What books are similar to The House of the Scorpion?

The 10 closest matches to The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer on ReadingList include Among the Hidden, Unwind, Divergent, Speak, and The Crossover. Each is scored on shared themes (identity, freedom, and cloning), 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 House of the Scorpion 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 House of the Scorpion

If you liked The House of the Scorpion, read Among the Hidden, Unwind, or Divergent — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (Science Fiction · grades 7–10)? It’s most often read for its themes of identity, freedom, and cloning. 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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Among the Hiddengrades 5–8: Shares themes of identity and freedom, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Science Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Unwindgrades 8–12: Shares themes of identity and freedom, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon → books like this →
Divergentgrades 8–12: Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon → books like this →
Speak690L: Shares themes of identity, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (8–10). Amazon → books like this →
The Crossover750L: Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Walk Two Moons770L: Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–7). Amazon → books like this →
Anthem880L: Shares themes of identity and freedom and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon → books like this →
Black Brother, Black Brothergrades 5–8: Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Blended610L: Shares themes of identity, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Blubbergrades 4–7: Shares themes of identity, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The House of the Scorpion for younger readers (K–2)

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

Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list.
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Shares themes of identity and both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list.
Nova's Ark by Kirk, David · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Science Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity.

Books like The House of the Scorpion for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of freedom and same genre (Science Fiction).
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis · 950L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like The House of the Scorpion for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of freedom and same genre (Science Fiction).
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis · 950L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.

Books like The House of the Scorpion for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of identity, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, and overlapping grades (5–9).
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans · grades 6–9 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Science Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Scythe by Neal Shusterman · grades 7–12 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Science Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12).
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of identity, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (5–9).
Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (6–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to The House of the Scorpion?: The 10 closest matches to The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer on ReadingList include Among the Hidden, Unwind, Divergent, Speak, and The Crossover. Each is scored on shared themes (identity, freedom, and cloning), 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 House of the Scorpion 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.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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