What books are similar to The Apothecary?

The 10 closest matches to The Apothecary by Maile Meloy on ReadingList include Bink & Gollie, Here Comes the Garbage Barge, Down the Rabbit Hole, Fever 1793, and Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon. Each is scored on shared themes (cold war, adventure and adventurers, and alchemy), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Apothecary reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–8), 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 The Apothecary

If you liked The Apothecary, read Bink & Gollie, Here Comes the Garbage Barge, or Down the Rabbit Hole — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Apothecary by Maile Meloy (Mystery · grades 2–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of cold war, adventure and adventurers, and alchemy. 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 2–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Bink & Golliegrades 2–8: Shares themes of adventure and adventurers, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon →
Here Comes the Garbage Bargegrades 2–8: Shares themes of history, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon →
Down the Rabbit Holegrades 2–8: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon →
Fever 1793grades 2–8: Shares themes of history, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon →
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon920L: Shares themes of history and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon →
Framed!grades 3–8: Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871grades 3–6: Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912590L: Shares themes of history and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon →
Lootgrades 3–8: Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
Piegrades 3–8: Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →

Books like The Apothecary for younger readers (K–2)

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

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust by Elisa Boxer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of history and overlapping grades (2–5).
Lulu's Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
My Explosive Diary by Emily Gale · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Real Friends by Shannon Hale · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Apothecary for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of history and overlapping grades (3–8).
Swindle by Gordon Korman · grades 4–7 — Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (4–6).
Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage · grades 4–7 — Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Apothecary for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of history and overlapping grades (3–8).
Swindle by Gordon Korman · grades 4–7 — Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (4–6).
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson · 610L — Shares themes of history and overlapping grades (6–8).
Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).

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

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

Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s).
How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Mystery).
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s).
Murder Among Friends by Candace Fleming · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of history.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson · grades 7–12 — Same genre (Mystery) 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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