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, Between Shades Of Gray, Children of Blood and Bone, Cursed, and Dear Martin. 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, Between Shades Of Gray, or Children of Blood and Bone — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

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 →
Between Shades Of Graygrades 4–9: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Children of Blood and Bonegrades 5–12: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (5–12), 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 →
Eleanor & Parkgrades 4–9: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (4–9), 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 →
Hurt Go Happygrades 7–10: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (7–10), 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.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson · grades 9–12 — Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s).
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork · grades 9–12 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s).
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein · grades 8–12 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s).
Scythe by Neal Shusterman · grades 7–12 — Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s).
Small Steps by Louis Sachar · grades 6–9 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (6–9), 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, Between Shades Of Gray, Children of Blood and Bone, Cursed, and Dear Martin. 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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