Books like Ruby Lost and Found

If you liked Ruby Lost and Found, read The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, The Crossover, or Walk Two Moons — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart — shares grief and family

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Looking for books like Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li (Realistic Fiction · grades 6–9)? It’s most often read for its themes of grief, family, and identity. 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 6–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Ruby Lost and Found

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Why each is a match

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The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrisegrades 5–8
Shares themes of grief and family, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
The Crossover750L
Shares themes of grief, family, and identity and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Walk Two Moons770L
Shares themes of grief, family, and identity, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–7). Amazon → books like this →
Mick Harte Was Heregrades 5–8
Shares themes of grief and family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Perfectgrades 6–9
Shares themes of grief, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Mid-Airgrades 5–8
Shares themes of grief and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Old Yellergrades 5–8
Shares themes of grief and family and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Between Two Brothersgrades 4–8
Shares themes of grief and family and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Duelgrades 4–8
Shares themes of grief and family and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Wildfulgrades 4–8
Shares themes of grief and family and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Ruby Lost and Found for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Shares themes of grief and family and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
  • Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of identity, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
  • Ursula Upside Down by Corey R. Tabor · grades K–3 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
  • So B. It by Sarah Weeks · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family and identity, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).

Books like Ruby Lost and Found for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of identity, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
  • Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of identity, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (6–9).
  • So B. It by Sarah Weeks · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family and identity, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
  • Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of family and identity and overlapping grades (6–8).

Common questions

What books are similar to Ruby Lost and Found?
The 10 closest matches to Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li on ReadingList include The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, The Crossover, Walk Two Moons, Mick Harte Was Here, and Perfect. Each is scored on shared themes (grief, family, and identity), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Ruby Lost and Found reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–9), 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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