What books are similar to The House of the Scorpion?

The 10 closest matches to The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer on ReadingList include The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm, Among the Hidden, Speak, Unwind, and Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25. Each is scored on shared themes (identity, freedom, and cloning), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 7–10), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The House of the Scorpion reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 7–10), 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.

Books like The House of the Scorpion

If you liked The House of the Scorpion, read The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm, Among the Hidden, or Speak — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer

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Looking for books like The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (Science Fiction · grades 7–10)? It’s most often read for its themes of identity, freedom, and cloning. 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 7–10 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 Ear, The Eye, and the Armgrades 6–8: Is by Nancy Farmer, the same author, same genre (Science Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Among the Hiddengrades 5–8: Shares themes of identity and freedom, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Science Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Speak690L: Shares themes of identity, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (8–10). Amazon → books like this →
Unwindgrades 8–12: Shares themes of identity and freedom, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon → books like this →
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25grades 6–9: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Science Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Scythegrades 7–12: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Science Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Eragongrades 6–9: Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Hunger Games810L: Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsgrades 7–10: Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (7–10). Amazon → books like this →
The Sea of Trollsgrades 6–8: Is by Nancy Farmer, the same author and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The House of the Scorpion for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list.
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list).
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list).
Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso · grades 2–5 — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list and the same era (2020s).

Books like The House of the Scorpion for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of freedom and same genre (Science Fiction).
A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo · grades 3–6 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2020s).

Books like The House of the Scorpion for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of freedom and same genre (Science Fiction).
A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo · grades 3–6 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2020s).
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell · grades 3–6 — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list).

Books like The House of the Scorpion for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

The Maze Runner by James Dashner · grades 7–12 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (7–12).
Anthem by Ayn Rand · 880L — Shares themes of identity and freedom and overlapping grades (8–12).
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson · grades 7–12 — Same genre (Science Fiction) and overlapping grades (7–12).
The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Science Fiction) and overlapping grades (6–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to The House of the Scorpion?: The 10 closest matches to The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer on ReadingList include The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm, Among the Hidden, Speak, Unwind, and Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25. Each is scored on shared themes (identity, freedom, and cloning), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 7–10), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The House of the Scorpion reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 7–10), 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.

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