My Fave Dystopian Books

I’m giving you the BEST of the dystopian bunch, IMO. These are the ones that suck you into their world and make you believe you’re in it with the characters. These were the ones that were the most affecting and thought provoking and just flat out awesome, again IMO. I love me some good action, intrigue, and romance and these totally delivered.

You’ll see I took the description for a few from Amazon. I hated doing that, but I read some of these quite some time ago and thought the description described it better than I could. I definitely need to get better about posting reviews right after I’ve read the book, because not too long after, i’m left remembering I loved the book but I forget all the details that made it so good in the first place :S Note to self: STOP being so damn lazy and start posting!!! Let me know which ones you think should be on here. I’d love to check them out!!

Also, I have a ton of books I can loan through amazon, so hit me up and i’ll see if I can loan out the specific title you’re looking for.

1. Hunger Games trilogy (Suzanne Collins) – Do I really need to give description? I feel by now most people have a pretty good idea what these books are about. I will say that my favorite of the 3 was Catching Fire and I read this one so many times. It always comforted me somehow when i was feeling down, mostly because of Peeta’s awesomeness 🙂

2. Divergent series (Veronica Roth) – For me this was similar to Harry Potter in that the factions reminded me of the houses in HP. Each one representing a specific trait like erudite for the brainy, dauntless for the brave etc… It reminded me of Hunger Games with the Dauntless initiations feeling a little like how the tributes were in the games and the strategies involved. I feel Tris as the heroine was a bit more relatable/likable than Katniss, though was every bit as tough. Four was physically tougher than Peeta, though no less devoted and was more hard around the edges. That made me love his character even more.
It’s fast paced and has that familiar can you really trust those in charge theme happening. Awesome characters and story all around and the second book, Insurgent, is even better than the first and that’s saying something.

3. Under the Never Sky series (Veronica Rossi) – Love, love this series!!! So, premise: Main character – Aria, kind of spoiled, very sheltered, but likeable. Due to aether storms (something like a major lightening storm which pretty much destroys everything) people are living in pods, very technologically advaced. They are told the air outside is poisionous and basically have everything they need in the pods. Her and her friends get into some major trouble and she’s saved by a “savage” who has snuck into the pod somehow. She gets blamed and exiled for what happens and is left for dead essentially in the wasteland—known as The Death Shop. Aria meets an Outsider named Perry- the same wild, savage guy that saved her back in Reverie. Perry is a hunter for his tribe-quiet, easily annoyed, but a softie inside…kind of. Needless to say, their relationship begins very hate-hate, but once they have to start relying on each other it becomes aything but. I know i haven’t made this sound as good as it truly is, but i will say the story and characters are great. you will love reading how aria and perry have to adjust to each other and all the action/adventure they find along the way. you get both POVs and teh sequel was as good if not better than Under the Never Sky.

4. Legend series (Marie Lu) – What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in the Republic’s, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal, but his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
June and Day have no reason to cross paths – until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets. Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills. (taken from amazon’s book descriptiom) What i love is that it flows so well. It is not pretentious or wordy and has alternating POVs from June and Day. You really get to know and root for the characters. The love story feels like a natural progression and not the insta-love that i hate reading. I have to admit i had this in my kindle for months before reasing it. I felt like it would be on the younger side of YA and that the story wouldn’t be as compelling or developed, but I was wrong. The book grabbed my attention from the beginning and I was kicking myself for not starting it sooner!

5. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles – Marissa Meyer) – Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the Lunar people and a pretty evil queen watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg (and part human). She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, hated by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. (taken from amazon’s book description.)
This is a totally original take on the well known Cinderella fairy tale. It totally spins the tale in a way that you forget it’s based on Cinderella. There’s lots of action and well written supporting characters, especially Cinder’s robot best friend who has some of the best lines in the book. It’s definitely not a “girly” fairy tale anymore 😉 See my review for Scarlet, the second book in the series.

6. The Uglies series (Scott Westerfield) – In Tally Youngblood’s world, looks matter. She lives in a society created to function with perfect-looking people who never have a chance to think for themselves. And she’s tired of it. First as an ugly, then a pretty, and finally a special, Tally takes down the social infrastructure. And then, a generation later, a world obsessed with fame and instant celebrity—and filled with extras—will reap the consequences. (taken from amazon’s book description.) The author creates a very vibrant world, one though set in the future, doesn’t seem so far off from where we are headed. It’s definitely reflective of today’s society and obsession with looks, fame and technology. It took me a little bit to get used to how the characters talked to one another-it was a lil annoying initially, but in a way it makes sense that teens would have a diff way of speaking to each other.

7. Project ELE series (Rebecca Gober)*just started this series and loved the 1st book! It’s got this X men vibe happening. See my review. I read the remaining 3 books out this weekend and am obsessed with this series. It’s so good! I cant say i know a hell of a lot about ELE even after finishing the 4th book, but everything seems to be progressing organically and dont feel the series is being dragged out for the sake of making some more money (*cough cough Celestra, House of Night..). The story is fast moving and the characters are really well written and the romance is sweet and believeable ander the circumstances.

8. Enclave series (Ann Aguirre) – This is a bit more dark, gruesome and gory than the standard dystopian, but I’ve loved the 2 books and the novella, so far. 1st book is Enclave and mostly takes place below ground. The 2nd takes place above ground, or Topside. It takes a bit to really get what’s happening in the story in the 1st book, but it’s really good if you stick with it and the second book was just awesome. it felt different and original even though some of the themes are similar tho those in other books i’ve read in the same genre.

9. Poison Princess (Arcana Chronicles – Kresley Cole) – loved this! it’s post apocalyptic and paranormal. Evie’s 16 and having hallucinations of the world ending…which it does…not many survive and those that do-well you can imagine how that is. So there’s 22 players/teens that represent a different card or character in a deck. They each have a unique ability and will be involved in some sort of good vs evil battle where only one can survive..there’s this guy (isn’t there always?), Jack Deveux, hot, cajun, dangerous and difficult who she knew in high school and mostly hated, who finds her post apocalypse and helps her survive and figure out what’s really happening to her.

10. Ashfall (Mike Mullin) – this is the 1st book of a series. ive only read the 1st one. not sure how good the rest is, but this one is really good, seems so realistic, but is also slow paced in the beginning, so you’ll need some patience. It started and stopped this for a a couple months before getting to the point where i couldn’t stop till i finished it.

~ by b00kbound on March 25, 2013.