Books like The Giver

Looking for books like The Giver by Lois Lowry (Dystopian Fiction · 760L · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of conformity vs individuality, memory, and utopia and dystopia. The 10 titlesbelow 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 6–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Giver

Why each is a match

Tuck Everlasting770L
Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (770L vs 760L).
Rebound780L
Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (780L vs 760L).
The Devil's Arithmetic730L
Shares themes of memory and a close reading level (730L vs 760L).
The Poet X800L
Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (800L vs 760L).
The Graveyard Book820L
Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (820L vs 760L).
Where the Red Fern Grows700L
Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (700L vs 760L).
The Witch of Blackbird Pond850L
Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (850L vs 760L).
To Kill a Mockingbird870L
Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (870L vs 760L).
Anthem880L
Same genre (Dystopian Fiction) and a close reading level (880L vs 760L).
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—19631000L
Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (1000L vs 760L).

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