What books are similar to The Handmaid's Tale?

The 10 closest matches to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood on ReadingList include Life of Pi, Anthem, 1984, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, and The Catcher in the Rye. Each is scored on shared themes (women's rights, totalitarianism, and religion), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 11–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Handmaid's Tale reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 11–12), 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 The Handmaid's Tale

If you liked The Handmaid's Tale, read Life of Pi, Anthem, or 1984 — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

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 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 11–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Life of Pi830L: Shares themes of religion and identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and a close reading level (830L vs 750L). Amazon →
Anthem880L: Shares themes of identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and same genre (Dystopian Fiction). Amazon →
19841090L: Shares themes of totalitarianism, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and same genre (Dystopian Fiction). Amazon →
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhoodgrades 9–12: Shares themes of religion and identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon →
The Catcher in the Rye790L: Shares themes of identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and a close reading level (790L vs 750L). Amazon →
The Color Purple670L: Shares themes of identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and a close reading level (670L vs 750L). Amazon →
Beloved870L: Shares themes of identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and a close reading level (870L vs 750L). Amazon →
The Forbidden Bookgrades 7–12: Shares themes of religion and identity and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon →
Unwindgrades 8–12: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Dystopian Fiction), and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon →
The Poet X800L: Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (800L vs 750L). Amazon →

Books like The Handmaid's Tale 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 The Handmaid's Tale for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (730L vs 750L).
Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (730L vs 750L).
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech · 770L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (770L vs 750L).

Books like The Handmaid's Tale for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card · 780L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (780L vs 750L).
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
The Giver by Lois Lowry · 760L — Same genre (Dystopian Fiction) and a close reading level (760L vs 750L).

Books like The Handmaid's Tale for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card · 780L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (780L vs 750L).
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson · 690L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (690L vs 750L).
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley · 870L — Both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, same genre (Dystopian Fiction), and a close reading level (870L vs 750L).
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros · 870L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (870L vs 750L).

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

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