Books like The Tempest
Looking for books like The Tempest by William Shakespeare (Drama · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of power, forgiveness, and colonialism. 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 9–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to The Tempest
AnthemAyn Rand · 880L
King LearWilliam Shakespeare
A Doll's HouseHenrik Ibsen
A Midsummer Night's DreamWilliam Shakespeare
A Raisin in the SunLorraine Hansberry
A Streetcar Named DesireTennessee Williams
AntigoneSophocles
ChainsLaurie Halse Anderson · 780L
Death of a SalesmanArthur Miller
FencesAugust Wilson
Why each is a match
- Anthem880L
- Shares themes of power and freedom and overlapping grades (8–12).
- King Leargrades 11–12
- Shares themes of power, same genre (Drama), and overlapping grades (11–12).
- A Doll's Housegrades 11–12
- Same genre (Drama) and overlapping grades (11–12).
- A Midsummer Night's Dreamgrades 8–12
- Same genre (Drama) and overlapping grades (8–12).
- A Raisin in the Sungrades 9–12
- Same genre (Drama) and overlapping grades (9–12).
- A Streetcar Named Desiregrades 11–12
- Same genre (Drama) and overlapping grades (11–12).
- Antigonegrades 9–12
- Same genre (Drama) and overlapping grades (9–12).
- Chains780L
- Shares themes of freedom and overlapping grades (5–9).
- Death of a Salesmangrades 11–12
- Same genre (Drama) and overlapping grades (11–12).
- Fencesgrades 9–12
- Same genre (Drama) and overlapping grades (9–12).