Books like One Crazy Summer

Looking for books like One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia (Historical Fiction · 750L · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of family, race, and civil rights. The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to One Crazy Summer

Why each is a match

Refugee800L
Shares themes of family, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (800L vs 750L).
Bud, Not Buddy950L
Shares themes of family and race, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (950L vs 750L).
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—19631000L
Shares themes of family and civil rights, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (1000L vs 750L).
Maniac Magee820L
Shares themes of family and race and a close reading level (820L vs 750L).
Blended610L
Shares themes of family and race and a close reading level (610L vs 750L).
Dragonwings870L
Shares themes of family, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (870L vs 750L).
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912590L
Shares themes of family, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (590L vs 750L).
Brown Girl Dreaming990L
Shares themes of family and civil rights and a close reading level (990L vs 750L).
The Crossover750L
Shares themes of family and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
A Long Walk to Water720L
Same genre (Historical Fiction), a close reading level (720L vs 750L), and the same era (2010s).

← Back to One Crazy Summer