Books like The Handmaid's Tale

Looking for books like The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Dystopian Fiction · 750L · grades 11–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of women's rights, totalitarianism, and religion. 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 11–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Handmaid's Tale

Why each is a match

Life of Pi830L
Shares themes of religion and identity and a close reading level (830L vs 750L).
Anthem880L
Shares themes of identity, same genre (Dystopian Fiction), and a close reading level (880L vs 750L).
19841090L
Shares themes of totalitarianism, same genre (Dystopian Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12).
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhoodgrades 9–12
Shares themes of religion and identity and overlapping grades (9–12).
The Catcher in the Rye790L
Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (790L vs 750L).
The Poet X800L
Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (800L vs 750L).
The Color Purple670L
Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (670L vs 750L).
Beloved870L
Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (870L vs 750L).
Brave New World870L
Same genre (Dystopian Fiction) and a close reading level (870L vs 750L).
Fahrenheit 451890L
Same genre (Dystopian Fiction) and a close reading level (890L vs 750L).

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