What books are similar to Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have?

The 10 closest matches to Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff on ReadingList include A Room on Lorelei Street, Absolutely Positively Not, Al Capone Does My Shirts, As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President!, and Bucking the Sarge. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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 Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have

If you liked Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have, read A Room on Lorelei Street, Absolutely Positively Not, or Al Capone Does My Shirts — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson

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Looking for books like Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff (Children's · grades 3–8)? 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 3–8 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 Room on Lorelei Streetgrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Absolutely Positively Notgrades 3–8: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Al Capone Does My Shirtsgrades 3–8: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President!grades 3–8: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Bucking the Sargegrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Clementinegrades 3–8: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Firegirlgrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Home of the Bravegrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Jenny of the Tetonsgrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Letters from a Slave Girlgrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Sea of the Dead by Julia Durango · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Boxer by Kathleen Karr · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).

Books like Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Sea of the Dead by Julia Durango · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Boxer by Kathleen Karr · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).

Books like Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Sea of the Dead by Julia Durango · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Boxer by Kathleen Karr · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have?: The 10 closest matches to Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff on ReadingList include A Room on Lorelei Street, Absolutely Positively Not, Al Capone Does My Shirts, As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President!, and Bucking the Sarge. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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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