| 100% | FIVECARATSOUL | 13 | 2017 short story collection by 30-Across featuring middle school-aged boys in a band (3 wds.) |
| 35% | INPLAINSIGHT | 12 | 2019 collection of short stories by 31-Across featuring Kate Burkholder (3 wds.) |
| 35% | THEFAMILIAR | 11 | 2024 historical fantasy novel by 30-Across featuring two people with magical powers in the Spanish Golden Age (2 wds.) |
| 34% | ONLYTHELUCKY | 12 | 2018 collection of short stories by 31-Across featuring fictional police chief Kate Burkholder (3 wds.) |
| 34% | MARVINREDPOST | 13 | Boy featured in eight books by 30-Across (2 wds.) |
| 32% | THESEVENAGES | 12 | Collection by 36-Across that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2002 (3 wds.) |
| 32% | THEHALFMOON | 11 | 2023 novel by 30-Across about a married couple running a bar in a small town (3 wds.) |
| 31% | CYYOUNGAWARD | 12 | Pitching prize won by 30-Across in 1997, 1999, and 2000: 3 wds. |
| 30% | HENRYANDRIBSY | 13 | One in a series of books by 46-Across about a boy and his dog: 3 wds. |
| 30% | LOOKBOTHWAYS | 12 | 2019 novel by 30-Across that was a National Book Award finalist: 3 wds. |
| 29% | DARKOFTHEMOON | 13 | First book in a series of novels by John Sandford featuring 46-Across (4 wds.) |
| 29% | THEJUNGLEBOOK | 13 | 1894 collection of tales featuring Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves: 3 wds. |
| 29% | IFALLAPART | 10 | Song by 42-Across that became a hit after a live-performance video went viral in 2017 (3 wds.) |
| 29% | RAMONATHEPEST | 13 | One in a series of books by 46-Across about a girl starting kindergarten: 3 wds. |
| 29% | OHIO | 4 | "Winesburg, ___" (Sherwood Anderson short story collection about life in a small town) |
| 29% | MEYOURLOVE | 10 | "Bring ___," short story written by Charles Bukowski which was adapted into a film starring Ian Hart: 3 wds. |
| 28% | IMTHEONE | 8 | Song by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne that topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a week in 2017 (3 wds.) |
| 28% | NEELSETHI | 9 | Newcomer who played Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves, in 27-Across: 2 wds. |
| 28% | EYE | 3 | Short story collection by Frank Herbert ('85) which includes "The Road to Dune", a guidebook for pilgrims to the planet Arrakis |
| 28% | ADLER | 5 | Irene in a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |
| 28% | BURNINUP | 8 | 30-Across hit song with a rap verse by the band's bodyguard Robert "Big Rob" Feggans (2 wds.) |
| 28% | LUCYINTHESKY | 12 | With 29-Across, Beatles song inspired by a drawing Julian Lennon made in nursery school: 4 wds. |
| 28% | THEWEIGHT | 9 | Song by The Band featured in the Monument Valley scene in 36-Across (2 wds.) |
| 27% | EGGSBEANSAND | 12 | & 1D 1940 story collection by P G Wodehouse featuring the tales Sonny Boy and Buttercup Day |
| 27% | GALATEA | 7 | Short story by Madeline Miller that's a retelling of Greek myths featuring Pygmalion |
| 27% | THEWILDIRIS | 11 | Collection by 36-Across that won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1993 (3 wds.) |
| 26% | CRANESINTHESKY | 14 | Song by 49-Across that won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 2017 (4 wds.) |
| 26% | ORIENTEXPRESS | 13 | Train that's the setting for murder in a 2017 remake directed by Kenneth Branagh (2 wds.) |