Books like The Boxes

If you liked The Boxes, read Rewind, Interstellar Pig, or A Hat Full of Sky — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Rewind by William Sleator

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Looking for books like The Boxes by William Sleator (Children's · grades 9–12)? 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 The Boxes

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Why each is a match

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Rewindgrades 9–12
Is by William Sleator, the same author, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, and same genre (Children's). Amazon → books like this →
Interstellar Piggrades 9–12
Is by William Sleator, the same author and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
A Hat Full of Skygrades 9–12
Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
City of Bonesgrades 9–12
Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Fat Kid Rules The Worldgrades 9–12
Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Hope Was Heregrades 9–12
Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Peachesgrades 9–12
Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Shiver (Shiver, Book 1)grades 9–12
Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Crazygrades 9–12
Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Evagrades 9–12
Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

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

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

  • A Dog's Life by Ann M. Martin · grades 4–6 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
  • Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace by Donald J. Sobol · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
  • Paul Bunyan Swings His Axe by Dell J. McCormick · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
  • The Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Stewart H. Holbrook · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).

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

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

  • A Dog's Life by Ann M. Martin · grades 4–6 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
  • Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace by Donald J. Sobol · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
  • Paul Bunyan Swings His Axe by Dell J. McCormick · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).
  • The Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Stewart H. Holbrook · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2000s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Boxes?
The 10 closest matches to The Boxes by William Sleator on ReadingList include Rewind, Interstellar Pig, A Hat Full of Sky, City of Bones, and Fat Kid Rules The World. Each is scored on shared themes, 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 The 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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