Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, Bookish Wisdom earns from qualifying purchases. This doesn't change our picks or your price.
Quick answer: If you loved Scythe, try Thunderhead, The Toll, Unwind, The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Giver. Each one is a gripping dystopia with moral dilemmas, deadly training and young people forced into impossible roles.
Neal Shusterman's novel takes place in a future where humanity has conquered death and an AI called the Thunderhead runs the world. To control the population, scythes are allowed to “glean” people. Teenagers Citra and Rowan are chosen as apprentices and forced to compete. Readers love its moral questions, its tension and its twists. These books share the same high-concept dystopian energy.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderhead | Neal Shusterman | 13+ | readers who want more of the Arc of a Scythe |
| The Toll | Neal Shusterman | 13+ | readers finishing the trilogy |
| Unwind | Neal Shusterman | 13+ | readers who want more Shusterman |
| The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins | 12+ | readers who like deadly competitions |
| Divergent | Veronica Roth | 13+ | readers who like factions |
| The Giver | Lois Lowry | 12+ | readers who like quiet dystopias |
| Ender's Game | Orson Scott Card | 12+ | readers who like strategy |
| Red Rising | Pierce Brown | 16+ | older readers |
| Uglies | Scott Westerfeld | 12+ | readers who like dystopian classics |
| Legend | Marie Lu | 12+ | readers who like dual narrators |
| The Maze Runner | James Dashner | 12+ | readers who like survival |
| An Ember in the Ashes | Sabaa Tahir | 14+ | readers who like brutal academies |
| Illuminae | Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | 13+ | readers who like unusual formats |
| The Darkest Minds | Alexandra Bracken | 13+ | readers who like kids with powers |
| Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro | 15+ | older readers who like quiet dread |
1. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Citra and Rowan take very different paths as corruption grows in the Scythedom.
Best for: readers who want more of the Arc of a Scythe.
2. The Toll by Neal Shusterman
The trilogy reaches its explosive conclusion.
Best for: readers finishing the trilogy.
3. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Teens are scheduled to be “unwound,” their body parts harvested.
Best for: readers who want more Shusterman.
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Katniss competes in a televised fight to the death.
Best for: readers who like deadly competitions.
5. Divergent by Veronica Roth
A girl discovers she does not fit her society's factions.
Best for: readers who like factions.
6. The Giver by Lois Lowry
A boy learns the truth about his perfect community.
Best for: readers who like quiet dystopias.
7. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
A child genius trains to lead humanity's fleet.
Best for: readers who like strategy.
8. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
A miner infiltrates the elite to overthrow them.
Best for: older readers.
9. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
A girl waits for the surgery that will make her pretty.
Best for: readers who like dystopian classics.
10. Legend by Marie Lu
A prodigy and a criminal are on opposite sides.
Best for: readers who like dual narrators.
11. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Boys trapped in a maze try to escape.
Best for: readers who like survival.
12. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
A slave spies on a military academy's commandant.
Best for: readers who like brutal academies.
13. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
A space attack is told through documents and chat logs.
Best for: readers who like unusual formats.
14. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Children with powers are put in camps.
Best for: readers who like kids with powers.
15. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Students at an English boarding school learn their purpose.
Best for: older readers who like quiet dread.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Scythe: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
Continue with Thunderhead and The Toll, then try Shusterman's Unwind. For deadly competitions, choose The Hunger Games or An Ember in the Ashes. If you liked the moral questions about life and death, read The Giver or Never Let Me Go. Readers who want an inventive format should pick Illuminae. Shusterman's books are popular in classrooms because they raise questions about technology, ethics and power, so they make great book club picks for teens. If you want a story that is equally twisty but set in space, Illuminae uses chat logs and files to tell its story, and Legend and The Darkest Minds follow teens who fight back against the governments that control them. For older readers ready for something more intense, Red Rising takes the idea of a brutal training ground to an even darker place.
Related: What Age Is Scythe Appropriate For? A Parent’s Guide · 12 Dystopian Books Like the Hunger Games | Best Books to Read Like Hunger Games
Frequently Asked Questions
What age is Scythe for?
It is usually recommended for ages 13 and up.
How many Scythe books are there?
There are three in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy, plus a short story collection.
Is Scythe violent?
Yes. Gleaning scenes include death and violence.
Is there a Scythe movie?
A film adaptation has been in development, but check for current news.
Is Scythe a romance?
There is a slow-building romance between Citra and Rowan, but the main focus is the moral conflict.
What is the Thunderhead?
It is a benevolent AI that runs the world in the series.