If you couldn’t put down the Divergent book series by Veronica Roth, it can be a bit of a shock when the story finally comes to an end. But you don’t have to step back into the real world just yet! You can continue your deep dive into the realm of possibility with these dystopian novels. Keep exploring all the ways the world is going wrong, and keep cheering for the young protagonists who save the world just in time!
1. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
This trilogy is one of the keystone pieces of young adult dystopian fiction that has taken the world by storm in the past decade. It tells the story of a heroine who has to fight to free her whole society, so the themes run really deep.
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2. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
A teenage boy wakes up in an elevator with a group of others. He doesn’t remember how he got there, and he doesn’t know how to get out. The boys have to work together to survive the traps and dangers of the Maze; will they ever get out?
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3. Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
This book looks at the catastrophic events on earth after a meteor hits the moon. Everything changes in the blink of an eye, and the main characters have to learn new ways to survive and thrive on a planet they barely recognize.
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4. Contain by Saul Tanpepper
This novel is the first in a series of zombie apocalypse books. When a group of people is forced underground in a bunker to flee from a terrible plague, they uncover secrets that are more deadly than the disease itself. They have to rely on one another if they want to make it out alive.
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5. The Light Thief by David Webb
Imagine that light is a precious resource that is allotted by a shadowy government. This is exactly what the main character of this novel faces as she tries to get revenge for her parents’ murder and rescue her brother, entirely in the dark.
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6. #MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil
The government has set up a new prison: Alcatraz 2.0. Here, they use a new social media app to broadcast the punishment and execution of prisoners, and the people on the outside seem to love it. But what happens when the teenage protagonist finds herself on the island, wrongfully convicted, and facing execution? Will she make it out alive?
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7. Maximum Ride by James Patterson
This series of novels dips into the realm of fantasy and features a winged hero who has to save the world — several times over. She is part of a family of warrior angels with a mysterious past. Read on as the main characters battle huge corporations and shady government organizations to find the truth about their origins and protect their own.
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8. Hawk by James Patterson
This novel follows up on the Maximum Ride series, though it picks up the story almost ten years later with a young angel warrior called Hawk. In the post-apocalyptic ruins of New York City, can the heroine escape her fate, or will she live up to her destiny and protect all the people she loves most?
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9. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
This novel is a modern classic that explores the roles of women in an oppressive, religious regime. Although it is a fictional book, it explores themes and ideas that ring true for contemporary issues. It’s a great story with clear insights into society these days.
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10. Matched by Ally Condie
Imagine a world where you don’t have to search for your soulmate because they’re already chosen for you. But what happens when a young woman is in love with someone else? Can true love overcome the society that pushes her around and dictates her every move?
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11. The Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver
Great news! Scientists have discovered that love is actually just a mysterious disease and everyone can be cured with the proper treatment. The main character of this novel, though, falls hard in love right before it’s her time to get her dose of the medicine.
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12. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
With an imminent alien invasion threatening the earth, the government starts recruiting people to fight in their space war. Ender is just a kid, but he’s ready to do what it takes, and it seems like he might not even have a choice.
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13. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
This classic coming-of-age hero story features a young warrior woman who seeks to vanquish her enemies and attain her destiny, even though all the cards are stacked against her. The novel is also a nice bridge from the dystopian genre to the fantasy genre.
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14. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Nothing is as it seems, and no one can be trusted. At least, that’s the premise of this novel, which features two unlikely companions and their quest to survive in a world that doesn’t want them alive. How will they be able to work together if they can’t even trust each other?
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15. Compliant by M.J. Kaestli
The protagonist of this novel lives in a society where everything is already chosen for her: her house, her spouse, and even her future children. But when her heart wants something more, she has to decide the lengths she’ll go for love and family, even at the risk of crossing the all-knowing and all-controlling government.
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16. The Atlantis Gene by A. G. Riddle
A new scientific discovery in Antarctica and new medical breakthroughs about autism bring up questions about the human race and evolution. Researchers try to make sense of it all as the stakes to get to the root of these issues get higher and higher with each turn of the page.
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17. The Girl and the Raven by Pauline Gruber
This novel combines elements of fantasy and dystopian books to bring a story of a young woman who has to face her identity and her destiny. Even though these two things seem totally opposite, she relies on the magic all around her to guide her way. But where will that path take her?
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18. Recruitment by K. A. Riley
This is the first part of a series of dystopian books that tells the story of a secret war and its young warriors. The heroine and her best friends are recruited for elite military training, and they’re forced to come of age in a war that they didn’t even start.
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19. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
This novel is a classic, and it defined a lot of the features and characteristics of the contemporary dystopian novel. It tells the story of a society where things are not what they seem at all. You can see how far the genre has come in the past several decades, and you can clearly see how much society has stayed the same.
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20. Uglies by Scott Westerfield
For her 16th birthday, the main protagonist of this story is ready to get the plastic surgery and perfect body that everyone in her society gets when they turn 16. But that changes when she meets another girl who seriously questions the norm and has totally different ideas about what a perfect life and perfect body actually look like.
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21. The Long Earth by Steven Baxter and Terry Pratchett
This series explores many of the dystopian themes in a science-fiction world. Imagine that the world stretches out in millions of copies of itself. The resources and space are endless, and when humanity gains access to it, everything changes in a split second. How will governments react? How will society change and evolve throughout the generations?
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22. The Selection by Kiera Cass
When 35 girls are chosen to escape their routine lives and become the princesses of their society, it means a whole new life and new opportunities. But what happens if one of the selected girls doesn’t want to comply? How will she escape a life of constantly being on display? How will she learn to live life for herself?
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23. The Knowledge Seeker by Rae Knightly
The world is on the verge of a second dark age, and the only thing that stands between the war and the erasure of all human knowledge is the hero of this novel. He wears all of the books of the past on a device around his neck, and he must protect it at all costs — even the cost of his own life and loved ones.
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24. Enclave by Ann Aguirre
In a post-apocalyptic world, people live underground in small groups. They don’t expect to live long, and each person has a specific role to play. Read on as each main character explores and accepts their roles, and see how two young heroes can make a huge change in the world as they know it.
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25. Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
Set in the near future in a society where ultra-violent sports are all the rage, a teenage girl is thrown into the middle of the fray. She has to fight for her life in the modern gladiator games to secure her own future and freedom. Will she escape with her life and family?
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26. The Program by Suzanne Young
The protagonist of this novel lives in a world where showing your true emotions is totally forbidden. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and The Program is the only way to treat any emotional outburst. Follow along as our heroine deals with the threats inside her heart and in the world around her.
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27. 1984 by George Orwell
This is one of the early dystopian novels that really gave the genre a lot of its shape and direction. It imagines a world where “Big Brother is always watching,” and the hero must question what a good life really is. It’s about making changes in society and questioning the status quo with hope for the future.
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28. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Cia Vale has just graduated, and she’s excited by the possibility of recruitment to the top tiers of training for a future in leadership in the United Commonwealth. She’s worked hard her whole life and wants to make a difference in the alternate United States where she lives. But what kind of mark can she hope to make?
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29. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Aria’s whole world is a dome known as Reverie. But when her mom disappears, she has to leave behind everything she knows and set out on a quest to make things right. She’ll learn a lot along the way, and she’ll uncover secrets that will overturn the world as she has come to know it.
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30. Legend by Marie Lu
This is the story of one young woman’s quest for revenge. But she isn’t just any young woman: she is an elite military special recruit. She gets wrapped up in a web of mystery and intrigue that brings her face to face with her brother’s killer and with secrets that threaten the whole world as she knows it.
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31. The Seclusion by Jacqui Castle
In a world where books were all thought to be banned and destroyed years ago, two young researchers stumble upon a hidden cache of forbidden books. How will they proceed, who can they trust, and what secrets do these books contain?
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32. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The heroine of this story lives in a world where everyone is defined by their heritage and family. The strong heroine must overcome her own divisions and misgivings to join the rebellion and fight for the future of her family and her society.
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33. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
This is a graphic novel that explores the themes of oppression and rebellion. The anti-hero, whose only name is “V,” sets out to right the wrongs of an extreme — yet somehow recognizable — government. Will he rally the people and bring about the change they need, or will he die alone on his quest for justice and freedom?
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