Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear
by Robin Wasley
Assigned across 1 curriculum list
Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear by Robin Wasley is assigned in US schools at grades 9–12. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Grade range
- Grades 9–12
- Pages
- 416
- Reading time
- about 7h 40m (est.)
- First published
- 2025
- Genre
- Young Adult
- ISBN-13
- 9781665914611
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More formats & details
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About this book
Seventeen-year-old Sid lives in a tourist town where magic lies buried beneath the earth, but other than that, has a completely ordinary existence, until one day her brother goes missing and the ground opens up, unleashing the magic and zombies within.
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See all books like Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Young Adult title, typically at grades 9–12. Written in the 2020s; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Where this book is assigned
William C. Morris YA Debut Award
- recommended·9th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2025 Honor
- recommended·10th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2025 Honor
- recommended·11th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2025 Honor
- recommended·12th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2025 Honor
Common questions
- What grade level is Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear?
- Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 9–12. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- How long does it take to read Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear?
- It takes about 7h 40m to read Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear (416 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 460 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear?
- Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear appears on reading lists for William C. Morris YA Debut Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear banned in schools?
- Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
Why this book is on this list
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 9–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: read-aloud.