What books are similar to City of Thieves?

The 10 closest matches to City of Thieves by Alex London on ReadingList include City Spies, Hummingbird, Zeus, Dog of Chaos, Zia Erases the World, and A Boy Named Queen. Each is scored on shared themes, 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 City of Thieves 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 City of Thieves

If you liked City of Thieves, read City Spies, Hummingbird, or Zeus, Dog of Chaos — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like City of Thieves by Alex London (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–8)? 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.

Reading the whole similar-books list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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Why each is a match

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City Spiesgrades 4–6: Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Hummingbirdgrades 3–8: Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Zeus, Dog of Chaosgrades 3–8: Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Zia Erases the Worldgrades 3–8: Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Boy Named Queengrades 3–8: Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Ava and Pipgrades 3–8: Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Jobgrades 3–8: Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Ban This Bookgrades 3–6: Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Hostagegrades 3–8: Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Lochgrades 3–8: Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like City of Thieves for younger readers (K–2)

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

¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by Raúl the Third III · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2020s).
Donut Feed the Squirrels by Mika Song · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2020s).
How to Stay Invisible by Maggie C. Rudd · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2020s).
Summer Vamp by Violet Chan Karim · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2020s).
Swing by Audrey Meeker · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2020s).

Books like City of Thieves for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech · grades 3–8 — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Saving Zasha by Randi G. Barrow · grades 3–8 — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You by Barthe DeClements · grades 3–8 — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Stepping Up by Mark Fink · grades 3–8 — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like City of Thieves for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech · grades 3–8 — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Saving Zasha by Randi G. Barrow · grades 3–8 — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You by Barthe DeClements · grades 3–8 — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Stepping Up by Mark Fink · grades 3–8 — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like City of Thieves for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2020s).
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2020s).
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and overlapping grades (6–9).
Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper · grades 7–10 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and overlapping grades (7–10).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and overlapping grades (7–10).

Book data last updated 2026-07-07. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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