July 1, 2020 | Boydl
Young Adult dystopian books remain popular. Dystopian novels are set in an alternate setting that can have similarities to the world we know. Many of the books and seem to focus on female protagonists and give attention to intersections involving race, gender, power and empowerment, sexuality, class, and social justice issues. Though these novels are set in a fictional future, some of them seem eerily familiar and not too far fetched. We are going to start with newer titles below, and then there are some backlist bumps near the bottom. Enjoy!
Newer Dystopian:
Leyla McQueen, who lives beneath the ruins of a submerged London in 2099, joins a prestigious submersible race in the hope of clearing her father's name before encountering government corruption and a hidden world.
Described as Westworld meets the Handmaid's Tale, this novel tells of a group of girls who have to look out for one another to survive in this action-packed Wild West-style fantasy.
Jacob escapes from the Academy orphanage to reenter a world that is grimly recognizable. The Coalition can track anyone, anywhere, from a chip implanted at birth. Now Jacob must fulfill his promise to his parents, find his dog, Jet, and navigate his way out of England. Their rules are strict, but necessary if they're going to get out alive
Jason Zhou is trying to survive in Taipei, a city plagued by pollution and viruses, but when he discovers the elite are using their wealth to evade the deadly effects, he knows he must do whatever is necessary to fight the corruption and save his city.
Tierney James, sixteen, struggles to endure the year in which she and other young women are banished to the wild until, purified, the survivors are allowed to return home and marry
At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Daniela Vargas is the school's top student, but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society. Dani has a great awakening after being recruited by rebel spies and falling for her biggest rival.
For years, the lands of women and men have existed side by side in relative peace. Glori has never questioned the separation of the sexes, nor the rules that keep her community safe. But when her mother secretly gives birth to a boy, she grows to love the child and starts to wonder: Could all men really be 'beasts'?
While on a routine assignment scouting the country's dwindling natural resources, Patricia 'Patch' and her best friend, Rexx, discover a cache of dangerous contraband--printed books from before The Seclusion. These texts spark an unquenchable thirst for the truth that leads to the arrest of Patch's father by the totalitarian Board, which runs the entire country. Evading their own arrest, Patch and Rexx set out across a ruined future United States.
In a dystopian United States with a ruthless one-child policy, twins Ava and Mira keep their existence secret by trading places each day, but when they are discovered, they become hunted fugitives and flee into remote sections of the country
A terrifying, futuristic United States where Muslim-Americans are forced into internment camps, and seventeen-year-old Layla Amin must lead a revolution against complicit silence
In a future where online comments are monitored by the Hive and are met with terrible consequences, Cassie is forced to go on the run after she posts an edgy joke
Backlist Bump:
Ostracized or incarcerated her whole life, seventeen-year-old Juliette is freed on the condition that she use her horrific abilities in support of The Reestablishment, a post-apocalyptic dictatorship, but Adam, the only person ever to show her affection, offers hope of a better future
A war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans-- has devastated the human population due to a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, and Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, discovers that a connection between humans and Partials may be the key to saving both races
Just before their sixteenth birthdays, when they will will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to have a great time, Tally's best friend runs away and Tally must find her and turn her in, or never become pretty at all
As the heirs to opposing sides in a warring city, Kate Harker and Augustus Flynn should never have met. A Romeo and Juliet-esque fantasy about the difference between good and evil and the blurry gray area in between
In a small town on the coast of California, everyone over the age of fourteen suddenly disappears, setting up a battle between the remaining town residents and the students from a local private school, as well as those who have "The Power" and are able to perform supernatural feats and those who do not
Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love
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