What books are similar to The Lifters?

The 10 closest matches to The Lifters by Dave Eggers on ReadingList include Keeper of the Lost Cities, The Indian in the Cupboard, Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism, Peter and the Starcatchers, and Word Eater. Each is scored on shared themes (detective and mystery stories, underground areas, and magic), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Lifters reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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.

Books like The Lifters

If you liked The Lifters, read Keeper of the Lost Cities, The Indian in the Cupboard, or Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Lifters by Dave Eggers (Fantasy · grades 3–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of detective and mystery stories, underground areas, and magic. 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 3–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

Reading the whole similar-books list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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Why each is a match

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Keeper of the Lost Citiesgrades 4–8: Shares themes of magic and friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Indian in the Cupboardgrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotismgrades 3–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Peter and the Starcatchersgrades 3–8: Shares themes of magic, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Word Eatergrades 3–8: Shares themes of magic, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
City of Ghostsgrades 4–7: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Dragonet Prophecygrades 3–7: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Forbidden Librarygrades 2–8: Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Mark of Athenagrades 5–9: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Sword of Summergrades 3–8: Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Lifters for younger readers (K–2)

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

Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of magic and friendship and overlapping grades (2–5).
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (2–8).
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (2–5).
Real Friends by Shannon Hale · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (2–8).
The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths · 560L — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like The Lifters for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (5–9).
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Just a Pinch of Magic by Alechia Dow · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of magic and friendship and overlapping grades (4–8).
Mary Poppins by Pamela L. Travers · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like The Lifters for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (5–9).
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Just a Pinch of Magic by Alechia Dow · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of magic and friendship and overlapping grades (4–8).
Mary Poppins by Pamela L. Travers · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–6).

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

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

Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (5–9).
The Maze Runner by James Dashner · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (7–12).
Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (6–9).
Posted by John David Anderson · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (6–9).

Book data last updated 2026-07-07. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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