What books are similar to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?

The 10 closest matches to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie on ReadingList include The Hate U Give, The Color Purple, When You Reach Me, The Poet X, and The War That Saved My Life. Each is scored on shared themes (Native American identity, poverty, and racism), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 7–10), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 7–10), 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 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

If you liked The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, read The Hate U Give, The Color Purple, or When You Reach Me — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Young Adult / Semi-autobiographical Fiction · 600L · grades 7–10)? It’s most often read for its themes of Native American identity, poverty, and racism. 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 7–10 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 Hate U Give590L: Shares themes of code-switching, both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (590L vs 600L). Amazon →
The Color Purple670L: Shares themes of poverty and racism and a close reading level (670L vs 600L). Amazon →
When You Reach Me750L: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), a close reading level (750L vs 600L), and the same era (2000s). Amazon →
The Poet X800L: Shares themes of coming of age, both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (800L vs 600L). Amazon →
The War That Saved My Life580L: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and a close reading level (580L vs 600L). Amazon →
American Born Chinese530L: Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (530L vs 600L). Amazon →
Out of My Mind700L: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists) and a close reading level (700L vs 600L). Amazon →
The Giver760L: Shares themes of coming of age, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (760L vs 600L). Amazon →
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—19631000L: Shares themes of racism and coming of age and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →
New Kidgrades 4–8: Shares themes of code-switching, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →

Books like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows · 580L — Both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, a close reading level (580L vs 600L), and the same era (2000s).
Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton · 530L — Both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, a close reading level (530L vs 600L), and the same era (2000s).
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of coming of age and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list).
Traction Man Is Here! by Mini Grey · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list).

Books like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo · 610L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), a close reading level (610L vs 600L), and the same era (2000s).
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo · 670L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), a close reading level (670L vs 600L), and the same era (2000s).
Blended by Sharon M. Draper · 610L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list) and a close reading level (610L vs 600L).
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate · 570L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list) and a close reading level (570L vs 600L).
Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and a close reading level (660L vs 600L).

Books like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo · 670L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), a close reading level (670L vs 600L), and the same era (2000s).
Blended by Sharon M. Draper · 610L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list) and a close reading level (610L vs 600L).
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson · 610L — Both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list (+1 more shared list) and a close reading level (610L vs 600L).
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate · 570L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list) and a close reading level (570L vs 600L).
Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and a close reading level (660L vs 600L).

Books like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list) and a close reading level (720L vs 600L).
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green · 850L — Shares themes of coming of age, both on the Odyssey Award (Best Audiobook) list, and a close reading level (850L vs 600L).
Nation by Terry Pratchett · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2000s).
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys · 560L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and a close reading level (560L vs 600L).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky · 720L — Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (720L vs 600L).

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

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