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 The Handmaid's Tale, try The Testaments, Oryx and Crake, Vox, The Power, Red Clocks and Only Ever Yours. Each one imagines women's freedom under threat, a chilling future or the courage to resist.
Margaret Atwood's 1985 classic is set in Gilead, a totalitarian state that has replaced the United States. With fertility collapsing, women like the narrator Offred are forced to bear children for powerful men. Through her memories of her old life, readers see how quickly rights can vanish. Readers love its quiet terror and its beautiful, precise language. These books share its urgent themes and its unforgettable heroines.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Focus | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Testaments | Margaret Atwood | Sequel | readers who want more of Gilead |
| Oryx and Crake | Margaret Atwood | Bioengineering | readers who want more Atwood |
| Vox | Christina Dalcher | Silenced women | readers who want a fast thriller |
| The Power | Naomi Alderman | Reversed power | readers who want a big idea |
| Red Clocks | Leni Zumas | Reproductive rights | readers who like literary near-futures |
| Only Ever Yours | Louise O'Neill | Beauty and control | readers who like YA dystopias |
| The Grace Year | Kim Liggett | Girls and survival | teens who want a dark story |
| I Who Have Never Known Men | Jacqueline Harpman | Captivity | readers who like strange, haunting novels |
| The Water Cure | Sophie Mackintosh | Isolated women | readers who want something dreamlike |
| Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro | Bodies used by others | readers who like quiet horror |
| 1984 | George Orwell | Surveillance | readers who want the classic |
| Brave New World | Aldous Huxley | Controlled births | readers who want another classic |
| The Book of the Unnamed Midwife | Meg Elison | Plague | readers who like post-apocalyptic survival |
| Native Tongue | Suzette Haden Elgin | Language | readers who like feminist classics |
| Kindred | Octavia E. Butler | Time travel | readers who want a classic about freedom |
1. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
Three women tell how Gilead begins to fall in this Booker Prize winner.
Best for: readers who want more of Gilead.
2. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
The last man alive recalls how bioengineering ended the world.
Best for: readers who want more Atwood.
3. Vox by Christina Dalcher
Women are limited to 100 spoken words a day.
Best for: readers who want a fast thriller.
4. The Power by Naomi Alderman
Women suddenly develop the ability to give electric shocks.
Best for: readers who want a big idea.
5. Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
Five women live in an America where abortion is banned.
Best for: readers who like literary near-futures.
6. Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill
Girls are bred and trained to compete for husbands.
Best for: readers who like YA dystopias.
7. The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
Girls are banished for a year to burn away their so-called magic.
Best for: teens who want a dark story.
8. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
A woman raised in a cage with forty others tries to understand the world.
Best for: readers who like strange, haunting novels.
9. The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh
Three sisters on an island are taught that men are toxic.
Best for: readers who want something dreamlike.
10. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Students at an English boarding school learn their terrible purpose.
Best for: readers who like quiet horror.
11. 1984 by George Orwell
A man rebels against a totalitarian government that watches everything.
Best for: readers who want the classic.
12. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
People are engineered and drugged to stay happy in a future state.
Best for: readers who want another classic.
13. The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison
A plague leaves few women alive, and a nurse fights to survive.
Best for: readers who like post-apocalyptic survival.
14. Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin
Women in a future America secretly create their own language.
Best for: readers who like feminist classics.
15. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
A Black woman is pulled back in time to a slave plantation.
Best for: readers who want a classic about freedom.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with The Handmaid's Tale: 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
Pick up The Testaments right away if you want answers about what happens next. If the fear of losing rights is what stayed with you, Vox and Red Clocks bring it closer to the present day, with Vox the faster read. The Power flips the whole idea around and asks what women would do with violence on their side. For teens, The Grace Year and Only Ever Yours are chilling and accessible. I Who Have Never Known Men is a less-known gem and may stay with you for a long time. All of these contain difficult content, including sexual violence, so check content notes if needed.
Related: The Handmaid’s Tale Book Club Discussion Questions (With Summary and Themes) · 15 Best Fairy Tale Retelling Books for Teens
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Handmaid's Tale about?
A woman in a totalitarian state called Gilead is forced to bear children for powerful couples.
Is there a sequel?
Yes. The Testaments, published in 2019, shared the Booker Prize.
Is The Handmaid's Tale based on real events?
It is fiction, but Atwood said that everything in it has happened somewhere in history.
What is the TV series like?
The Hulu series, starring Elisabeth Moss, goes well beyond the plot of the book.
What age is it for?
It is for mature readers, generally 16 and up, because of its sexual violence.