Read-alikes and related books

Books like The Dead I Know

24 books recommended for fans of The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner, tied together by themes of Religion & Faith, Runaways, Mental Illness, and Adoption.

Religion & Faith Runaways Mental Illness Adoption Alternative Family Orphans & Foster Homes Boys & Men Bedtime & Dreams Death, Grief, Bereavement Social Topics Emotions & Feelings Coming of Age Young Adult Fiction Religious Friendship Family Social Themes Juvenile Nonfiction Juvenile Fiction

Top related books to The Dead I Know

A handpicked shelf of strong matches chosen for shared themes, literary overlap, and a broader spread of voices.

A Year to the Day

Robin Benway

Themes: Religion & Faith • Mental Illness • Boys & Men

Side Effects May Vary

Julie Murphy

Themes: Religion & Faith • Mental Illness • Boys & Men

Meet Me in the Middle

Alex Light

Themes: Religion & Faith • Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement

The Arrival of Someday

Jen Malone

Themes: Religion & Faith • Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement

On My Honor

Marion Dane Bauer

Themes: Religion & Faith • Mental Illness • Boys & Men

All the Things We Do in the Dark

Saundra Mitchell

Themes: Religion & Faith • Mental Illness • Boys & Men

The Calculus of Change

Jessie Hilb

Themes: Religion & Faith • Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement

Get Even TV Tie-In Edition

Gretchen McNeil

Themes: Religion & Faith • Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life A Novel

Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Themes: Adoption • Alternative Family • Boys & Men

#10

See You on Venus

Victoria Vinuesa

Themes: Adoption • Orphans & Foster Homes • Death, Grief, Bereavement

#11

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley

Shaun David Hutchinson

Themes: Runaways • Orphans & Foster Homes • Boys & Men

#12

Goodbye from Nowhere

Sara Zarr

Themes: Religion & Faith • Runaways • Mental Illness

#13

Who I was with Her

Nita Tyndall

Themes: Mental Illness • Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement

#14

Reckless

Lauren Roberts

Themes: Runaways • Adoption • Boys & Men

#15

The Falling in Love Montage

Ciara Smyth

Themes: Religion & Faith • Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement

#16

Finding Katie The Diary of Anonymous, A Teenager in Foster Care

Beatrice Sparks

Themes: Runaways • Adoption • Alternative Family

#17

The Meaning of Birds

Jaye Robin Brown

Themes: Religion & Faith • Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement

#18

The Key to You and Me

Jaye Robin Brown

Themes: Religion & Faith • Death, Grief, Bereavement • Emotions & Feelings

#19

We Ship It

Lauren Kay

Themes: Religion & Faith • Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement

#20

The Pigman’s Legacy

Paul Zindel

Themes: Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement • Emotions & Feelings

#21

All Your Twisted Secrets

Diana Urban

Themes: Religion & Faith • Social Topics • Emotions & Feelings

#22

Summer of Salt

Katrina Leno

Themes: Religion & Faith • Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement

#23

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life — Benjamin Alire Saenz

Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Themes: Adoption • Alternative Family • Boys & Men

#24

Save Steve

Jenni Hendriks

Themes: Mental Illness • Boys & Men • Death, Grief, Bereavement

This list brings together 24 books that share meaningful common ground with The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner. Connected by Religion & Faith, Runaways, Mental Illness. Authors featured include Robin Benway, Julie Murphy, Alex Light, Jen Malone, and others. Each pick was selected for thematic and literary overlap — not just genre similarity.

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More by Scot Gardner More books tagged Religion & Faith Explore Runaways