What books are similar to The Thing About Leftovers?

The 10 closest matches to The Thing About Leftovers by C.C. Payne on ReadingList include Other Words for Home, Boy 2.0, The Firefly Summer, The Wrong Way Home, and So B. It. Each is scored on shared themes (divorce, family, and belonging), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Thing About Leftovers reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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 Thing About Leftovers

If you liked The Thing About Leftovers, read Other Words for Home, Boy 2.0, or The Firefly Summer — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Closest match: Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga — shares family and belonging

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Looking for books like The Thing About Leftovers by C.C. Payne (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–7)? It’s most often read for its themes of divorce, family, and belonging. 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 4–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Other Words for Home930L: Shares themes of family and belonging and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Boy 2.0grades 4–8: Shares themes of family and belonging and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Firefly Summergrades 3–7: Shares themes of family and belonging and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Wrong Way Homegrades 4–8: Shares themes of family and belonging and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
So B. Itgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Surviving the Applewhitesgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Summer of Rileygrades 3–5: Shares themes of divorce, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Taking Terri Muellergrades 6–8: Shares themes of divorce, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Stridergrades 6–8: Shares themes of divorce and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Night Hoopsgrades 6–9: Shares themes of divorce, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Thing About Leftovers for younger readers (K–2)

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

Chalk by Bill Thomson · grades K–2 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
Cookiesaurus Rex by Amy Fellner Dominy · grades K–0 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
Dogku by Andrew Clements · grades K–2 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry · grades K–0 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp · grades K–2 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Thing About Leftovers for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart · grades 5–8 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8).
Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7).

Books like The Thing About Leftovers for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart · grades 5–8 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8).
Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7).

Books like The Thing About Leftovers for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of divorce and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens · grades 9–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
I am the Weapon by Allen Zadoff · grades 9–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga · grades 9–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
Paul, Big, and Small by David Glen Robb · grades 9–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Thing About Leftovers?: The 10 closest matches to The Thing About Leftovers by C.C. Payne on ReadingList include Other Words for Home, Boy 2.0, The Firefly Summer, The Wrong Way Home, and So B. It. Each is scored on shared themes (divorce, family, and belonging), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Thing About Leftovers reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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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