Written by Jakob Andreasen
A large chunk of the literary world, more so the young adult world, is composed of both magic-filled fantasy novels that follow a badass protagonist and cutesy contemporaries that scream insta-love. But in amongst this, dystopian novels—the unsung heroes—manage to combine realism with make-believe. Read on to discover a few dystopian stories, which I have read, that reign supreme in my eyes!
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
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It goes without saying that this will forever be my personal favourite dystopian novel. If you’re unaware of this series, The Hunger Games follows the protagonist Katniss Everdeen, a citizen of District 12, through a heart-wrenching journey of survival.
Set in Panem, separated into twelve districts and governed by The Capitol, the country values the wealthy and ignores the starving. Each year The Capitol hosts a Hunger Games, where one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts is ‘reaped’ to take part in a gruesome fight to the death. This pageant is held to remind its citizens of ‘The Dark Days’—a failed rebellion of the districts against The Capitol, which saw a thirteenth district destroyed. And, in its 74th year, Katniss is forced into volunteering for The Hunger Games.
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
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Okay, bear with me. The Darkest Minds does fall into the science fiction realm, however, there are elements of dystopia—and they are great. The story opens its readers to an American society that fears its children—obviously, considering it’s a YA novel. Kids are the enemy and adults will stop at nothing to see them defeated.
90% of children in the United States are dying, and nobody knows why those who remain are receiving miraculous abilities. Greens are walking Einstein’s, Blues are telekinetic, Yellows are a real shock, Oranges are a good source of Vitamin C, and Reds are serial arsonists. The kids, with these abilities, that are caught are taken away from their families and sent to camps. And, Ruby, our protagonist, and her companions; Liam Chubs, and Zu are on the run from the government—but, what her friends don’t know, is that Ruby is dangerous
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
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A new favourite of mine, Scythe is the successor to The Hunger Games. In a futuristic world, humanity has perfected itself. No longer is the world plagued with disease. No longer in the world plagued with conflict. No longer is the world plagued with death.
Controlled by the ‘Thunderhead’, this futuristic society has outgrown the constraints of morality. To combat this, a select group known as Scythes are chosen to carry out the gruesome task of ‘gleaning’ the world’s population. Our two main protagonists, Rowan and Citra, are chosen to be apprentices to a Scythe—never before has a Scythe taken on two apprentices at the same time. And, at the end of their apprenticeship one will have to ‘glean’ the other.
Scythe is a story filled with political intrigue, betrayal, and intense turmoil. Its sequel, Thunderhead, is even better!
Broken Sky by L.A. Weatherly
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This trilogy is probably the most underrated and unheard of on this list and Broken Sky is a hidden gem amongst the YA novels. So, I didn’t know this, but this novel is set in “a distorted echo of 1940’s America,” and now I understand the atmosphere of the story way better.
Amity, our protagonist, is a teen pilot, battling in one-on-one combat, up in the sky. She flies to maintain peace between nations and this is done to replace traditional warfare. However, not everything is picture perfect. Corruption manages to make its way back into society and nations are cheating their way to victory. And, as Amity begins to question the same organisation that became her safe haven, her world is turned upside down when she becomes a scapegoat.
Side note: Honestly, a lot of novels are set in a Dystopian America, so, I think I’ll start making an effort to find and read those that are set in Australia.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
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This novel truly stands on its own—which is true, considering it’s a stand-alone. But, Ready Player One is a modern-day Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Set in the not too far future, population control is out of hand and reality is becoming obsolete.
This society prides itself on a virtual reality known as ‘The Oasis’, and our protagonist, Wade Watts uses this program to escape his horrible living conditions. Upon the death of the creator of ‘The Oasis’, James Halliday, a competition is held, and the winner would inherit his entire fortune and corporation.
Five years after this announcement of this competition, Wade discovers the first of three keys—which will be used to unlock the prize winnings. Now a target of the corrupt Nolan Sorento, head of operations for Innovative Online Industries, who wants ‘The Oasis’ to himself, Wade is on the run for his life.
Legend by Marie Lu
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I finished this book a few days ago and knew that it had to be on this list. Legend is a true dystopian masterpiece. A fan of her other work, I was curious to see how her debut novel compared to her later work. Legend follows two protagonists, Day and June, and their journey through a society that decides its citizens’ futures based on a series of tests, known as the Trial.
Day is a criminal. He is supposed to be dead. But, instead, he is wanted by the government. June is the pride and joy of The Republic after she received an unprecedented perfect score for her Trial. After the murder of her brother, Metias—with Day as the prime suspect— June is left with one goal: to avenge her brother and bring justice to his murderer. But, there is more to this than meets the eye. Was Day really the one who killed her brother? Is The Republic a perfect society?
And, those are some of my favourite dystopian novels! All of these are great reads and really take the time to comment on the current situation of our world—even though some are written before any of these events occurred.
