What books are similar to A Door Near Here?

The 10 closest matches to A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles on ReadingList include The Late Great Me, We All Fall Down, A Summer to Die, A Handful of Dust, and Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. Each is scored on shared themes (alcoholics, alcoholism, and brothers and sisters), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like A Door Near Here reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), 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 A Door Near Here

If you liked A Door Near Here, read The Late Great Me, We All Fall Down, or A Summer to Die — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Closest match: The Late Great Me by Sandra Scoppettone — shares alcoholics and alcoholism

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Looking for books like A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles (Realistic Fiction · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of alcoholics, alcoholism, and brothers and sisters. 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 9–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Late Great Megrades 9–12: Shares themes of alcoholics and alcoholism, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
We All Fall Downgrades 9–12: Shares themes of alcoholism, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
A Summer to Diegrades 9–12: Shares themes of brothers and sisters, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
A Handful of Dustgrades 11–12: Shares themes of divorce and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soulgrades 9–12: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
If You Come Softlygrades 9–12: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Jumping the Nailgrades 9–12: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Just Like Martingrades 9–12: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Tears of A Tigergrades 9–12: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The China Gardengrades 9–12: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like A Door Near Here for younger readers (K–2)

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

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child · grades K–3 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Beware of Boys by Tony Blundell · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (1990s).
Copycat by Ruth Brown · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (1990s).
Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (1990s).
Red Racer by Audrey Wood · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (1990s).

Books like A Door Near Here for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Summer of Riley by Eve Bunting · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of divorce, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
The Lemonade War by Davies, Jacqueline · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
Drive-By by Lynne Ewing · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Loch by Paul Zindel · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like A Door Near Here for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

A Family Apart by Joan Lowery Nixon · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
The Lemonade War by Davies, Jacqueline · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Drive-By by Lynne Ewing · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Loch by Paul Zindel · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.

Common questions

What books are similar to A Door Near Here?: The 10 closest matches to A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles on ReadingList include The Late Great Me, We All Fall Down, A Summer to Die, A Handful of Dust, and Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. Each is scored on shared themes (alcoholics, alcoholism, and brothers and sisters), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like A Door Near Here reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), 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.

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