What books are similar to Night Hoops?

The 10 closest matches to Night Hoops by Carl Deuker on ReadingList include High Heat, Heart of a Champion, Impulse, Stepping Up, and Loser. Each is scored on shared themes (basketball, divorce, and interpersonal relations), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Night Hoops reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–9), 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 Night Hoops

If you liked Night Hoops, read High Heat, Heart of a Champion, or Impulse — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Night Hoops by Carl Deuker (Realistic Fiction · grades 6–9)? It’s most often read for its themes of basketball, divorce, and interpersonal relations. 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 6–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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High Heatgrades 6–9: Is by Carl Deuker, the same author, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Heart of a Championgrades 6–8: Is by Carl Deuker, the same author, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Impulsegrades 9–12: Shares themes of interpersonal relations, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Stepping Upgrades 3–8: Shares themes of basketball, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Losergrades 4–6: Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Lulu's Mysterious Missiongrades 2–8: Shares themes of behavior, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Mississippi Trial, 1955grades 6–9: Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Perfectgrades 6–9: Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Shoeshine Girlgrades 4–6: Shares themes of behavior, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Compoundgrades 6–9: Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Night Hoops for younger readers (K–2)

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

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel · grades K–3 — Shares themes of behavior and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Bedhead by Margie Palatini · grades K–3 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen · grades K–3 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza · grades K–3 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School by Judy Sierra · grades K–3 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).

Books like Night Hoops for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel · grades K–3 — Shares themes of behavior and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Bedhead by Margie Palatini · grades K–3 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
Class Clown by Johanna Hurwitz · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of behavior and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen · grades K–3 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza · grades K–3 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).

Books like Night Hoops for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of interpersonal relations, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
The Thing About Leftovers by C.C. Payne · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of divorce, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Togo by Robert J. Blake · grades 2–8 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Danger Zone by David Klass · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).

Books like Night Hoops for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Sweat by Lynn Nottage · grades 11–12 — Shares themes of interpersonal relations and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
What it Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah · grades 9–10 — Shares themes of interpersonal relations, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–10).
Danger Zone by David Klass · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to Night Hoops?: The 10 closest matches to Night Hoops by Carl Deuker on ReadingList include High Heat, Heart of a Champion, Impulse, Stepping Up, and Loser. Each is scored on shared themes (basketball, divorce, and interpersonal relations), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Night Hoops reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–9), 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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