What books are similar to The War That Saved My Life?

The 10 closest matches to The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley on ReadingList include Fish in a Tree, Front Desk, Out of My Mind, Number the Stars, and A Night Divided. Each is scored on shared themes (war, resilience, and disability), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The War That Saved My Life reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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 War That Saved My Life

If you liked The War That Saved My Life, read Fish in a Tree, Front Desk, or Out of My Mind — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt — shares resilience and disability

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Looking for books like The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade) · 580L · grades 4–7)? It’s most often read for its themes of war, resilience, and disability. 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 4–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Fish in a Tree550L: Shares themes of resilience and disability, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (550L vs 580L). Amazon → books like this →
Front Desk640L: Shares themes of resilience and family, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (640L vs 580L). Amazon → books like this →
Out of My Mind700L: Shares themes of disability and family, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+6 more shared lists), and a close reading level (700L vs 580L). Amazon → books like this →
Number the Stars670L: Shares themes of family, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)). Amazon → books like this →
A Night Dividedgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family and freedom, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+3 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Echo680L: Shares themes of war and family, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (680L vs 580L). Amazon → books like this →
The War I Finally Wongrades 5–8: Is by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, the same author, shares themes of family, and both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list). Amazon → books like this →
El Deafo420L: Shares themes of disability, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), and a close reading level (420L vs 580L). Amazon → books like this →
Blended610L: Shares themes of family, both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (610L vs 580L). Amazon → books like this →
Chains780L: Shares themes of resilience and freedom, same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)), and a close reading level (780L vs 580L). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The War That Saved My Life for younger readers (K–2)

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

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (470L vs 580L).
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan · grades 2–8 — Both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
You're So Amazing! by James Catchpole · grades K–2 — Shares themes of disability.

Books like The War That Saved My Life for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of resilience and family, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7).
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate · 570L — Both on the Connecticut Nutmeg Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), a close reading level (570L vs 580L), and the same era (2010s).
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park · 720L — Shares themes of war, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and a close reading level (720L vs 580L).
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of freedom, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+4 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Shares themes of war, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (760L vs 580L).

Books like The War That Saved My Life for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of resilience and family, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7).
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate · 570L — Both on the Connecticut Nutmeg Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), a close reading level (570L vs 580L), and the same era (2010s).
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park · 720L — Shares themes of war, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and a close reading level (720L vs 580L).
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of freedom, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+4 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Unwind by Neal Shusterman · grades 8–12 — Shares themes of freedom and both on the Connecticut Nutmeg Book Award list (+1 more shared list).

Books like The War That Saved My Life for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Unwind by Neal Shusterman · grades 8–12 — Shares themes of freedom and both on the Connecticut Nutmeg Book Award list (+1 more shared list).
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys · 560L — Shares themes of war, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and a close reading level (560L vs 580L).
Allies by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of war, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–9).
Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley · grades 3–10 — Is by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, the same author, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, and overlapping grades (3–10).
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas · 590L — Shares themes of family, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, and a close reading level (590L vs 580L).

Common questions

What books are similar to The War That Saved My Life?: The 10 closest matches to The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley on ReadingList include Fish in a Tree, Front Desk, Out of My Mind, Number the Stars, and A Night Divided. Each is scored on shared themes (war, resilience, and disability), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The War That Saved My Life reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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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