What books are similar to Backlash?

The 10 closest matches to Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman on ReadingList include Poor Louie, Saving Zasha, The Fourteenth Goldfish, 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents, and All About Sam. Each is scored on shared themes (neighbors, suicide, and family life), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Backlash reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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 Backlash

If you liked Backlash, read Poor Louie, Saving Zasha, or The Fourteenth Goldfish — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Looking for books like Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of neighbors, suicide, and family life. 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 3–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Poor Louiegrades K–3: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Saving Zashagrades 3–8: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Fourteenth Goldfishgrades 4–6: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
101 Ways to Bug Your Parentsgrades 4–6: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
All About Samgrades 4–6: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Attaboy, Sam!grades 4–6: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Daphne's Bookgrades 4–8: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Piegrades 6–9: Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Fig Puddinggrades 3–5: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Guji Gujigrades K–3: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Backlash for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
One Lucky Girl by George Ella Lyon · grades K–2 — Shares themes of family life and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron · grades 2–3 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–3).
Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (2010s).
Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj · grades K–3 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Backlash for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Hostage by Willo Davis Roberts · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of neighbors, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park · grades 5–8 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Pie by Sarah Weeks · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of family life, both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like Backlash for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Hostage by Willo Davis Roberts · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of neighbors, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park · grades 5–8 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).

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

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

Room by Emma Donoghue · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of family life and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of family life and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of suicide and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Shadow of the Dragon by Sherry Garland · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of family life and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to Backlash?: The 10 closest matches to Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman on ReadingList include Poor Louie, Saving Zasha, The Fourteenth Goldfish, 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents, and All About Sam. Each is scored on shared themes (neighbors, suicide, and family life), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Backlash reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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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