What books are similar to The Serpent King?

The 10 closest matches to The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner on ReadingList include Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Saints and Misfits, The Field Guide to the North American Teenager, After the Snow, and Beautiful Creatures: The Manga (A Graphic Novel). Each is scored on shared themes, 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 The Serpent King 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 The Serpent King

If you liked The Serpent King, read Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Saints and Misfits, or The Field Guide to the North American Teenager — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

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Looking for books like The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (Young Adult · grades 9–12)? 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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Darius the Great Is Not Okaygrades 9–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Saints and Misfitsgrades 9–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Field Guide to the North American Teenagergrades 9–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
After the Snowgrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Beautiful Creatures: The Manga (A Graphic Novel)grades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Because You'll Never Meet Megrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Belle Époquegrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Blood Water Paintgrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Charm & Strangegrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Check, Please! Book 1: # Hockeygrades 9–12: Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

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

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

Front Desk by Kelly Yang · 640L — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez · grades 4–7 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).
Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe by Jo Watson Hackl · grades 4–7 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf · grades 3–6 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).
The Last Musketeer by Stuart Gibbs · grades 4–7 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).

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

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

Front Desk by Kelly Yang · 640L — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez · grades 4–7 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).
Scythe by Neal Shusterman · grades 7–12 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s).
Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe by Jo Watson Hackl · grades 4–7 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf · grades 3–6 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).

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

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

Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert · grades 9–12 — Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber · grades 9–12 — Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Dear Martin by Nic Stone · grades 9–12 — Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Devils Within by S. F. Henson · grades 9–12 — Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos · grades 9–12 — Both on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award list, same genre (Young Adult), and overlapping grades (9–12).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Serpent King?: The 10 closest matches to The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner on ReadingList include Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Saints and Misfits, The Field Guide to the North American Teenager, After the Snow, and Beautiful Creatures: The Manga (A Graphic Novel). Each is scored on shared themes, 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 The Serpent King 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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