Many young adults are drawn to dystopian novels because they offer a glimpse into a world that may be possible in the future.
While their content can cause anxiety for some readers, dystopian novels for young adults can also provide a kind of therapeutic benefit–a kind of practice–for visualizing and navigating an uncertain world. They also often center a younger person as a central character (compared to adults)–a teenager, for example, empowered to solve crucial challenges and overcome obstacles in order to persevere fantastically cataclysmic circumstances.
Below is a collection of some of the most popular young adult dystopian novels available today.
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44 Thrilling Dystopian Novels For Teen Readers
Blindness (Book 1 of 2: Blindness series) by Jose Saramago
Bluescreen (Book 1 of 3: Mirador series) by Dan Wells
Delirium (Book 1 of 3: Delirium series) by Lauren Oliver
Divergent (Book 1 of 3: Divergent series) by Veronica Roth
Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman
Enclave (Book 1 of 4: The Razorland series) by Ann Aguirre
Flawed (Book 1 of 2: Flawed series) by Cecelia Ahern
Legend (Book 1 of 4: Legend series) by Marie Lu
Matched (Book 1 of 3: Matched series) by Ally Condie
Maze Runner (Book 1 of 5: The Maze Runner series) by James Dashner
Red Queen (Book 1 of 4: Red Queen series) by Victoria Aveyard
Scythe (Book 1 of 3: Arc of a Scythe series) by Neal Shusterman
Shatter Me (Book 1 of 6: Shatter Me series) by Tahereh Mafi
Skyward (Book 1 of 3: The Skyward Series) by Brandon Sanderson
The Giver (Book 1 of 4: The Giver quartet) by Lois Lowry
The Program (Book 1 of 6: The Program series) by Suzanne Young
The Testing (Book 1 of 3: The Testing trilogy) by Joelle Charbonneau
The 100 (Book 1 of 4: The 100 series) by Kass Morgan
The 5th Wave (Book 1 of 3: The 5th Wave series) by Rick Yancey
Uglies (Book 1 of 4: The Uglies series) by Scott Westerfeld
Unwind (Book 1 of 4: The Unwind dystology) by Neal Shusterman
Want (Book 1 of 2: Want series) by Cindy Pon
Way Down Dark (Book 1 of 3: The Australia trilogy) by James P. Smythe
