Books like New Dragon City

If you liked New Dragon City, read Greetings from Witness Protection!, Stung, or Touching Spirit Bear — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt

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Looking for books like New Dragon City by Mari Mancusi (Realistic Fiction · grades 6–8)? 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 6–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to New Dragon City

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Why each is a match

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Greetings from Witness Protection!grades 6–8
Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Stunggrades 6–9
Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Touching Spirit Beargrades 6–9
Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Variantgrades 6–8
Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
City Spiesgrades 4–6
Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Invisiblegrades 4–6
Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Brick Dust and Bonesgrades 6–8
Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Confessions of a Class Clowngrades 6–8
Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Control Freaksgrades 6–8
Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Curse of the Night Witchgrades 6–8
Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like New Dragon City for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley · grades 3–5 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
  • The Adventures of Invisible Boy by Doogie Horner · grades 3–5 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
  • The Area 51 Files by Julie Buxbaum · grades 3–5 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
  • Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen by Candace Fleming · grades 3–5 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • The Candymakers by Wendy Mass · grades 3–5 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like New Dragon City for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Heroes by Alan Gratz · grades 6–8 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (2020s).
  • Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams · grades 5–8 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2020s).
  • Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl by Julie Kagawa · grades 6–8 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (2020s).
  • Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow · grades 6–8 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (2020s).
  • Skyriders by Polly Holyoke · grades 6–8 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (2020s).

Common questions

What books are similar to New Dragon City?
The 10 closest matches to New Dragon City by Mari Mancusi on ReadingList include Greetings from Witness Protection!, Stung, Touching Spirit Bear, Variant, and City Spies. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like New Dragon City reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), 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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