What books are similar to Where Things Come Back?

The 10 closest matches to Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley on ReadingList include Firekeeper's Daughter, Bone Gap, Dig, I'll Give You the Sun, and In Darkness. 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 Where Things Come Back 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 Where Things Come Back

If you liked Where Things Come Back, read Firekeeper's Daughter, Bone Gap, or Dig — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

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Looking for books like Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley? 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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Firekeeper's Daughtergrades 9–12: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Bone Gapgrades 9–12: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Diggrades 9–12: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
I'll Give You the Sungrades 9–12: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
In Darknessgrades 9–12: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
March Book Threegrades 9–12: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Midwinterbloodgrades 9–12: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Ship Breakergrades 9–12: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
The Poet X800L: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
We Are Okaygrades 9–12: Both on the Michael L. Printz Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Common questions

What books are similar to Where Things Come Back?: The 10 closest matches to Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley on ReadingList include Firekeeper's Daughter, Bone Gap, Dig, I'll Give You the Sun, and In Darkness. 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 Where Things Come Back 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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Books like Where Things Come Back

10 books similar to Where Things Come Back

Why each is a match

Common questions

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