Books like The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I

If you liked The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I, read 1919 The Year That Changed America, Challenger Deep, or Far From The Tree — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I by M. T. Anderson? 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.

10 books similar to The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I

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Why each is a match

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1919 The Year That Changed Americagrades 7–12
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Challenger Deepgrades 9–12
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Far From The Treegrades 9–12
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
March Book Threegrades 9–12
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
The Poet X800L
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
What I Saw and How I Liedgrades 9–12
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
All My Ragegrades 9–12
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Claudette Colvingrades 6–10
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and overlapping grades (6–10). Amazon → books like this →
Last Night at the Telegraph Clubgrades 9–12
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian600L
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and overlapping grades (7–10). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson · 990L — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).
  • Goblin Secrets by William Alexander · grades 4–7 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).
  • Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai · 800L — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).
  • Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine · grades 5–8 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).
  • The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall · grades 4–7 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson · 990L — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).
  • Goblin Secrets by William Alexander · grades 4–7 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).
  • Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai · 800L — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).
  • Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine · grades 5–8 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).
  • The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall · grades 4–7 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I?
The 10 closest matches to The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I by M. T. Anderson on ReadingList include 1919 The Year That Changed America, Challenger Deep, Far From The Tree, March Book Three, and The Poet X. 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 The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I 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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