What books are similar to When We Collided?

The 10 closest matches to When We Collided by Emery Lord on ReadingList include Anger Is a Gift, Cursed, Dear Martin, Divergent, and Five Flavors of Dumb. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like When We Collided reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), 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 When We Collided

If you liked When We Collided, read Anger Is a Gift, Cursed, or Dear Martin — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

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Looking for books like When We Collided by Emery Lord? 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 9–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Anger Is a Giftgrades 9–12: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Cursedgrades 7–12: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Dear Martingrades 9–12: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Divergentgrades 8–12: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Five Flavors of Dumbgrades 8–12: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Girls Like Usgrades 9–12: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Good Girl's Guide to Murdergrades 9–12: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
I'll Give You the Sungrades 9–12: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Rose Under Firegrades 8–12: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Scythegrades 7–12: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like When We Collided for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean · grades 3–6 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 5–8 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin · grades 5–8 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds · grades 4–7 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Becoming Naomi Leon (Scholastic Gold) by Pam Muñoz Ryan · grades 4–7 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).

Books like When We Collided for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean · grades 3–6 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 5–8 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin · grades 5–8 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds · grades 4–7 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Becoming Naomi Leon (Scholastic Gold) by Pam Muñoz Ryan · grades 4–7 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).

Books like When We Collided for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson · grades 7–12 — Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s).
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green · 850L — Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s).
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas · 590L — Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s).
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen · grades 7–12 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s).
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten · grades 8–12 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to When We Collided?: The 10 closest matches to When We Collided by Emery Lord on ReadingList include Anger Is a Gift, Cursed, Dear Martin, Divergent, and Five Flavors of Dumb. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like When We Collided reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), 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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