What books are similar to The Boy at the Back of the Class?

The 10 closest matches to The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf on ReadingList include Front Desk, Pie in the Sky, Wonder, Swim Team, and Invisible Isabel. Each is scored on shared themes (empathy, friendship, and immigration), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Boy at the Back of the Class reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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 The Boy at the Back of the Class

If you liked The Boy at the Back of the Class, read Front Desk, Pie in the Sky, or Wonder — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Front Desk by Kelly Yang — shares immigration

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Looking for books like The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of empathy, friendship, and immigration. 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 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Front Desk640L: Shares themes of immigration, both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Pie in the Skygrades 3–6: Shares themes of immigration, both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Wonder790L: Shares themes of empathy and friendship, both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Swim Teamgrades 3–7: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Invisible Isabelgrades 3–6: Shares themes of empathy, both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Save Me a Seat780L: Shares themes of friendship and immigration, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Last Musketeergrades 4–7: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Willa of the Woodgrades 4–7: Shares themes of courage, both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1)grades 2–5: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybegrades 4–7: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Boy at the Back of the Class for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger · grades 4–6 — Both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga · 930L — Shares themes of immigration and overlapping grades (4–7).
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate · 570L — Shares themes of empathy and overlapping grades (3–7).
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo · 670L — Shares themes of courage, both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like The Boy at the Back of the Class for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of immigration and both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list.
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger · grades 4–6 — Both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga · 930L — Shares themes of immigration and overlapping grades (4–7).
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate · 570L — Shares themes of empathy and overlapping grades (3–7).
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like The Boy at the Back of the Class for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of immigration and both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list.
My Ántonia by Willa Cather · 1010L — Shares themes of friendship and immigration.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini · 840L — Shares themes of friendship and immigration.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz · grades 9–12 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram · grades 9–12 — Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Boy at the Back of the Class?: The 10 closest matches to The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf on ReadingList include Front Desk, Pie in the Sky, Wonder, Swim Team, and Invisible Isabel. Each is scored on shared themes (empathy, friendship, and immigration), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Boy at the Back of the Class reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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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