Books like Breaking Boxes

If you liked Breaking Boxes, read A Sudden Silence, Night Kites, or Full Tilt — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: A Sudden Silence by Eve Bunting — shares brothers

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Looking for books like Breaking Boxes by A. M. Jenkins (Realistic Fiction · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of friendship and brothers. 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.

10 books similar to Breaking Boxes

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Why each is a match

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A Sudden Silencegrades 9–12
Shares themes of brothers, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Night Kitesgrades 9–12
Shares themes of brothers, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Full Tiltgrades 9–12
Shares themes of brothers and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Only Alien on the Planetgrades 9–12
Shares themes of friendship, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Armageddon Summergrades 9–12
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Badgrades 9–12
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Ironmangrades 9–12
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Shadow of the Dragongrades 9–12
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnesgrades 9–12
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Silver Kissgrades 9–12
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Breaking Boxes for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Tangerine by Edward Bloor · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of brothers and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • The Boys Start the War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of brothers and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of brothers and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
  • Don’t Touch My Room by Patricia Lakin · grades K–3 — Shares themes of brothers and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Stonewords: A Ghost Story by Pam Conrad · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like Breaking Boxes for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Tangerine by Edward Bloor · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of brothers and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • The Boys Start the War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of brothers and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of brothers and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
  • 12 Again by Sue Corbett · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of brothers and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
  • Stonewords: A Ghost Story by Pam Conrad · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to Breaking Boxes?
The 10 closest matches to Breaking Boxes by A. M. Jenkins on ReadingList include A Sudden Silence, Night Kites, Full Tilt, The Only Alien on the Planet, and Armageddon Summer. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship and brothers), 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 Breaking Boxes 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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