Dystopian/dystopia has been a popular genre back in the year 2010 to 2012. But for me, it reached its peak in 2012. A lot of great dystopian books came out in the past years and I remember reading some of the most popular series/trilogy in this genre. But these past 4 or 5 years, the new releases for this genre does not peaked my interest because I feel like most of the good tropes or plot has already been written and the other books are just footnotes or an afterthought. So with that mindset, I plan to read the older dystopian books that was also popular and making a hype back in The Hunger Games era. (Yeah that’s what I call it.)
I am a self-proclaimed dystopian lover and I want to do a blog where I could recommend or rank dystopian books. However, I am aware that the books that I have read is not even half of the popular books in this genre. So I did some research and picked 9 books that I planned to read. The books that I picked are the books that I have been hearing back in the days that I haven’t gotten around to. I list them down in a piece of paper and ranked them by their Goodreads rating. I am reading it from the lowest to the highest ranking books. In addition to that, I am only reading the first book in the series/trilogy and that will be the deciding factor if I will continue on with this series.
So I will not make this intro much longer than it should have and let’s get into the books!
1.) Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Goodreads Rating: 3.77
~This is one of the sci-fi dystopian books that I remember because of the beautiful cover. I wanted to pick it up back then but then they changed the book covers and I lost my interest just for the reason that the new covers are not as pretty.
This will be the first book that I will be reading and I am so excited!
Synopsis:
A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.
Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.
Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone—one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship —tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn’t do something soon, her parents will be next.
Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed’s hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there’s only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.
2.) Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Goodreads Rating: 3.86
~The reason why I did not pick this book up back in the days is the cover as well. Unlike Across the Universe, the covers for this series is not in my ally. I just don’t like faces in a book cover. And this is one of those case where I am thankful that they redo the cover.
Synopsis:
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…
3.) Gone by Michael Grant
Goodreads Rating: 3.86
~I have two reasons why I did not pick this book up. The first is the cover. (Yeah I am very judgmental with the covers back then.) And the second is the series is 6-book long (or is it more?) and I am intimidated to read a long series like that. But I heard really good things about this book and I am always intrigued. I guess it is time to see if I would like it as much.
Synopsis:
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…
4.) Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Goodreads Rating: 3.92
~I never thought this book is in the dystopian genre. I thought it was more of a fantasy book with gladiator and such and I tend to ignore it in the bookstore. But to my surprise, this is a dystopian book and a bit in the apocalyptic side on that.
Synopsis:
New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20’s. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters–or Freaks–who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight–guided by Fade’s long-ago memories–in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs.
Ann Aguirre’s thrilling young adult novel is the story of two young people in an apocalyptic world–facing dangers, and feelings, unlike any they’ve ever known.
5.) Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Goodreads Rating: 3.98
~My best friend in college loves this trilogy so much. And I thought our taste is not quite a match with regards to the books that we like. While I was reading The Hunger Games, she is reading Legend. And it was not until last year that we both finally read each other’s favorite dystopian book. Not a fan of Legend because of the ending but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I am excited to know what my thoughts will be for this book!
(That cover.🤣 Thank goodness for the redesign.)
Synopsis:
In an alternate United States, love has been declared a dangerous disease, and the government forces everyone who reaches eighteen to have a procedure called the Cure. Living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Portland, Maine, Lena Haloway is very much looking forward to being cured and living a safe, predictable life. She watched love destroy her mother and isn’t about to make the same mistake.
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena meets enigmatic Alex, a boy from the “Wilds” who lives under the government’s radar. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?
6.) Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Goodreads Rating: 4.00
~I remember that this is on my TBR the moment that I read the tagline on the cover, “A million ways to dies. One way to live.” And just like that, I am sold. But I don’t know why I never pick this book up. I know I should have but this is the time to remedy all that.
Synopsis:
Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered.
This was worse.
Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland–known as The Death Shop–are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild–a savage–and her only hope of staying alive.
A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile–everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.
7.) The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Goodreads Rating: 4.02
~This is another series that my college best friend loves. I have not seen the movie and I am surprised that I did not even succumb to the pressure of reading it before the movie comes out. I heard mixed reviews about the series as a whole but I will definitely give this book a shot because why not?
Synopsis:
If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run.
8.) The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey
Goodreads Rating: 4.06
~Now this is another controversial book. I think the trilogy has a lot of mixed reviews and some are saying that the first book is the best out of the three. This also has a movie, which I did not cave in as well. So I am excited to watched it after I finished reading the book.
Synopsis:
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.
Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother-or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.
9.) Angelfall by Susan Ee
Goodreads Rating: 4.15
~I remember seeing this book in the bookstore and liking the cover. But I have not seen a lot of reviews about it and I am surprised that this is the highest rating book so far in my list. I am excited to read this because there are angels here. I think this is one of the most underrated books in the genre.
Synopsis:
It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.
Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.
Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.
Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.
That’s all for today. Hopefully at the end of the year I will be able to finish all of this book. But I hope I could finish this in the whole month of March.
I will also be reading classics dystopian so look out for that.
What’s your favorite Dystopian book?
Till next time!
Maria❤
A Daughter of Parchment and Paper 