Dead Yet, The Reappearance of Rachel Price, and The Agathas. Each is scored on shared themes (mystery, survival, and family), 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 How to Survive Your Murder 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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