What books are similar to The Thing About Leftovers?

The 10 closest matches to The Thing About Leftovers by C.C. Payne on ReadingList include Stuck in Neutral, So B. It, Surviving the Applewhites, A Boy Called Bat, and Crenshaw. Each is scored on shared themes (divorce, family, and belonging), 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 Thing About Leftovers 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.

Books like The Thing About Leftovers

If you liked The Thing About Leftovers, read Stuck in Neutral, So B. It, or Surviving the Applewhites — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Thing About Leftovers by C.C. Payne (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–7)? It’s most often read for its themes of divorce, family, and belonging. 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.

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Why each is a match

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Stuck in Neutralgrades 7–10: Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
So B. Itgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Surviving the Applewhitesgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
A Boy Called Batgrades 3–5: Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
Crenshawgrades 3–6: Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Piegrades 6–9: Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon →
Front Desk640L: Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Ghost Boys360L: Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Mick Harte Was Heregrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →
Other Words for Home930L: Shares themes of family and belonging and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →

Books like The Thing About Leftovers for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of family and belonging and overlapping grades (2–5).
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like The Thing About Leftovers for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, and overlapping grades (5–8).
All About Sam by Lois Lowry · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Attaboy, Sam! by Lois Lowry · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like The Thing About Leftovers for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, and overlapping grades (5–8).
All About Sam by Lois Lowry · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Attaboy, Sam! by Lois Lowry · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like The Thing About Leftovers for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Shares themes of family 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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