What books are similar to Truly Devious?

The 10 closest matches to Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson on ReadingList include Plague Year, Good Girl's Guide to Murder, One of Us Is Lying, The Naturals, and The Man in the Woods. Each is scored on shared themes (schools, mystery and detective stories, and boarding schools), 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 Truly Devious 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 Truly Devious

If you liked Truly Devious, read Plague Year, Good Girl's Guide to Murder, or One of Us Is Lying — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Closest match: Plague Year by Stephanie S. Tolan — shares schools and mystery and detective stories

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Looking for books like Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson (Mystery · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of schools, mystery and detective stories, and boarding schools. 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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Plague Yeargrades 9–12: Shares themes of schools and mystery and detective stories, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Good Girl's Guide to Murdergrades 9–12: Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
One of Us Is Lyinggrades 9–12: Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Naturalsgrades 9–12: Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Man in the Woodsgrades 9–12: Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Inheritance Gamesgrades 9–12: Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Fake IDgrades 9–12: Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Daughter of the Starsgrades 9–12: Same genre (Mystery) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Eat Your Heart Outgrades 9–12: Same genre (Mystery) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
How to Survive Your Murdergrades 9–12: Same genre (Mystery) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Truly Devious for younger readers (K–2)

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

Piggins by Jane Yolen · grades K–3 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick · grades K–3 — Same genre (Mystery) and the same era (2010s).
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Mystery) and the same era (2010s).
Substitute Teacher Plans by Johnson, Doug · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools and both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list.
Real Friends by Shannon Hale · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of schools.

Books like Truly Devious for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Framed! by James Ponti · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
A Haunting in Williamsburg by Lou Kassem · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
Alvin's Swap Shop by Clifford B. Hicks · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
Christina's Ghost by Betty Ren Wright · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).

Books like Truly Devious for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Spying on Miss Müller by Eve Bunting · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of schools and boarding schools and both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list.
Framed! by James Ponti · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
Alvin's Swap Shop by Clifford B. Hicks · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
Christina's Ghost by Betty Ren Wright · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).

Books like Truly Devious for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Middlemarch by George Eliot · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Mystery) and overlapping grades (11–12).
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson · grades 7–12 — Same genre (Mystery) and overlapping grades (7–12).
That's Not My Name by Megan Lally · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Mystery) and overlapping grades (9–12).
The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Mystery) and overlapping grades (9–12).
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson · grades 7–12 — Same genre (Mystery) and overlapping grades (7–12).

Common questions

What books are similar to Truly Devious?: The 10 closest matches to Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson on ReadingList include Plague Year, Good Girl's Guide to Murder, One of Us Is Lying, The Naturals, and The Man in the Woods. Each is scored on shared themes (schools, mystery and detective stories, and boarding schools), 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 Truly Devious 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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