What books are similar to Breathe: A Ghost Story?

The 10 closest matches to Breathe: A Ghost Story by Cliff McNish on ReadingList include A Family Apart, Blackwater, Breakout, Ghost, and Ghost in My Soup. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Breathe: A Ghost Story reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), 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 Breathe: A Ghost Story

If you liked Breathe: A Ghost Story, read A Family Apart, Blackwater, or Breakout — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: A Family Apart by Joan Lowery Nixon

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Looking for books like Breathe: A Ghost Story by Cliff McNish (Realistic Fiction · grades 6–8)? 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 6–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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A Family Apartgrades 6–8: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Blackwatergrades 6–8: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Breakoutgrades 6–8: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost730L: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost in My Soupgrades 6–8: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Keygrades 6–8: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Planet Earth Is Bluegrades 6–8: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Walk Two Moons770L: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–7). Amazon → books like this →
All the Lovely Bad Onesgrades 5–8: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Eragongrades 6–9: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Breathe: A Ghost Story for younger readers (K–2)

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

Guji Guji by Chen, Zhiyuan · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
He Came With the Couch by David Slonim · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
The Monster Who Ate My Peas by Danny Schnitzlein · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).

Books like Breathe: A Ghost Story for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look · grades 3–5 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
Guji Guji by Chen, Zhiyuan · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
He Came With the Couch by David Slonim · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll · grades K–3 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).

Books like Breathe: A Ghost Story for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult · grades 9–12 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
The House Next Door by Richie Tankersley Cusick · grades 9–12 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
Wolf Rider: A Tale of Terror by Avi · grades 9–12 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Breathe: A Ghost Story?: The 10 closest matches to Breathe: A Ghost Story by Cliff McNish on ReadingList include A Family Apart, Blackwater, Breakout, Ghost, and Ghost in My Soup. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Breathe: A Ghost Story reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), 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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