Books like The Intruder

If you liked The Intruder, read An American Plague, Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun, or FIREBOAT — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: An American Plague by Jim Murphy

Get it on Amazon →

Affiliate link: as an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Looking for books like The Intruder by John Rowe Townsend (Children's · grades 4–9)? 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 4–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Intruder

Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Why each is a match

Amazon links below are affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

An American Plaguegrades 4–10
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogungrades 4–10
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
FIREBOATgrades 4–10
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Leon's Storygrades 4–10
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Lord of the Deepgrades 4–9
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Marching For Freedomgrades 4–10
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Nationgrades 4–9
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Some of the Kinder Planetsgrades 4–9
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Double Life of Pocahontasgrades 4–10
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
The Fire Eatersgrades 4–9
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →

More like this

Same grade band, chosen by theme and by how many reading lists carry them. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Show 12 more

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

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

  • The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon →
  • The Jamie and Angus Stories by Anne Fine · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon →
  • The Lincolns by Candace Fleming · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon →
  • The Longitude Prize by Joan Dash · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon →
  • The Schwa was Here by Neal Shusterman · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon →

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

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

  • The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon →
  • The Jamie and Angus Stories by Anne Fine · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon →
  • The Lincolns by Candace Fleming · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon →
  • The Longitude Prize by Joan Dash · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon →
  • The Schwa was Here by Neal Shusterman · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon →

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

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

  • The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon →
  • The Jamie and Angus Stories by Anne Fine · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon →
  • The Lincolns by Candace Fleming · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon →
  • The Longitude Prize by Joan Dash · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon →
  • The Schwa was Here by Neal Shusterman · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon →

Common questions

What books are similar to The Intruder?
The 10 closest matches to The Intruder by John Rowe Townsend on ReadingList include An American Plague, Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun, FIREBOAT, Leon's Story, and Lord of the Deep. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Intruder reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–9), 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.

← Back to The Intruder

Browse by another angle

Find ReadingList in your Google results more often: