What books are similar to Long Way Down?

The 10 closest matches to Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds on ReadingList include The Crossover, The Outsiders, Out of My Mind, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Walk Two Moons. Each is scored on shared themes (grief, revenge, and family), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 7–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Long Way Down reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 7–12), 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 Long Way Down

If you liked Long Way Down, read The Crossover, The Outsiders, or Out of My Mind — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (Young Adult Fiction · 720L · grades 7–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of grief, revenge, and family. 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 7–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Crossover750L: Shares themes of grief and family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and a close reading level (750L vs 720L). Amazon →
The Outsiders750L: Shares themes of family and violence, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (750L vs 720L). Amazon →
Out of My Mind700L: Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (700L vs 720L). Amazon →
Where the Red Fern Grows700L: Shares themes of grief and family, both on the North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award list, and a close reading level (700L vs 720L). Amazon →
Walk Two Moons770L: Shares themes of grief and family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and a close reading level (770L vs 720L). Amazon →
Wonder790L: Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (790L vs 720L). Amazon →
The Poet X800L: Shares themes of family, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, and same genre (Young Adult Fiction). Amazon →
The Fault in Our Stars850L: Shares themes of grief, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, and same genre (Young Adult Fiction). Amazon →
Mick Harte Was Heregrades 5–8: Shares themes of grief and family, both on the North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →
One Crazy Summer750L: Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and a close reading level (750L vs 720L). Amazon →

Books like Long Way Down for younger readers (K–2)

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

Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Shares themes of grief and family.
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey · 730L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (730L vs 720L).
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (750L vs 720L).
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (590L vs 720L).
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family, both on the North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award list, and a close reading level (470L vs 720L).

Books like Long Way Down for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown · 740L — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and a close reading level (740L vs 720L).
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan · 680L — Shares themes of family, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, and a close reading level (680L vs 720L).
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan · 660L — Shares themes of family and loss and a close reading level (660L vs 720L).
The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of grief and family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and overlapping grades (3–7).
Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), a close reading level (730L vs 720L), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Long Way Down for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown · 740L — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and a close reading level (740L vs 720L).
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan · 680L — Shares themes of family, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, and a close reading level (680L vs 720L).
The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of grief and family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and overlapping grades (3–7).
Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), a close reading level (730L vs 720L), and the same era (2010s).
Front Desk by Kelly Yang · 640L — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and a close reading level (640L vs 720L).

Books like Long Way Down for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award list, and a close reading level (800L vs 720L).
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas · 590L — Shares themes of family, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, and a close reading level (590L vs 720L).
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12).
Four for the Road by K.J. Reilly · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of grief, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Never Thought I'd End Up Here by Ann Liang · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12).

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

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