Books like Ender's Game
If you liked Ender's Game, read The Outsiders, Speak, or Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.
Closest match: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton — shares identity
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Looking for books like Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Young Adult Fiction · 780L · grades 6–10)? It’s most often read for its themes of war, leadership, and identity. The 10 titles below 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 6–10 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to Ender's Game
The OutsidersS.E. Hinton · 750L
SpeakLaurie Halse Anderson · 690L
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous WeaponSteve Sheinkin · 920L
The Poet XElizabeth Acevedo · 800L
A Long Walk to WaterLinda Sue Park · 720L
Long Way DownJason Reynolds · 720L
American Born ChineseGene Luen Yang · 530L
Everything We Never HadRandy Ribay
Never Thought I'd End Up HereAnn Liang
The Forbidden BookSacha Lamb
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Why each is a match
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- The Outsiders750L
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (750L vs 780L). Amazon → books like this →
- Speak690L
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (690L vs 780L). Amazon → books like this →
- Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon920L
- Shares themes of war and a close reading level (920L vs 780L). Amazon → books like this →
- The Poet X800L
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (800L vs 780L). Amazon → books like this →
- A Long Walk to Water720L
- Shares themes of war and a close reading level (720L vs 780L). Amazon → books like this →
- Long Way Down720L
- Same genre (Young Adult Fiction) and a close reading level (720L vs 780L). Amazon → books like this →
- American Born Chinese530L
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and a close reading level (530L vs 780L). Amazon → books like this →
- Everything We Never Hadgrades 7–12
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
- Never Thought I'd End Up Heregrades 7–12
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
- The Forbidden Bookgrades 7–12
- Shares themes of identity, same genre (Young Adult Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Books like Ender's Game for middle school (grades 6–8)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.
- I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition) by Malala Yousafzai · 830L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (830L vs 780L).
- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros · 870L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (870L vs 780L).
- Allies by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of war and overlapping grades (5–9).
Books like Ender's Game for high school & teens (grades 9–12)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood · 750L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (750L vs 780L).
- The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien · 880L — Shares themes of war and a close reading level (880L vs 780L).
- I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition) by Malala Yousafzai · 830L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (830L vs 780L).
- Beloved by Toni Morrison · 870L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (870L vs 780L).
- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros · 870L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (870L vs 780L).
Common questions
- What books are similar to Ender's Game?
- The 10 closest matches to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card on ReadingList include The Outsiders, Speak, Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, The Poet X, and A Long Walk to Water. Each is scored on shared themes (war, leadership, and identity), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–10), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
- Are books like Ender's Game reading-level appropriate?
- Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–10), 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.