What books are similar to Not Quite Dead Yet?

The 10 closest matches to Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson on ReadingList include The Reappearance of Rachel Price, Under the Surface, Good Girl's Guide to Murder, How to Survive Your Murder, and That's Not My Name. Each is scored on shared themes (mystery, mortality, and family), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 7–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Not Quite Dead Yet reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 7–12), 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 Not Quite Dead Yet

If you liked Not Quite Dead Yet, read The Reappearance of Rachel Price, Under the Surface, or Good Girl's Guide to Murder — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson — shares mystery and family

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Looking for books like Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (Mystery · grades 7–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of mystery, mortality, 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 7–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Reappearance of Rachel Pricegrades 7–12: Is by Holly Jackson, the same author, shares themes of mystery and family, and both on the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award list. Amazon → books like this →
Under the Surfacegrades 7–12: Shares themes of mystery, both on the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award list, and same genre (Mystery). Amazon → books like this →
Good Girl's Guide to Murdergrades 9–12: Is by Holly Jackson, the same author, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
How to Survive Your Murdergrades 9–12: Shares themes of mystery and family, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
That's Not My Namegrades 9–12: Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). 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 →
Eat Your Heart Outgrades 9–12: Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
The Inheritance Gamesgrades 9–12: Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Daughter of the Starsgrades 9–12: Shares themes of family, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Not Quite Dead Yet for younger readers (K–2)

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

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.
Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick · grades K–3 — Same genre (Mystery).
In a Dark, Dark Room by Alvin Schwartz · grades K–3 — Same genre (Mystery).
Piggins by Jane Yolen · grades K–3 — Same genre (Mystery).

Books like Not Quite Dead Yet for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detective by Janet Tashjian · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of mystery and same genre (Mystery).
Fowl Play by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of mystery and family.
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of mystery and family.
It Found Us by Lindsay Currie · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Mystery) and the same era (2020s).
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Shares themes of mystery.

Books like Not Quite Dead Yet for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detective by Janet Tashjian · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of mystery and same genre (Mystery).
Fowl Play by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of mystery and family.
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of mystery and family.
It Found Us by Lindsay Currie · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Mystery) and the same era (2020s).
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family, both on the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award list, and overlapping grades (7–12).

Books like Not Quite Dead Yet for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family, both on the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award list, and overlapping grades (7–12).
Never Thought I'd End Up Here by Ann Liang · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family, both on the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award list, and overlapping grades (7–12).
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon · 1090L — Shares themes of mystery and family and overlapping grades (8–12).
The Haunting by Joan Lowery Nixon · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (6–9).
A Fate So Cold by Amanda Foody · grades 7–12 — Both on the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2020s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Not Quite Dead Yet?: The 10 closest matches to Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson on ReadingList include The Reappearance of Rachel Price, Under the Surface, Good Girl's Guide to Murder, How to Survive Your Murder, and That's Not My Name. Each is scored on shared themes (mystery, mortality, and family), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 7–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Not Quite Dead Yet reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 7–12), 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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