What books are similar to My Ántonia?

The 10 closest matches to My Ántonia by Willa Cather on ReadingList include The Kite Runner, The Book Thief, The Maze Runner, The Joy Luck Club, and Flowers for Algernon. Each is scored on shared themes (immigration, frontier, and memory), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 10–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like My Ántonia reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 10–12), 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 My Ántonia

If you liked My Ántonia, read The Kite Runner, The Book Thief, or The Maze Runner — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Looking for books like My Ántonia by Willa Cather (Historical Fiction · 1010L · grades 10–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of immigration, frontier, and memory. 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 10–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Kite Runner840L: Shares themes of immigration and friendship and a close reading level (840L vs 1010L). Amazon →
The Book Thief730L: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (8–11). Amazon →
The Maze Runnergrades 7–12: Shares themes of memory and friendship and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon →
The Joy Luck Club930L: Shares themes of immigration and a close reading level (930L vs 1010L). Amazon →
Flowers for Algernon910L: Shares themes of friendship and a close reading level (910L vs 1010L). Amazon →
The Things They Carried880L: Shares themes of memory and a close reading level (880L vs 1010L). Amazon →
A Tale of Two Cities1170L: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and a close reading level (1170L vs 1010L). Amazon →
The Perks of Being a Wallflower720L: Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon →
Of Mice and Men630L: Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (8–11). Amazon →
The Scarlet Letter1420L: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (10–12). Amazon →

Books like My Ántonia for younger readers (K–2)

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

Gibberish by Young Vo · grades K–3 — Shares themes of immigration and friendship.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of friendship and a close reading level (860L vs 1010L).
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of friendship.
Corduroy by Don Freeman · 600L — Shares themes of friendship.
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Same genre (Historical Fiction).

Books like My Ántonia 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 immigration and friendship and a close reading level (780L vs 1010L).
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen · 730L — Shares themes of memory and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Gibberish by Young Vo · grades K–3 — Shares themes of immigration and friendship.
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Powerless by Matthew Cody · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of memory and friendship.

Books like My Ántonia for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Dragonwings by Laurence Yep · 870L — Shares themes of immigration, same genre (Historical Fiction), and a close reading level (870L vs 1010L).
Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks · 780L — Shares themes of immigration and friendship and a close reading level (780L vs 1010L).
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen · 730L — Shares themes of memory and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Powerless by Matthew Cody · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of memory and friendship.

Books like My Ántonia for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and a close reading level (800L vs 1010L).
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of friendship.
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys · 560L — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (8–12).
Allies by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Same genre (Historical Fiction).
Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship.

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

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