Books like The Honest Truth

Looking for books like The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart (Realistic Fiction · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of illness, adventure, and hope. The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Honest Truth

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Why each is a match

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Piegrades 6–9
Shares themes of illness, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hoopermangrades 6–9
Shares themes of hope, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
A Boy Called Batgrades 3–5
Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
A Long Walk to Water720L
Shares themes of hope and overlapping grades (5–8).
Amal Unboundgrades 5–8
Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).
Ban This Bookgrades 3–6
Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Crenshawgrades 3–6
Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Front Desk640L
Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s).
Ghost730L
Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).
Ghost Boys360L
Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).

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