What books are similar to The Night Train?

The 10 closest matches to The Night Train by Lorelei Savaryn on ReadingList include Amir and the Jinn Princess, Impossible Creatures, The Witching Wind, The Tale of Despereaux, and Brick Dust and Bones. Each is scored on shared themes (memory, grief, and courage), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Night Train reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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 Night Train

If you liked The Night Train, read Amir and the Jinn Princess, Impossible Creatures, or The Witching Wind — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Night Train by Lorelei Savaryn (Middle Grade Fantasy · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of memory, grief, and courage. 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Amir and the Jinn Princessgrades 4–8: Shares themes of courage, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon →
Impossible Creaturesgrades 4–8: Shares themes of courage, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon →
The Witching Windgrades 3–6: Shares themes of courage, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon →
The Tale of Despereaux670L: Shares themes of courage, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon →
Brick Dust and Bonesgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
Fowl Playgrades 3–6: Shares themes of grief and mystery and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Nimbusgrades 3–6: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatlgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
Skyridersgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1)grades 2–5: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon →

Books like The Night Train for younger readers (K–2)

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

Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (2–5).
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Shares themes of mystery.
Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Shares themes of grief.
Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust by Elisa Boxer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage and overlapping grades (2–5).
Just Like Millie by Lauren Castillo · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage.

Books like The Night Train for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–5).
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–5).
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of grief and courage and overlapping grades (4–7).
Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (2–5).
A Game of Noctis by Deva Fagan · grades 3–6 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like The Night Train for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Last Hope in Hopetown by Maria Tureaud · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8).
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of grief and courage and overlapping grades (4–7).
What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage and mystery and overlapping grades (6–8).
A Game of Noctis by Deva Fagan · grades 3–6 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Between Two Brothers by Crystal Allen · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of grief, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like The Night Train for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of courage.
Four for the Road by K.J. Reilly · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of grief.
How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of mystery.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of mystery and overlapping grades (7–12).

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

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