What books are similar to Ender's Game?

The 10 closest matches to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card on ReadingList include The Poet X, The Outsiders, Speak, American Born Chinese, and Everything We Never Had. Each is scored on shared themes (war, leadership, and identity), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–10), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Ender's Game reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–10), 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 Ender's Game

If you liked Ender's Game, read The Poet X, The Outsiders, or Speak — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Looking for books like Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Young Adult Fiction · 780L · grades 6–10)? It’s most often read for its themes of war, leadership, and identity. The 10 titles below 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 6–10 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Poet X800L: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (800L vs 780L). Amazon →
The Outsiders750L: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (750L vs 780L). Amazon →
Speak690L: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (690L vs 780L). Amazon →
American Born Chinese530L: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (530L vs 780L). Amazon →
Everything We Never Hadgrades 7–12: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon →
Never Thought I'd End Up Heregrades 7–12: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon →
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhoodgrades 9–12: Shares themes of war and identity and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon →
Shut Up, This Is Seriousgrades 9–12: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon →
The Forbidden Bookgrades 7–12: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon →
The Silence That Binds Usgrades 9–12: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon →

Books like Ender's Game for younger readers (K–2)

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

Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Shares themes of identity.
Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of identity.
Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity.
How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity.
Millie Fleur's Poison Garden by Christy Mandin · grades K–3 — Shares themes of identity.

Books like Ender's Game for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks · 780L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (780L vs 780L).
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech · 770L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (770L vs 780L).
Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Shares themes of war and a close reading level (760L vs 780L).
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 780L).
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 780L).

Books like Ender's Game for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks · 780L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (780L vs 780L).
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech · 770L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (770L vs 780L).
Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Shares themes of war and a close reading level (760L vs 780L).
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 780L).
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 780L).

Books like Ender's Game for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 780L).
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger · 790L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (790L vs 780L).
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque · 830L — Shares themes of war and a close reading level (830L vs 780L).
I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition) by Malala Yousafzai · 830L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (830L vs 780L).
Life of Pi by Yann Martel · 830L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (830L vs 780L).

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

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