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, Echo, Out of My Mind, and The War I Finally Won. 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 Echo — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Parachute Kidsgrades 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). Amazon → books like this →
The Lost Yeargrades 6–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)). 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.

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).
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (590L vs 580L).
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows · 580L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (580L vs 580L).
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown · 540L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (540L vs 580L).
Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton · 530L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (530L vs 580L).

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.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan · 660L — Shares themes of family, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)).
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson · 780L — Shares themes of resilience and freedom, same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)), and a close reading level (780L vs 580L).
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon · 510L — Shares themes of family, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and a close reading level (510L vs 580L).
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).
El Deafo by Cece Bell · 420L — 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).

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.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson · 780L — Shares themes of resilience and freedom, same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)), and a close reading level (780L vs 580L).
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).
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon · 510L — Shares themes of family, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and a close reading level (510L vs 580L).
El Deafo by Cece Bell · 420L — 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).
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown · 740L — Shares themes of family, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (740L vs 580L).

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.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson · 780L — Shares themes of resilience and freedom, same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)), and a close reading level (780L vs 580L).
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).
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).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+3 more shared lists), and a close reading level (800L vs 580L).
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (800L vs 580L).

Book data last updated 2026-07-07. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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