What books are similar to The Handmaid's Tale?

The 10 closest matches to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood on ReadingList include 1984, Life of Pi, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, Anthem, and Brave New World. Each is scored on shared themes (women's rights, totalitarianism, and religion), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 11–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Handmaid's Tale reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 11–12), 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 Handmaid's Tale

If you liked The Handmaid's Tale, read 1984, Life of Pi, or Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: 1984 by George Orwell — shares totalitarianism

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Looking for books like The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Dystopian Fiction · 750L · grades 11–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of women's rights, totalitarianism, and religion. 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 11–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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19841090L: Shares themes of totalitarianism, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Dystopian Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Life of Pi830L: Shares themes of religion and identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and a close reading level (830L vs 750L). Amazon → books like this →
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhoodgrades 9–12: Shares themes of religion and identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Anthem880L: Shares themes of identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and same genre (Dystopian Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Brave New World870L: Both on the AP English Literature & Composition list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Dystopian Fiction), and a close reading level (870L vs 750L). Amazon → books like this →
Fahrenheit 451890L: Both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, same genre (Dystopian Fiction), and a close reading level (890L vs 750L). Amazon → books like this →
Purple Hibiscus920L: Shares themes of religion, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (920L vs 750L). Amazon → books like this →
Unwindgrades 8–12: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Dystopian Fiction), and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Forbidden Bookgrades 7–12: Shares themes of religion and identity and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Sunrise on the Reapinggrades 7–12: Same genre (Dystopian Fiction) and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Handmaid's Tale for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin · 750L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech · 770L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (770L vs 750L).
Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian · 820L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (820L vs 750L).
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman · 820L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (820L vs 750L).

Books like The Handmaid's Tale for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Giver by Lois Lowry · 760L — Both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, same genre (Dystopian Fiction), and a close reading level (760L vs 750L).
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card · 780L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (780L vs 750L).
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin · 750L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).

Books like The Handmaid's Tale for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card · 780L — Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (780L vs 750L).
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger · 790L — Shares themes of identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (790L vs 750L).
The Color Purple by Alice Walker · 670L — Shares themes of identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (670L vs 750L).
Beloved by Toni Morrison · 870L — Shares themes of identity, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (870L vs 750L).
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Handmaid's Tale?: The 10 closest matches to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood on ReadingList include 1984, Life of Pi, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, Anthem, and Brave New World. Each is scored on shared themes (women's rights, totalitarianism, and religion), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 11–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Handmaid's Tale reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 11–12), 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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