Books like The Kite Runner

Looking for books like The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Literary Fiction · 840L · grades 10–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of guilt and atonement, friendship, and father-son relationships. 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 10–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Kite Runner

Why each is a match

Flowers for Algernon910L
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Literary Fiction), and a close reading level (910L vs 840L).
The Joy Luck Club930L
Shares themes of immigration, same genre (Literary Fiction), and a close reading level (930L vs 840L).
The Secret Life of Bees840L
Same genre (Literary Fiction), a close reading level (840L vs 840L), and the same era (2000s).
Life of Pi830L
Same genre (Literary Fiction), a close reading level (830L vs 840L), and the same era (2000s).
My Ántonia1010L
Shares themes of friendship and immigration and a close reading level (1010L vs 840L).
Of Mice and Men630L
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Literary Fiction), and a close reading level (630L vs 840L).
Slaughterhouse-Five850L
Same genre (Literary Fiction) and a close reading level (850L vs 840L).
Beloved870L
Same genre (Literary Fiction) and a close reading level (870L vs 840L).
To Kill a Mockingbird870L
Same genre (Literary Fiction) and a close reading level (870L vs 840L).
The Catcher in the Rye790L
Same genre (Literary Fiction) and a close reading level (790L vs 840L).

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