Teenagers Save The Day – 16 YA Dystopian Series, Not Only For Teenagers

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Written by Norrie

When I was a teenager, I dreamed about endless summer holidays, unlimited access to books and being kissed under very specific and romantic circumstances. I never, however, dreamed of saving the world or overthrowing the government. I have to admit though, as crappy as the situation was, our government was far from being totalitarian, so that might play a part in my goals never developing further from average teenage wishes to just be a normal person.

I feel like I also need to mention the fact, that back in my day we didn’t have any dystopian series catered towards teenagers (as far as I know anyway, ‘cuz we had no interned either), so it was basically you could either read 1984, or fuck off. Of course we had the choice of picking any other adult dystopian novel, ain’t nobody tried to stop us, but there was no Katniss to look up to and get ideas of world saving or domination from.

That said, I somehow survived my turbulent teenage years, even managed to score that very kiss I’d been dreaming about (it was very ‘speshal‘ indeed), and now as an adult all there’s left for me is to catch up on all these amazing series I should have read when I was 16.

Of course no YA dystopian list could ever be complete without The Hunger Games, which is one of my personal favourites, even though I have a feeling most of you guys have already read it. Am I right?

Hands up, who haven’t read The Hunger Games!?!? I promise I won’t bite!

Anyhow, let’s take a look at these awesome series, shall we?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The ‘tributes’ are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.
When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

The Hunger Games #1
Catching Fire #2
Mockingjay #3

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. In just a few weeks she’ll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunning pretty. And as a pretty, she’ll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun.
But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world– and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally’s choice will change her world forever…

Uglies #1
Pretties #2
Specials #3

The Chemical Garden by Lauren DeStefano

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.
When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to.

Wither #1
Fever #2
Sever #3

Brave New Girl by Rachel Vincent

Dahlia 16 sees her face in every crowd. She’s nothing special—just one of five thousand girls created from a single genome to work for the greater good of the city.
Meeting Trigger 17 changes everything. He thinks she’s interesting. Beautiful. Unique. Which means he must be flawed. When Dahlia can’t stop thinking about him—when she can’t resist looking for him, even though that means breaking the rules—she realizes she’s flawed, too. But if she’s flawed, then so are all her identicals. And any genome found to be flawed will be recalled.
Destroyed.

Brave New Girl #1
Strange New World #2

True Born Trilogy by L.E. Sterling

After the great Plague descended, the world population was decimated…and their genetics damaged beyond repair.
The Lasters wait hopelessly for their genes to self-destruct. The Splicers pay for expensive treatments that might prolong their life. The plague-resistant True Borns are as mysterious as they are feared…
And then there’s Lucy Fox and her identical twin sister, Margot. After endless tests, no one wants to reveal what they are.
When Margot disappears, a desperate Lucy has no choice but to put her faith in the True Borns, led by the charismatic Nolan Storm and the beautiful but deadly Jared Price. As Lucy and the True Borns set out to rescue her sister, they stumble upon a vast conspiracy stretching from Dominion’s street preachers to shady Russian tycoons. But why target the Fox sisters?
As they say in Dominion, it’s in the blood.

True Born #1
True North #2
True Storm #3

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child “unwound,” whereby all of the child’s organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn’t technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state, is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

Undwind #1
UnWholly #2
UnSouled #3
UnDivided #4

Jenna Fox Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson

Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. But what happened before that? Jenna doesn’t remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers?

The Adoration of Jenna Fox #1
The Fox Inheritance #2
Fox Forever #3

Variant by Robison Wells

Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.
He was wrong.
Now he’s trapped in a school that’s surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.
Where breaking the rules equals death.
But when Benson stumbles upon the school’s real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape—his only real hope for survival—may be impossible.

Variant #1
Feedback #2

The Extinction Trials by S.M. Wilson

Betrayal. Sacrifice. Survival.
Welcome to the Extinction Trials.
In Stormchaser and Lincoln’s ruined world, the only way to survive is to risk everything. To face a contest more dangerous than anyone can imagine. And they will do anything to win.
But in a land full of monsters – human and reptilian – they can’t afford to trust anyone. Perhaps not even each other…

The Extinction Trials #1
Exile #2

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.
But then Celestine encounters a situation where she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found flawed.
In her breathtaking young adult debut, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society where perfection is paramount and flaws lead to punishment. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.

Flawed #1
Perfect #2

Gone by Michael Grant

In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young.

There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what’s happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It’s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your 15th birthday, you disappear just like everyone else…

Gone #1
Hunger #2
Lies #3
Plague #4
Fear #5
Light #6
Monster #7
Villain #8

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien

In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Following in her mother’s footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be “advanced” into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve. Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.

Birthmarked #1
Prized #2
Promised #3

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky

Maddie lives in a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home. There’s really no need. For the most part, Maddie’s okay with the solitary, digital life—until she meets Justin. Justin likes being with people. He enjoys the physical closeness of face-to-face interactions. People aren’t meant to be alone, he tells her.
Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her—a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking.
In this not-so-brave new world, two young people struggle to carve out their own space.

Awaken #1
Middle Ground #2
Still Point #3

Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness

Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee — whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not — stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden — a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.
But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

The Knife of Never Letting Go #1
The Ask and the Answer #2
Monsters of Men #3

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron — a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology — a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber — chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison — a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device — a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn’s escape is born …

Incarceron #1
Sapphique #2

Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Thou shalt kill.
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Scythe #1
Thunderhead #2

Which series have you read? Did I list any of your favourites?

59 Comments

  1. I’ve only ever read Hunger Games and Uglies (both the series). Plus I’ve read some others on not on this list. And I found I got dystopianed-out. Probably because some of the other books weren’t written very well, or they seemed a rehash of what I’ve already read.

    But I wouldn’t mind reading another dystopian book at some point. Of all the other books on this list, which would you recommend? (Flawed, and Brave New Girl are catching my eye right now.)

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Same!
      From this list i’ve read Hunger Games and Uglies like you 😀
      Scythe was getting some amazing reviews lately!
      I was eyeing Flawed as well, mainly cuz it only has two books so far, so not a lot to catch up on 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. No, i haven’t yet! One more for the list 😀
      Uglies was pretty good! There’s a fourth book as well (Extras) and it’s one of the few series i actually managed to finish 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. Wow, that’s one great listing you have there, and a ton of books and authors I’ve never read. I’m bookmarking this page for follow up. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. I haven’t read all of these, they’ve just been sitting on my list forever.
      I found a couple of them in the charity shop recently, was super happy 😀

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  6. Birth Marked and The Hunger Games were on my list! I would add Under the never Skye, Girl of Fire and Thorns as well as Divergent (even if the ending had me raging) and Legend.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Oh, i don’t think i know Under the never Skye.
      Divergent was on this list originally. I had around 35 series, but figured it would be too long 😀 I’ll put them on the next one.

      Hunger Games is pretty much my favourite.

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  8. Such a cool list!!! I haven’t read any Hunger Games but I’ve seen all the movies hahahah I also read the first book in the Chaos Walking trilogy and need to continue that one at some point. 😀 And The Unwind series is definitely one that I’d love to try out at some point!

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  9. I’ve read Hunger games and got super annoyed with the ending but still really enjoyed the series as a whole. I totally binged read it as well he he.

    I read two books from Under the never Skye (still to finish 3rd) and Divergent series (yup, also didn’t finish 3rd book, I see a pattern there). There were not my ‘favourite’ but I enjoyed them at the time.

    I really want to read some of those on your list, Scythe is definitely one of them. Great list! 👏👏👏👌

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I know, right? I was not happy with how Hunger Games ended, but it still managed to become my favourite 😀 I totally binge read it and i haven’t happened with other series.

      Divergent is still pending 😀

      I’m excited about Scythe now, but it’s still unfinished… meh.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Ah, for me they are all pretty cool! I love the colours and designs.
      Except Variant and Jenna Fox. Jenna Fox book #1 had a really cute version with a butterfly, but then they didn’t seem to go on with it. 😦

      Liked by 1 person

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        1. Nah, you are not a bad person! Books should be pretty too! I read on kindle mostly, so it doesn’t matter so much, cuz i never have to look at them.

          I had a post with a list of adult dystopia last month. Those had some amazing covers ❤ Much better than these.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  12. I’ve read both The Hunger Games and Uglies. I loved Hunger Games and I though Uglies kinda fizzled out in the end, like most YA dystopian books.

    But, there is one other series I’m SO happy you added to this list: The Unwind Dystology! I believe this series is the best YA dystopian fiction to exist outside of 1984. It’s the one series where the ending didn’t see too unbelievable and it was written well ahead of YA’s time. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Uglies was such a good concept! It was one of those book series i actually finished 😀 I do agree on the ending tho, but i didn’t really care about it at the time i read it.

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. Well, i’m still sore about how Hunger Games ended. Still my favourite, but that ending was a bit meh for me.
      I don’t actually own most of these books but i’m on it 😀 Found book #2 of chaos walking in the charity recently. It doesn’t have this nice cover tho, but it’s still nice.

      Liked by 1 person

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  14. I haven’t heard of a bunch of these! Thanks for the recs! This is the second time I’ve seen Brave New Girl in a couple of days though so I’m definitely going to check that one out. I think I want to try the Unwind series but there’s something about just the synopsis that upsets me to be honest.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. It’s a sign! 😀

      Unwind is apparently super scary. I had a feeling it would be, based on the synopsis, so i had it on my tbr for a while, but based on the comments it is a good one if you are into disturbing stuff.

      Like

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    1. Thank you!
      I was not happy with book #3 of the Hunger Games either. Still, it was one of the best ones. And i actually finished the series, so that says a lot for me 😀

      Liked by 1 person

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  16. When I was a teenager, I was very much into punk rock and saying Fuck the Government. (George Bush Jr. days.) I would have never thought at 31 I’d look back and think, “Well I’d take Bush back over the current situation.” Lol. I’ve only read the Hunger Games series out of this list, though I do have The Knife of Never Letting Go on my TBR list. I love dystopians but have a hard time with a lot of YA.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Hehehe 😀

      YA dystopia has been a thing for a while. I think for me it’s sometimes hard to believe. Like, you know, where are all the adults? Why do the teens need to step in at such a young age? I mean, they are cool and all, just hard to believe no adult would ever do anything. Ever.

      Liked by 1 person

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  17. Love this list! I laughed at the synopsis for Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky, because of the line, “a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home.” And I’m like, “Err….so my normal daily life, basically.”

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. This is such an AMAZING selection – also I am kind of proud to see that I’ve read quite a good amount of these. I LOVED Uglies so, so much, it’s one of my favorite series. I also loved The Hunger Games. I only read the first book in the chaos walking series (unfortunately, wasn’t a fan :/), I read birthmarked as well (can’t remember a thing, or why I didn’t continue? oops) and oh I loved Awaken as well, such a good series! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. OMG, you actually have this studied in school?? That’s amazing. I only ever studied about boring stuff that stopped being cool or relevant like 50 years before i started high school.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  20. I loved The Hunger Games, like most people it seems. I haven’t read most of the others, but I did read Variant and Feedback. Variant was really good and did a great job setting up they mystery (plus a boarding school setting is always a winner), but the story went completely off the rails with Feedback.
    I would add The 100 to this list. I haven’t actually read the series, but I’m addicted to the show 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Oh nice, thanks for the recommendation! 🙂

      I haven’t read many books in boarding school setting… the last one i did was more like a funny diary style one, but i like this set up a lot.

      Like

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  21. *raises hand*
    Sorry Norrie… I might dissapoint you xD but nope- never read hunger games, and don’t feel like I want to either..

    Oooh Uglies, Brave new girl, Variant, Flawed, Awaken and Chaos walking looks so good; so many of thoses have gorgeous covers too!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. Nice list! 🙂 Some of these, I’d never heard of before, so thanks for the heads up. ❤ I've read (and loved) The Hunger Games, and I did read the first book in The Chemical Garden series, but I never carried on with it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
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  24. I read The Hunger Games back in like Sixth Grade and fell in love with it. To date, it’s still one of my favourite series, but like I never actually read many other dystopian books following that. This list intrigues me and I definitely want to try some of these especially The Chemical Garden Trilogy, The Extinction Trials and Brave New Girl.

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    Reply
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