Books like Refugee
Looking for books like Refugee by Alan Gratz (Historical Fiction · 800L · grades 5–9)? It’s most often read for its themes of refugees, survival, and family. The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, 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 5–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to Refugee
Inside Out & Back AgainThanhha Lai · 800L
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912Lauren Tarshis · 590L
Salt to the SeaRuta Sepetys · 560L
WonderR.J. Palacio · 790L
One Crazy SummerRita Williams-Garcia · 750L
The Wild RobotPeter Brown · 740L
Code Name KingfisherLiz Kessler
DragonwingsLaurence Yep · 870L
A Long Walk to WaterLinda Sue Park · 720L
EchoPam Muñoz Ryan · 680L
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Why each is a match
- Inside Out & Back Again800L
- Shares themes of refugees, family, and displacement and a close reading level (800L vs 800L).
- I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912590L
- Shares themes of survival and family, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (590L vs 800L).
- Salt to the Sea560L
- Shares themes of refugees and survival, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (560L vs 800L).
- Wonder790L
- Shares themes of family and empathy and a close reading level (790L vs 800L).
- One Crazy Summer750L
- Shares themes of family, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (750L vs 800L).
- The Wild Robot740L
- Shares themes of survival and family and a close reading level (740L vs 800L).
- Code Name Kingfishergrades 4–8
- Shares themes of survival and family, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
- Dragonwings870L
- Shares themes of family, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (870L vs 800L).
- A Long Walk to Water720L
- Shares themes of survival, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (720L vs 800L).
- Echo680L
- Shares themes of family, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (680L vs 800L).