39 Books like Refugee

Salt to the Sea

by Ruta Sepetys • 2016

Four refugees fleeing the Red Army board a crowded ship, unaware of the submarines lurking below.

4.35

260k+

🚢 Wartime Evacuation 🌊 Maritime Disaster 🧊 Survival At Sea

Salt to the Sea 94%

Four refugees fleeing the Red Army board a crowded ship, unaware of the submarines lurking below.

by Ruta Sepetys 2016

4.35

260k+ ratings

🚢 Wartime Evacuation 🌊 Maritime Disaster 🧊 Survival At Sea

The Teacher of Nomad Land

by Daniel Nayeri • 2025

Two siblings wander wartime Iran with a blackboard, trading lessons for a place to belong.

4.15

4k+

👥 Orphan Protagonists 🫂 Sibling Bond 🧳 Child Refugees

The Teacher of Nomad Land 93%

Two siblings wander wartime Iran with a blackboard, trading lessons for a place to belong.

by Daniel Nayeri 2025

4.15

4k+ ratings

👥 Orphan Protagonists 🫂 Sibling Bond 🧳 Child Refugees

No Ballet Shoes in Syria

by Catherine Bruton • 2019

A Syrian refugee discovers a ballet class in Manchester and dares to dance again.

4.40

2k+

🩰 Ballet Dreams 🧳 Child Refugee Story 💔 War Trauma Healing

No Ballet Shoes in Syria 93%

A Syrian refugee discovers a ballet class in Manchester and dares to dance again.

by Catherine Bruton 2019

4.40

2k+ ratings

🩰 Ballet Dreams 🧳 Child Refugee Story 💔 War Trauma Healing

Making Bombs for Hitler

by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch • 2012

A Ukrainian girl builds bombs for the Nazis while searching for the sister torn from her.

4.33

13k+

🏭 Forced Labor Camp 🧒 Child Survivor 🤝 Found Family

Making Bombs for Hitler 92%

A Ukrainian girl builds bombs for the Nazis while searching for the sister torn from her.

by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch 2012

4.33

13k+ ratings

🏭 Forced Labor Camp 🧒 Child Survivor 🤝 Found Family

The Escape

by Robert Muchamore • 2009

A twelve-year-old orphan escapes into occupied France, where a spy's mission makes him a target.

4.12

6k+

🏚️ Occupied France 🕵️ Child Spies 🔍 Wwii Espionage

The Escape 92%

A twelve-year-old orphan escapes into occupied France, where a spy's mission makes him a target.

by Robert Muchamore 2009

4.12

6k+ ratings

🏚️ Occupied France 🕵️ Child Spies 🔍 Wwii Espionage

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

by Zoulfa Katouh • 2022

Besieged in Homs, a pharmacy student risks a deadly sea crossing to save her pregnant best friend.

4.45

124k+

🕊️ Syrian War 🌊 Refugee Journey 💔 Wartime Romance

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow 92%

Besieged in Homs, a pharmacy student risks a deadly sea crossing to save her pregnant best friend.

by Zoulfa Katouh 2022

4.45

124k+ ratings

🕊️ Syrian War 🌊 Refugee Journey 💔 Wartime Romance

Echo

by Pam Muñoz Ryan • 2015

A cursed harmonica travels through time, into the hands of three children fighting to belong.

4.36

48k+

🕰️ Interwoven Timelines 🪄 Magical Object 👨‍👩‍👦 Found Family

Echo 92%

A cursed harmonica travels through time, into the hands of three children fighting to belong.

by Pam Muñoz Ryan 2015

4.36

48k+ ratings

🕰️ Interwoven Timelines 🪄 Magical Object 👨‍👩‍👦 Found Family

Ground Zero

by Alan Gratz • 2021

A suspended boy follows his father to work at the World Trade Center on September 11.

4.33

27k+

📖 9/11 Fiction 🏔️ War-Torn Afghanistan 👁️ War Through Child'S Eyes

Ground Zero 92%

A suspended boy follows his father to work at the World Trade Center on September 11.

by Alan Gratz 2021

4.33

27k+ ratings

📖 9/11 Fiction 🏔️ War-Torn Afghanistan 👁️ War Through Child'S Eyes

Words on Fire

by Jennifer A. Nielsen • 2019

A Lithuanian girl must smuggle banned books to save her culture after Cossacks arrest her parents.

4.28

15k+

📦 Book Smuggling 🚫 Forbidden Books 🇷🇺 Russian Occupation

Words on Fire 91%

A Lithuanian girl must smuggle banned books to save her culture after Cossacks arrest her parents.

by Jennifer A. Nielsen 2019

4.28

15k+ ratings

📦 Book Smuggling 🚫 Forbidden Books 🇷🇺 Russian Occupation

We Were the Lucky Ones

by Georgia Hunter • 2017

Scattered across continents by war, a Polish Jewish family fights to survive and reunite.

4.42

201k+

🌳 Epic Family Saga 💔 Wartime Separation 📖 Based On A True Story

We Were the Lucky Ones 91%

Scattered across continents by war, a Polish Jewish family fights to survive and reunite.

by Georgia Hunter 2017

4.42

201k+ ratings

🌳 Epic Family Saga 💔 Wartime Separation 📖 Based On A True Story

In the Sea There are Crocodiles

by Fabio Geda • 2010

Abandoned for his own safety, a ten-year-old Afghan boy crosses continents alone in search of home.

4.01

15k+

📖 Refugee Memoir 👦 Child Refugee ⛓️ Human Trafficking

In the Sea There are Crocodiles 91%

Abandoned for his own safety, a ten-year-old Afghan boy crosses continents alone in search of home.

by Fabio Geda 2010

4.01

15k+ ratings

📖 Refugee Memoir 👦 Child Refugee ⛓️ Human Trafficking

Sparks Like Stars

by Nadia Hashimi • 2021

She survives the coup that kills her family. A child of Kabul starts over in America.

4.28

24k+

🏔️ Afghan Diaspora 👧 Child Displacement 😔 Survivor Guilt

Sparks Like Stars 91%

She survives the coup that kills her family. A child of Kabul starts over in America.

by Nadia Hashimi 2021

4.28

24k+ ratings

🏔️ Afghan Diaspora 👧 Child Displacement 😔 Survivor Guilt

The Lost Year

by Katherine Marsh • 2023

Pandemic lockdown forces a boy to investigate his great-grandmother's hidden past in Soviet Ukraine.

4.46

6k+

🇺🇦 Ukrainian Famine 🎭 Assumed Identity ⏳ Dual Timeline

The Lost Year 91%

Pandemic lockdown forces a boy to investigate his great-grandmother's hidden past in Soviet Ukraine.

by Katherine Marsh 2023

4.46

6k+ ratings

🇺🇦 Ukrainian Famine 🎭 Assumed Identity ⏳ Dual Timeline

The German Girl

by Armando Lucas Correa • 2016

A twelve-year-old Jewish girl flees Berlin aboard a refugee ship; Havana's port refuses them entry.

3.81

39k+

🕰️ Dual Timeline Narrative 🧬 Intergenerational Trauma 😔 Survivor Guilt

The German Girl 91%

A twelve-year-old Jewish girl flees Berlin aboard a refugee ship; Havana's port refuses them entry.

by Armando Lucas Correa 2016

3.81

39k+ ratings

🕰️ Dual Timeline Narrative 🧬 Intergenerational Trauma 😔 Survivor Guilt

When the Moon is Low

by Nadia Hashimi • 2015

A mother flees Taliban Kabul with her children, risking the smuggler's road to Europe.

4.12

17k+

🧳 Refugee Journey 💔 Family Separation 🌱 Forced Maturity

When the Moon is Low 90%

A mother flees Taliban Kabul with her children, risking the smuggler's road to Europe.

by Nadia Hashimi 2015

4.12

17k+ ratings

🧳 Refugee Journey 💔 Family Separation 🌱 Forced Maturity

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912

by Lauren Tarshis • 2010

A curious boy aboard the Titanic must navigate chaos when an iceberg seals the ship's fate.

4.09

20k+

🚢 Titanic Disaster 🌊 Shipwreck Survival 👫 Sibling Bond

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 Summary

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 90%

A curious boy aboard the Titanic must navigate chaos when an iceberg seals the ship's fate.

by Lauren Tarshis 2010

4.09

20k+ ratings

🚢 Titanic Disaster 🌊 Shipwreck Survival 👫 Sibling Bond

The Red Pencil

by Andrea Davis Pinkney • 2014

When war steals her home and voice, a Darfur girl draws her way back to hope.

3.9

7k+

📖 Novel In Verse 🧳 Child Refugee 🎨 Art As Healing

The Red Pencil 90%

When war steals her home and voice, a Darfur girl draws her way back to hope.

by Andrea Davis Pinkney 2014

3.9

7k+ ratings

📖 Novel In Verse 🧳 Child Refugee 🎨 Art As Healing

While Paris Slept

by Ruth Druart • 2021

They saved a Jewish baby from the Nazis. Nine years later, his parents appeared alive.

4.27

12k+

🇫🇷 Occupied France ⏳ Dual Timeline 👶 Hidden Child

While Paris Slept 90%

They saved a Jewish baby from the Nazis. Nine years later, his parents appeared alive.

by Ruth Druart 2021

4.27

12k+ ratings

🇫🇷 Occupied France ⏳ Dual Timeline 👶 Hidden Child

What Is the What

by Dave Eggers • 2006

Robbed in Atlanta, a Sudanese refugee escapes into the war-torn villages and camps of his past.

4.15

88k+

🎤 Fictionalized Memoir 🏃 Refugee Survival Story 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family

What Is the What 90%

Robbed in Atlanta, a Sudanese refugee escapes into the war-torn villages and camps of his past.

by Dave Eggers 2006

4.15

88k+ ratings

🎤 Fictionalized Memoir 🏃 Refugee Survival Story 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family

The War I Finally Won

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley • 2017

Her clubfoot finally fixed, a wartime orphan faces the harder battle of accepting she is wanted.

4.48

49k+

🫂 Found Family 🐴 Healing Through Horses 🏠 Wwii Home Front

The War I Finally Won 90%

Her clubfoot finally fixed, a wartime orphan faces the harder battle of accepting she is wanted.

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 2017

4.48

49k+ ratings

🫂 Found Family 🐴 Healing Through Horses 🏠 Wwii Home Front

The Red Umbrella

by Christina Diaz Gonzalez • 2010

1961 Cuba: to survive Castro's revolution, a girl must leave everything for strangers in Nebraska.

4.07

5k+

🇨🇺 Cuban Revolution ✈️ Operation Pedro Pan 👧 Sibling Caretaking

The Red Umbrella 90%

1961 Cuba: to survive Castro's revolution, a girl must leave everything for strangers in Nebraska.

by Christina Diaz Gonzalez 2010

4.07

5k+ ratings

🇨🇺 Cuban Revolution ✈️ Operation Pedro Pan 👧 Sibling Caretaking

Moon Over Manifest

by Clare Vanderpool • 2010

Sent to her father's Kansas town, a girl follows old letters into an unsolved spy mystery.

4.04

36k+

🏘️ Small Town Secrets 📖 Story Within A Story 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family

Moon Over Manifest 90%

Sent to her father's Kansas town, a girl follows old letters into an unsolved spy mystery.

by Clare Vanderpool 2010

4.04

36k+ ratings

🏘️ Small Town Secrets 📖 Story Within A Story 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family

Everything Sad Is Untrue

by Daniel Nayeri • 2020

An Iranian refugee boy tells family legends to an Oklahoma school that sees only an outsider.

4.30

44k+

📦 Refugee Narrative 🌱 Immigrant Coming Of Age 🌍 Iranian Diaspora

Everything Sad Is Untrue 90%

An Iranian refugee boy tells family legends to an Oklahoma school that sees only an outsider.

by Daniel Nayeri 2020

4.30

44k+ ratings

📦 Refugee Narrative 🌱 Immigrant Coming Of Age 🌍 Iranian Diaspora

The Sunflower House

by Adriana Allegri • 2024

A hidden swastika leads a daughter into her mother's secret life inside a Nazi breeding home.

4.32

23k+

🔄 Dual Timeline ✡️ Hidden Jewish Identity 🤫 Mother Daughter Secrets

The Sunflower House 90%

A hidden swastika leads a daughter into her mother's secret life inside a Nazi breeding home.

by Adriana Allegri 2024

4.32

23k+ ratings

🔄 Dual Timeline ✡️ Hidden Jewish Identity 🤫 Mother Daughter Secrets

Number the Stars

by Lois Lowry • 1989

When Nazis target Jews in Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie hides her Jewish friend to save her.

4.20

626k+

🕯️ Holocaust Resistance 🎭 Hidden Identity 👭 Wartime Friendship

Number the Stars 90%

When Nazis target Jews in Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie hides her Jewish friend to save her.

by Lois Lowry 1989

4.20

626k+ ratings

🕯️ Holocaust Resistance 🎭 Hidden Identity 👭 Wartime Friendship

Orphan Train

by Christina Baker Kline • 2013

An elderly woman shares her orphan-train past with the foster teen assigned to clean her attic.

4.20

466k+

📜 Dual Timeline 🚂 Orphan Train History 👵 Intergenerational Friendship

Orphan Train 90%

An elderly woman shares her orphan-train past with the foster teen assigned to clean her attic.

by Christina Baker Kline 2013

4.20

466k+ ratings

📜 Dual Timeline 🚂 Orphan Train History 👵 Intergenerational Friendship

Among the Enemy

by Margaret Peterson Haddix • 2005

A hidden child escapes a raid, then enters enemy headquarters to save his friends and spy.

4.15

21k+

🏛️ Totalitarian Regime 🫣 Children In Hiding 🫂 Found Family

Among the Enemy 90%

A hidden child escapes a raid, then enters enemy headquarters to save his friends and spy.

by Margaret Peterson Haddix 2005

4.15

21k+ ratings

🏛️ Totalitarian Regime 🫣 Children In Hiding 🫂 Found Family

Beyond the Bright Sea

by Lauren Wolk • 2017

A twelve-year-old outcast risks a shuttered leper colony to uncover where she came from.

4.08

17k+

🏡 Found Family 👧 Orphan Protagonist 🪙 Hidden Treasure

Beyond the Bright Sea 90%

A twelve-year-old outcast risks a shuttered leper colony to uncover where she came from.

by Lauren Wolk 2017

4.08

17k+ ratings

🏡 Found Family 👧 Orphan Protagonist 🪙 Hidden Treasure

My Mother's Secret

by J.L. Witterick • 2013

Poland, 1942: a mother and daughter hide Jewish families underground while Nazi officers dine above.

4.2

20k+

🕯️ Holocaust Fiction 🏚️ Hidden Refuge 🌟 Everyday Courage

My Mother's Secret 90%

Poland, 1942: a mother and daughter hide Jewish families underground while Nazi officers dine above.

by J.L. Witterick 2013

4.2

20k+ ratings

🕯️ Holocaust Fiction 🏚️ Hidden Refuge 🌟 Everyday Courage

Elephant Run

by Roland Smith • 2007

Occupied Burma: a boy escapes through hidden corridors and braves the jungle to rescue his father.

4.09

7k+

🐅 Jungle Adventure 🌊 Pacific Theater 🐘 Working Elephants

Elephant Run 90%

Occupied Burma: a boy escapes through hidden corridors and braves the jungle to rescue his father.

by Roland Smith 2007

4.09

7k+ ratings

🐅 Jungle Adventure 🌊 Pacific Theater 🐘 Working Elephants

Luck of the Titanic

by Stacey Lee • 2021

To join the circus with her twin, a Chinese British teen stows away on the Titanic.

3.66

10k+

🚢 Titanic 🧧 Chinese Diaspora 🤹 Circus Acrobats

Luck of the Titanic 89%

To join the circus with her twin, a Chinese British teen stows away on the Titanic.

by Stacey Lee 2021

3.66

10k+ ratings

🚢 Titanic 🧧 Chinese Diaspora 🤹 Circus Acrobats

The Things We Cannot Say

by Kelly Rimmer • 2019

She survived the Nazis by hiding everything. Now her granddaughter must uncover what was lost.

4.54

283k+

🌓 Dual Timeline 🕯️ Holocaust Survival 🔒 Family Secrets

The Things We Cannot Say 89%

She survived the Nazis by hiding everything. Now her granddaughter must uncover what was lost.

by Kelly Rimmer 2019

4.54

283k+ ratings

🌓 Dual Timeline 🕯️ Holocaust Survival 🔒 Family Secrets

A House of Tailors

by Patricia Reilly Giff • 2004

Trading Breisach's war for Brooklyn's tenements, Dina must stitch a life from homesickness and hope.

3.96

1k+

🇺🇸 Immigrant Journey 🧵 Sewing And Tailoring ✉️ Letters From Home

A House of Tailors 89%

Trading Breisach's war for Brooklyn's tenements, Dina must stitch a life from homesickness and hope.

by Patricia Reilly Giff 2004

3.96

1k+ ratings

🇺🇸 Immigrant Journey 🧵 Sewing And Tailoring ✉️ Letters From Home

L'Enfant de Noé

by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt • 2004

Hidden in a Catholic school, a Jewish boy discovers the priest guarding a forbidden faith.

3.95

8k+

👤 Hidden Child 🎭 Double Identity 🕊️ Wartime Coming-Of-Age

L'Enfant de Noé 89%

Hidden in a Catholic school, a Jewish boy discovers the priest guarding a forbidden faith.

by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt 2004

3.95

8k+ ratings

👤 Hidden Child 🎭 Double Identity 🕊️ Wartime Coming-Of-Age

When the World Was Ours

by Liz Kessler • 2021

Three best friends in 1936 Vienna. A photograph on the Ferris wheel. Then the Nazis come.

4.51

7k+

😢 Holocaust Fiction 💔 War-Torn Friendship 🧠 Indoctrination

When the World Was Ours 89%

Three best friends in 1936 Vienna. A photograph on the Ferris wheel. Then the Nazis come.

by Liz Kessler 2021

4.51

7k+ ratings

😢 Holocaust Fiction 💔 War-Torn Friendship 🧠 Indoctrination

Mapping the Bones

by Jane Yolen • 2018

Twins escape the Łódź Ghetto using a secret sign language. The forest hides a Nazi doctor's scalpel.

4.01

2k+

🫂 Twin Siblings 🧪 Nazi Medical Experiments 🪖 Partisan Resistance

Mapping the Bones 89%

Twins escape the Łódź Ghetto using a secret sign language. The forest hides a Nazi doctor's scalpel.

by Jane Yolen 2018

4.01

2k+ ratings

🫂 Twin Siblings 🧪 Nazi Medical Experiments 🪖 Partisan Resistance

Soldier Boys

by Dean Hughes • 2001

Two boys, one German, one American, fight through the Bulge and find the real enemy.

4.06

3k+

🥾 Hitler Youth 🔄 Dual Perspective 🥀 Loss Of Innocence

Soldier Boys 89%

Two boys, one German, one American, fight through the Bulge and find the real enemy.

by Dean Hughes 2001

4.06

3k+ ratings

🥾 Hitler Youth 🔄 Dual Perspective 🥀 Loss Of Innocence

The Glass Sentence

by S.E. Grove • 2014

A time-blind girl crosses a fractured world, following maps of memory to save her kidnapped uncle.

3.82

7k+

🗺️ Magical Maps ⏳ Fractured Time 📜 Alternate History

The Glass Sentence 89%

A time-blind girl crosses a fractured world, following maps of memory to save her kidnapped uncle.

by S.E. Grove 2014

3.82

7k+ ratings

🗺️ Magical Maps ⏳ Fractured Time 📜 Alternate History

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams

by Daniel Nayeri • 2023

On the Silk Road, an orphan must outlast the killers chasing the storytelling merchant he loves.

3.96

3k+

🐪 Silk Road Adventure 🫂 Found Family 👦 Orphan Protagonist

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams Summary

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams 89%

On the Silk Road, an orphan must outlast the killers chasing the storytelling merchant he loves.

by Daniel Nayeri 2023

3.96

3k+ ratings

🐪 Silk Road Adventure 🫂 Found Family 👦 Orphan Protagonist

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