What books are similar to The Night Train?

The 10 closest matches to The Night Train by Lorelei Savaryn on ReadingList include Amir and the Jinn Princess, Impossible Creatures, The Witching Wind, Between Two Brothers, and Mid-Air. Each is scored on shared themes (memory, grief, and courage), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Night Train reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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 The Night Train

If you liked The Night Train, read Amir and the Jinn Princess, Impossible Creatures, or The Witching Wind — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Amir and the Jinn Princess by M. T. Khan — shares courage

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Looking for books like The Night Train by Lorelei Savaryn (Middle Grade Fantasy · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of memory, grief, and courage. 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Amir and the Jinn Princessgrades 4–8: Shares themes of courage, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Impossible Creaturesgrades 4–8: Shares themes of courage, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
The Witching Windgrades 3–6: Shares themes of courage, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Between Two Brothersgrades 4–8: Shares themes of grief, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Mid-Airgrades 5–8: Shares themes of grief, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Wildfulgrades 4–8: Shares themes of grief, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Puzzleheartgrades 4–8: Shares themes of mystery, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Sherlock Societygrades 4–8: Shares themes of mystery, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Brick Dust and Bonesgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatlgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Night Train for younger readers (K–2)

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

Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Shares themes of grief.
The Yellow Bus by Loren Long · grades K–3 — Shares themes of memory.
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Shares themes of mystery.

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

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

Fowl Play by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of grief and mystery and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo · 670L — Shares themes of courage, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan · 740L — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
A Game of Noctis by Deva Fagan · grades 3–6 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of courage, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8).

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

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

Skyriders by Polly Holyoke · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8).
The Last Hope in Hopetown by Maria Tureaud · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8).
Fowl Play by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of grief and mystery and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo · 670L — Shares themes of courage, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage and mystery and overlapping grades (6–8).

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

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

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
Four for the Road by K.J. Reilly · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of grief.
The Silence That Binds Us by Joanna Ho · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of grief.
How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of mystery.
That's Not My Name by Megan Lally · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of mystery.

Common questions

What books are similar to The Night Train?: The 10 closest matches to The Night Train by Lorelei Savaryn on ReadingList include Amir and the Jinn Princess, Impossible Creatures, The Witching Wind, Between Two Brothers, and Mid-Air. Each is scored on shared themes (memory, grief, and courage), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Night Train reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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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