What books are similar to Iron Hearted Violet?

The 10 closest matches to Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill on ReadingList include Aru Shah and the End of Time, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Root Magic, Savvy, and A Corner of White. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Iron Hearted Violet reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–12), 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 Iron Hearted Violet

If you liked Iron Hearted Violet, read Aru Shah and the End of Time, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, or Root Magic — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill (Science Fiction & Fantasy · grades 5–12)? 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 5–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Aru Shah and the End of Timegrades 5–12: Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Girl Who Drank the Moongrades 4–7: Is by Kelly Barnhill, the same author, both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Root Magicgrades 5–12: Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12). Amazon → books like this →
Savvygrades 5–12: Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12). Amazon → books like this →
A Corner of Whitegrades 5–12: Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12). Amazon → books like this →
A Light in the Dark (Dark Stars Book 2)grades 5–12: Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12). Amazon → books like this →
Abovegrades 5–12: Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12). Amazon → books like this →
Above Worldgrades 5–12: Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12). Amazon → books like this →
Akata Witchgrades 5–12: Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12). Amazon → books like this →
Arabella of Marsgrades 5–12: Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Iron Hearted Violet for younger readers (K–2)

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

A Green Place to be by Ashley Benham Yazdani · grades K–5 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s).
Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems · grades K–2 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Balloons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet · grades 1–4 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Bink and Gollie: Two for One by Kate DiCamillo · grades K–2 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Charlie & Mouse Even Better by Laurel Snyder · grades K–2 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).

Books like Iron Hearted Violet for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Ash by Malinda Lo · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Black Heart by Holly Black · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).

Books like Iron Hearted Violet for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Ash by Malinda Lo · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Black Heart by Holly Black · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).

Books like Iron Hearted Violet for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Ash by Malinda Lo · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Black Heart by Holly Black · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).
Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer · grades 5–12 — Both on the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction list, same genre (Science Fiction & Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–12).

Common questions

What books are similar to Iron Hearted Violet?: The 10 closest matches to Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill on ReadingList include Aru Shah and the End of Time, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Root Magic, Savvy, and A Corner of White. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Iron Hearted Violet reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–12), 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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