Books like The Girl in the Lake

If you liked The Girl in the Lake, read Millionaires for the Month, Six Feet Below Zero, or A Million Ways Home — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Girl in the Lake by India Hill Brown? 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 4–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Girl in the Lake

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Why each is a match

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Millionaires for the Monthgrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Six Feet Below Zerogrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
A Million Ways Homegrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Winn-Dixie610L
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Blended610L
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Deep and Dark and Dangerousgrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
One for Sorrowgrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Out of My Mind700L
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Runaway Twingrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Girl in the Lake for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Stolen Children by Peg Kehret · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan · 740L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like The Girl in the Lake for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Stolen Children by Peg Kehret · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan · 740L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Girl in the Lake?
The 10 closest matches to The Girl in the Lake by India Hill Brown on ReadingList include Millionaires for the Month, Six Feet Below Zero, A Million Ways Home, Because of Winn-Dixie, and Blended. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Girl in the Lake reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–6), 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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