What books are similar to Keeper of the Lost Cities?

The 10 closest matches to Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger on ReadingList include The Lifters, The Indian in the Cupboard, A Royal Conundrum, Amari and the Night Brothers, and Confessions of a Class Clown. Each is scored on shared themes (magic, identity, and friendship), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Keeper of the Lost Cities reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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 Keeper of the Lost Cities

If you liked Keeper of the Lost Cities, read The Lifters, The Indian in the Cupboard, or A Royal Conundrum — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (Fantasy · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of magic, identity, and friendship. 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Liftersgrades 3–8: Shares themes of magic and friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
The Indian in the Cupboardgrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon →
A Royal Conundrumgrades 3–6: Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Amari and the Night Brothersgrades 4–7: Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Confessions of a Class Clowngrades 6–8: Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
Control Freaksgrades 6–8: Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
Groundedgrades 4–8: Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Just a Pinch of Magicgrades 4–8: Shares themes of magic and friendship and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Misfit Mansiongrades 3–5: Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecygrades 3–7: Shares themes of magic and identity and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →

Books like Keeper of the Lost Cities for younger readers (K–2)

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

Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity and friendship.
How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity and friendship.
Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of magic and friendship and overlapping grades (2–5).
You're So Amazing! by James Catchpole · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity and friendship.
Yuna's Cardboard Castles by Marie Tang · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity and friendship.

Books like Keeper of the Lost Cities for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of magic and friendship and overlapping grades (2–5).
Blubber by Judy Blume · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (4–7).
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (2–5).
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell · 890L — Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Keeper of the Lost Cities for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (6–8).
Blubber by Judy Blume · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (4–7).
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell · 890L — Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (4–7).
Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (5–9).

Books like Keeper of the Lost Cities for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity and friendship and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (5–9).
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes · 910L — Shares themes of identity and friendship and overlapping grades (8–11).
Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of identity, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (6–9).
Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of identity, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (6–9).

What to read after Keeper of the Lost Cities

Keeper of the Lost Cities is book 1 of 9 in Shannon Messenger’s Keeper of the Lost Cities series. Not done with the series yet? Follow the Keeper of the Lost Cities reading order first — then come back for the matches above.

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

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