What books are similar to The Underground Railroad?

The 10 closest matches to The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead on ReadingList include Henry IV, Part 1, Torch, Jude the Obscure, Mansfield Park, and A Farewell to Arms. Each is scored on shared themes (history, underground railroad, and fugitive slaves), 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 Underground Railroad 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 Underground Railroad

If you liked The Underground Railroad, read Henry IV, Part 1, Torch, or Jude the Obscure — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare — shares history

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Looking for books like The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Historical Fiction · grades 11–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of history, underground railroad, and fugitive slaves. 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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Henry IV, Part 1grades 11–12: Shares themes of history, both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, and same genre (Historical Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Torchgrades 9–12: Shares themes of history, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Jude the Obscuregrades 11–12: Both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
Mansfield Parkgrades 11–12: Both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
A Farewell to Armsgrades 11–12: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
A Tale of Two Cities1170L: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
All We Have Leftgrades 9–12: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Billy Buddgrades 11–12: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
Death and the King's Horsemangrades 11–12: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
My Ántonia1010L: Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (10–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Underground Railroad for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Fighting Ground by Avi · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of history and historical fiction and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of historical fiction and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of history and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of historical fiction and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of history and same genre (Historical Fiction).

Books like The Underground Railroad for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Fighting Ground by Avi · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of history and historical fiction and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of historical fiction and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of history and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of historical fiction and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of historical fiction and same genre (Historical Fiction).

Books like The Underground Railroad for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín · grades 9–10 — Shares themes of history and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of history and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Allies by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Same genre (Historical Fiction).
Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare · grades 9–10 — Same genre (Historical Fiction).
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (9–12).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Underground Railroad?: The 10 closest matches to The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead on ReadingList include Henry IV, Part 1, Torch, Jude the Obscure, Mansfield Park, and A Farewell to Arms. Each is scored on shared themes (history, underground railroad, and fugitive slaves), 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 Underground Railroad 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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