Books like The Girl Who Drank the Moon

If you liked The Girl Who Drank the Moon, read Iron Hearted Violet, The Ogress and the Orphans, or When You Reach Me — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill? 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 4–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Girl Who Drank the Moon

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Why each is a match

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Iron Hearted Violetgrades 5–12
Is by Kelly Barnhill, the same author, both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, and overlapping grades (5–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Ogress and the Orphansgrades 4–5
Is by Kelly Barnhill, the same author and overlapping grades (4–5). Amazon → books like this →
When You Reach Me750L
Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Corner of Whitegrades 5–12
Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
A Light in the Dark (Dark Stars Book 2)grades 5–12
Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Abovegrades 5–12
Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Above Worldgrades 5–12
Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Akata Witchgrades 5–12
Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Arabella of Marsgrades 5–12
Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Archivist Waspgrades 5–12
Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Girl Who Drank the Moon for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Ash by Malinda Lo · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Black Heart by Holly Black · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Girl Who Drank the Moon for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Ash by Malinda Lo · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Black Heart by Holly Black · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Girl Who Drank the Moon for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Ash by Malinda Lo · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Black Heart by Holly Black · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Bone Gap by Laura Ruby · grades 9–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Girl Who Drank the Moon?
The 10 closest matches to The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill on ReadingList include Iron Hearted Violet, The Ogress and the Orphans, When You Reach Me, A Corner of White, and A Light in the Dark (Dark Stars Book 2). Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Girl Who Drank the Moon reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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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