What books are similar to The 5th Wave?

The 10 closest matches to The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey on ReadingList include The Maze Runner, Red Queen, Divergent, Magisterium: The Iron Trial, and Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer (Book 1). Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The 5th Wave reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–9), 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 5th Wave

If you liked The 5th Wave, read The Maze Runner, Red Queen, or Divergent — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

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Looking for books like The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (Children's · grades 6–9)? 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 6–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Maze Runnergrades 7–12: Both on the Louisiana Teen Readers' Choice Award (LTRC) list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Red Queengrades 9–12: Both on the Louisiana Teen Readers' Choice Award (LTRC) list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Divergentgrades 8–12: Both on the Louisiana Teen Readers' Choice Award (LTRC) list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Magisterium: The Iron Trialgrades 6–9: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer (Book 1)grades 6–9: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Hidden Oraclegrades 6–9: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Son of Neptunegrades 6–9: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Mary, Bloody Marygrades 6–9: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Rapunzel's Revengegrades 6–9: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Son of the Mobgrades 6–9: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →

Common questions

What books are similar to The 5th Wave?: The 10 closest matches to The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey on ReadingList include The Maze Runner, Red Queen, Divergent, Magisterium: The Iron Trial, and Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer (Book 1). Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The 5th Wave reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–9), 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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Books like The 5th Wave

10 books similar to The 5th Wave

Why each is a match

Common questions

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