50+ Fantastic Young Adult Dystopian Novels
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For those stopping by looking for ideas to read for my YA-D2 reading challenge, this is a list of over 50 YA Dystopian novels that readers recommended as being some of the best the genre has to offer. You’re sure to find some gems if you pick any of the books in this list.
However, I know there are more great YA Dystopian books out there! If you’ve read one not on this list then be sure to tell us about them in the comments, and I’ll either add them to this list or create a new one altogether!
Should you want to grab a copy of any of the books listed, clicking on the cover will take you to The Book Depository page for that book where you can purchase it with FREE worldwide delivery.
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The Atherton Series by Patrick CarmanRecommended by: Nathan, who had this to say: …one of my favourites is the Atherton series, by Patrick Carman. “The Dark Planet” is the last book of the series and it features an amazing dystopian world. From the creator of The Land of Elyon comes a riveting adventure set in an extraordinary satellite world – created as a refuge from a dying Earth – that begins to collapse and forever change the lives of its inhabitants! |
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The Chaos Walking Series by Patrick NessRecommended by Lenore & Nymeth. Imagine you’re the only boy in a town of men. And you can hear everything they think. And they can hear everything you think. Imagine you don’t fit in with their plans…Todd Hewitt is just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. But his town has been keeping secrets from him. Secrets that are going to force him to run… |
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The Declaration/The Resistance by Gemma MalleyRecommended by: Lenore Powerful futuristic drama about a world in which human life has a transformed value, and ageing has long since lost its finality. Charismatic characters, action-driven plot and sublime writing combine to make this an unputdownable novel for teens. |
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The Ember Series by Jeanne DuprauRecommended by Amanda Many hundreds of years ago, the city of Ember was created by the Builders to contain everything needed for human survival. It worked – but now the storerooms are almost out of food, crops are blighted, corruption is spreading through the city and worst of all – the lights are failing. |
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Exodus and Zenith by Julie BertangaRecommended by: Fyrefly & aerin Set in 2099, this story is themed around the consequences of global warming where Mara, her family and community realize they are asylum-seekers in a world torn between high-tech wizardry and the most primitive injustice. To save her people, Mara must not only find a way into the city but also search for a new land and a new home. |
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Feed by MT AndersonRecommended by: Lenore Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains. For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon – a chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. Following in the footsteps of George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. |
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Floodland by Marcus SedgwickImagine that a few years from now England is covered by water, and Norwich is an island. Zoe, left behind in the confusion when her parents escaped, survives there as best she can. Alone and desperate among marauding gangs, she manages to dig a derelict boat out of the mud and gets away to Eels Island. But Eels Island, whose raggle-taggle inhabitants are dominated by the strange boy Dooby, is full of danger too. |
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Flux by Beth GoobleRecommended by: Lauren (I Was A Teenage Book Geek) Deep in another reality, while using her ability to travel to parallel worlds, Nellie uncovers a conspiracy to abduct children for an experimental laboratory. |
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The Forest of Hands and Teeth / The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie RyanRecommended by: WIlowRaven, Foz Meadows, lisa-marie Mary lives in a small village governed by the religious Sisterhood and bordered with a fence to keep out the Unconsecrated–a horde of the undead. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future–between the one she loves and the one who loves her. |
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Genesis by Bernard BeckettRecommended by: Mandy A fourteen-year-old Anax thinks she knows her history. She’d better. She’s sat facing three Examiners and her grueling five-hour examination has just begun. If she passes, she’ll be admitted into The Academy – the elite institution that runs her utopian society. |
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Girl in the Arena by Lise HainesRecommended by Aly Lyn is a modern gladiator’s daughter, and the rules of the sport are second nature to her family. However, the rules turn against the family after a gifted young fighter kills Lyn’s father and captures Lyn’s dowry bracelet–which means Lyn must marry him. To win her freedom, she must face her father’s killer in mortal combat. |
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The Giver / Gathering Blue / Messenger by Lois LowryRecommended by: Valentina & Nathan When Jonas turns 12, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. Now, it’s time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back. / Living with a twisted leg in a world where the weak are cast aside, Kira fears for her future until she is spared. A gifted weaver, Kira is given a task that no other community member can do. / For the past six years, Matty has lived in Village and flourished under the guidance of Seer, a blind man, known for his special sight. Village was a place that welcomed newcomers, but something sinister has seeped into Village and the people have voted to close it to outsiders. Matty has been invaluable as a messenger. Now he must make one last journey through the treacherous forest with his only weapon, a power he unexpectedly discovers within himself. |
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Gone by Michael GrantRecommended by: Anastasia In the blink of an eye, the world changes. The adults vanish without a trace, and those left must do all they can to survive. For Sam and Astrid, it is a race against time as they try to solve the questions that now dominate their lives. What is the mysterious wall that has encircled the town of Perdido Beach and trapped everyone within? |
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How I Live Now by Meg RosoffDaisy is sent from New York to England to spend a summer with cousins she has never met. She’s never met anyone quite like them before – and, as a dreamy English summer progresses, Daisy finds herself caught in a timeless bubble. But their lives are about to explode. Falling in love is just the start of it. War breaks out – a war none of them understands, or really cares about, until it lands on their doorstep. The family is separated. The perfect summer is blown apart. Daisy’s life is changed forever – and the world is too. |
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The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne CollinsSuzanne Collins fantastically popular series following sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen who regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV… |
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Little Brother by Cory DoctorowRecommended by: Fyrefly The ultimate tale of teen rebellion — one seventeen-year-old against the surveillance state. Big Brother is watching you. Who’s watching back? |
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The Maze Runner Series by James DashnerRecommended by: Kasey, Aly, lisa-marie When Thomas wakes up, he’s surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade–a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got there. The next day, a girl arrives with the surprising message that Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. |
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The Moon Crash Trilogy/Last Survivors by Susan Beth PfefferNo shops. No TV. No Electricity. No Daylight. No idea if your family is alive or dead. Could you survive? When a freak asteroid knocks the moon from its orbit, horrific tides engulf parts of the globe, and life on earth changes overnight. Communications and food supplies start to break down, and a desperate battle survival begins. |
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The Mortal Engines Quartet / Hungry City Chronicles by Phillip Reeve”Mortal Engines” Philip Reeve’s brilliantly-imagined creation, the world of the Traction Era, where mobile cities fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic future. The first instalment introduces young apprentice Tom Natsworthy and the murderous Hester Shaw flung from the fast-moving city of London into heart-stopping adventures in the wastelands of the Great Hunting Ground. |
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The Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle CarmodyRecommended by: Cat Born with enchanted powers that brand her a Misfit in her paranoid post-holocaust world, Elspeth Gordie gets herself sent to Obernewtyn, where, rumor has it, a reclusive doctor is developing a cure for Misfit abilities. But Obernewtyn is not what it seems, and Elspeth must grow up quickly learn to control her powers. |
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The Other Side of the Island by Allegra GoodmanRecommended by: Lenore Earth Mother is always watching… And one brave girl is about to find out why. |
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A Resurrection of Magic Series by Kathleen DueyRecommended by J A macTavish, who had this to say:…the first in “A resurrection of Magic” series by Kathleen Duey, was a very compelling Dystopian novel, with the twist being that one dystopian society evolves into an equally maladjusted society, only different. One assumes that things are set at least nominally to rights in subsequent novels! |
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The Secret Under my Skin by Janet McNaughtonRecommended by: Lauren (I Was A Teenage Book Geek) In the year 2368, humankind must struggle to survive under dire environmental conditions and strict government control. In this startling world, one brave young woman begins to unravel a web of lies about life on Earth that will empower her to discover, at last, who she really is. McNaughton vividly imagines an all-too-believable future and celebrates the impact that one person can make on the world. |
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The Shadow Children Sequence by Margaret Peterson HaddixThe Shadow Children series is a series of seven books by Margaret Peterson Haddix about a futuristic, overpopulated, resource-deprived Earth, and the effects of the government’s attempts to quell overpopulation. The Population Police enforce the government’s Population Law, killing or imprisoning “shadow children,” any third child in a family. |
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The Sky Inside by Clare B. DunkleRecommended by: Lauren (I Was A Teenage Book Geek) Martin lives in a perfect world.Every year a new generation of genetically-engineered children is shipped out to meet their parents. Every spring the residents of his town take down the snow they’ve stuck to their windows and put up flowers. Every morning his family gathers around their television and votes, like everyone else, for whatever matter of national importance the president has on the table. Today, it is the colour of his drapes. It’s business as usual under the protective dome of suburb HM1. And it’s all about to come crashing down. Because a stranger has come to take away all the little children. |
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The Uglies Trilogy +1 by Scott WesterfeldRecommended by: JA macTavish & Me! Tally lives in a world where your sixteenth birthday brings aesthetic perfection: an operation which erases your flaws, transforming you from an ‘Ugly’ into a ‘Pretty’. She is on the eve of this important event, and cannot wait for her life to change. But then she meets Shay, who is also fifteen – but with a very different outlook on life. Before her operation she plans to escape to a community in the forest – the Rusty Ruins – where Uglies go to escape ‘ turning’. Tally won’t be persuaded to join her, as this would involve sacrificing everything she’s ever wanted for a lot of uncertainty. When she is taken in for questioning on her birthday, however, Tally gets sent to the Ruins anyway – against her will. The state wants her to go on an undercover mission and report back about the location of the community; otherwise she will forfeit her birthday operation. What she discovers in the Ruins reveals that there is nothing ‘pretty’ about the transformations… |
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Unwind by Neal ShustermanRecommended by: Mandy In this futuristic thriller, Neal Shusterman creates a world that blurs the line between life and death and challenges ideas about what it means to be alive. |
However, I know there are more great YA Dystopian books out there! If you’ve read one not on this list then be sure to tell us about them in the comments, and I’ll either add them to this list or create a new one altogether!
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Posted by Darren on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Filed under Blog, Featured Articles, Musings · Tagged with dystopia, Dystopian
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 YA Dystopian Reading Challenge 2
Enjoy young adult dystopian lit? Then don't miss out on my reading challenge this Oct to Dec! |
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Very Very cool list. Thanks SO much for the links to my blog.
Actually just this week I was thinking of having a dystopian week on my blog where I would only read and review dystopian teen books, have interviews and giveaways etc. and the whole thought was inspired by your previous Dystopian posting. I took a lot of your recommendations and built a reading list from it. It’s my favourite teen genre, for sure, and I was surprised that your list had so many books I hadn’t read yet!
Hey, so thanks so much for the redux!!
Mandy´s last blog ..How I Decided To Read *Bad Apple* by Laura Ruby
I love Dystopian novels – this is such a great list! I’m going to have to bookmark this page.
You can add the Ember series by Jeanne Duprau to the list. The City of Ember is an excellent book, and while the other three aren’t as great, they’re still worth reading.
Amanda´s last blog ..Harry Potter Collection
So many great looking books, thanks for the list! Makes me think that someone should really create a YA Dystopian reading challenge
Joanne´s last blog ..Graphic Novels v.4 ♦ Spookiness Abounds
Comments like that could be dangerous! :p
I really liked Gone by Michael Grant; I haven’t read the second book but hopefully it’ll be as good as the first, which had everyone over 14/15 disappear and left the kids behind in a city they can’t get out of.
I’ve actually got the first two Atherton books on my shelves waiting for me to read them, so maybe I’ll have to bump them up on the next-to-read list…
Anastasia´s last blog ..Monthly Review (September 2009)
Ooh, I’ve look at that one in the bookshop more than once!
There is also:
The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman
The Declaration and The Resistance by Gemma Malley
Feed by MT Anderson
and some more coming out next year!
Lenore´s last blog ..Third Quarter Reading in Review
Oooh,
I’ll have to have a look at them, and add them to the post when I update it later this week. 
I second the nominations of GENESIS by Bernard Beckett and the Patrick Ness novels THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO and THE ASK AND THE ANSWER. Both are excellent. THE HUNGER GAMES and it’s follow-up CATCHING FIRE are not to be missed either.
I just discovered that Lise Haines has her first YA novel coming out on October 13th called “Girl in the Arena”. Worth looking into as another to add to the list.
-aly
I loved the Atherton series!!
I would add Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn Chronicles to this list as well. It’s a fabulous series, with more books on the way!
Cat´s last blog ..In My Mailbox #24 or Holy Book Jackpot, Batman!
Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll be adding all the new recs to the post later this week!
That’s a great list and definitely has most of my favourites. I also like The Secret Under My Skin by Janet McNaughton, The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle and Flux by Beth Goobie. I *love* Feed by M.T. Anderson, it’s one of my favourite dystopias ever.
Lauren (I Was A Teenage Book Geek)´s last blog ..In My Mailbox (9)
Great post! I love the Atherton series and I’m halfway through The Shadow Children sequence.
I would add The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan – the second book is coming out next year.
So far, it’s my favorite read this year.
WIlowRaven´s last blog ..In My Mailbox – October 4th, 2009
Great list! I’d also add ‘The Wind on Fire’ trilogy, made up of The Wind Singer, Slaves of the Mastery and Firesong (by William Nicholson); The Forest of Hands and Teeth (by Carrie Ryan) and Vulture’s Gate (by Kirsty Murray), all of which are fantastic dystopian stories.
Foz Meadows´s last blog ..Dollhouse: Season 1
I have read the first Moon book, Life as we knew it, and it was great. I have the second one, the dead and the gone, on my TBR-list. I also read both Hunger Games books and they are fabulous too. I was recently recommended the Chaos-walking series (The Knife of Never Letting go) and the Tomorrow-series as well. I am looking forward to read them, and have found some new recommendations on this list
Louise´s last blog ..Should I get one? Kindle experiences.
How do you definre what Dystopian is? I think I’m just being thick but I’m not sure.
Hannah´s last blog ..The One With Early Excitement
Well according to wikipedia:
Hope that helps!
This is an awesome list, Bart. I love YA dystopian lit as well, so I’ll definitely check these out. My favorites of those you listed were the Lois Lowry books, though I’ve enjoyed a few others as well. I’m looking forward to The Hunger Games and Catching Fire.
3m´s last blog ..Borders’ 100 Favorite Books of All Time
Great list! I had my own dystopian challenge a few months ago and I read a lot of these books. Patrick Ness’s would have to be my favourite, and really enjoy Rosoff and Pfeffer.
It seems I stumbled upon this list after commenting on the last one and most of my suggestions have been additions. A new series that just came out is a trilogy written by James Dashner that starts with a book called “The Maze Runner.” I would definitely recommend that book as an addition to this list.
I so want to read The Maze Runner!
The Maze Runner is so good…a definite must read. Some people think it starts slow but I disagree…really enjoyed it.
OMG! This list is awesome! I’ve already read the Hunger Games and Catching Fire, they are gr8!
I like to suggest the Blue Bloods series, and though it isn’t exactly destopic, it really does take the cake for fallen angels-turned-vamps thing. Really, really GOOD! LOLz xD
I agree with those who’ve mentioned The Maze Runner and The Forest of Hands and Teeth – both were awesome and I’m anxiously awaiting their sequels! Thanks for some great recommendations!
Thanks for the list. I was looking for a new dystopian novel to listen to and I found HOW I LIVE NOW on the list. I downloaded it just now. Thanks.
Karin´s last blog ..28 Days of Winter Escapes – FRAGILE ETERNITY by Melissa Marr – Q & A
Thanks again for this list. Its great and I am always inspired.
Louise´s last blog ..Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
I read your blog consistently, but this is the first I’ve seen of this list. It’s great! I think the first dystopian novel I ever read was probably The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (and I’ve since read everything by him which is why I refuse to look at another meteor shower again in my life (if anyone’s read The Day of the Triffids they’ll know why)) and I’ve been hooked ever since.
There was a great listing of dystopian novels going right back to the fifties on a blog I visited but I did not bookmark the page and I have been searching for the site ever since.
Sounds like a new challenge for 2011, doesn’t it?
Stephanie N´s last blog ..Getting to Know You/Me
I’m glad you found and enjoyed the post then
Talking if challenges I’ll be running my YA Dystopian Challenge again later this year! 
Another great dystopian novel is Cando by Pam Bachorz.
supposed to be Candor, sorry!
Thanks for putting together this great list. It’s nice to see some of my favorites on it and to be pointed to some other promising reads.
One of my favorites that’s not on your list is Battle Royale, written by Koushun Takami in 1999 and translated into English in 2003. Its theme is similar to the one used later by Suzanne Collins in Hunger Games. In it, as part of some dysfunctional government experiment, a 40 middle school students are deposited on a deserted island, given various weapons, fitted with monitoring devices, and told they must hunt and kill one another until only one of them remains alive. It’s a compelling story, though somewhat grim and brutal.
Another series you might consider adding starts with Tomorrow, When the War Began, by John Marsden. In it a group of Australian teens return from a back-country camping trip to find that a foreign army has invaded their country and put everyone from their town into a prison compound. The teens eventually become sort of a guerrilla resistance force trying to free their friends of family and overthrow the invaders. I’ve only read the first 2 of the 7 books in the series, but they’ve left me looking forward to reading more.