Between 2008 and about 2014, every YA shelf seemed to hold a fenced-in future, a girl who noticed the fence, and a boy who knew a way out. Everyone remembers The Hunger Games, which Scholastic published in September 2008. Fewer people can tell you which of its neighbors were worth the shelf space, or which ones aged into comfort reading and which ones just aged. This list sorts the old-school wave by what each book does best, and it says plainly where each one wobbles.
The short answer: for the real old-school feel, read Matched (2010) for the controlled society, Delirium (2011) for love as contraband, and Legend (2011) for a hunted rebel in a militarized Los Angeles. If you want to see the genre before Katniss, read Uglies (2005).
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
The grandparent of the pile. Three hundred years from now, every citizen gets an operation at 16 that makes them Pretty, and Tally Youngblood is almost there when a new friend runs off to a settlement called the Smoke. A government agency then offers Tally her operation if she helps find it. Simon Pulse published it in 2005, three years before The Hunger Games, and the series includes Pretties (2005), Specials (2006) and Extras (2007). Wikipedia records Publishers Weekly calling Tally a rather passive protagonist, and The Times finding her a bit vague. Skip it if you want a hard-edged survival game, since this one is about beauty and control.
Matched by Ally Condie
Cassia Reyes is seventeen at her Match Banquet, where the Society picks her life partner, and it picks her childhood friend Xander. Then her microcard shows a different face, Ky Markham, and an Official dismisses it as a cruel joke. Cassia starts to wonder whether the Society can make mistakes. Dutton published it in November 2010, and the trilogy continues with Crossed (2011) and Reached (2012). Kirkus admitted that critics have a point about the less-than-subtle morality and the debt to The Giver, then called the book strong enough to stand on its own. Wikipedia reports that Crossed got mixed reviews, with the Los Angeles Times calling it aimless, so read book one first and decide about the rest later.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
It is 2091 in Portland, Maine, and the government calls love a disease and requires a surgical cure at eighteen. Lena Haloway is months from her procedure when she falls for Alex, an Invalid who lives outside the city and pretends to be cured, and he offers her a way to escape. HarperTeen published it on February 3, 2011, and the trilogy continues with Pandemonium (2012) and Requiem (2013). Wikipedia lists starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal, and NPR praised Oliver’s writing. Skip it if you are tired of dystopias that are really romances, because here the romance is the premise.
Legend by Marie Lu
This one is built as a hunt. Day, a wanted criminal from the slums of a flooded, fortified Los Angeles, steals medicine from a hospital to treat his younger brother’s plague infection, and June, a military prodigy from an elite family, is assigned to track him down after her brother is murdered. G. P. Putnam’s Sons published it on November 29, 2011, as Marie Lu’s first book, and the trilogy finishes with Prodigy and Champion in 2013. The Los Angeles Times called it a taut and exciting romp, while a Bookmarks review found the characters not fully formed and the Boston Examiner flagged clichés. Skip it if you want slow, quiet worldbuilding.
Pure by Julianna Baggott
After nuclear Detonations, the Pures live sheltered inside a Dome while the Wretches outside struggle to survive amid smoke and ash. Partridge sneaks out of the Dome to find his mother, and Pressia, sixteen, resists a fascist regime outside it. Grand Central published it on February 8, 2012, and the trilogy continues with Fuse (2013) and Burn (2014). Kirkus gave it a favorable but not wild review, crediting a fully realized world and a satisfying hero’s quest while noting how heavily it leans on Tolkien, Rowling, Golding, Orwell and Wells. Publishers Weekly, as quoted by Hachette, called it a mix of oppressive authoritarianism and grotesque anarchy. Skip it if you want something light.
The Selection by Kiera Cass
Kirkus filed this one as a dystopian romance in a rigid, caste-based future where Prince Maxon chooses a bride from girls picked by lottery in each province. America, a Five, enters reluctantly even though she loves Aspen, a Six. Kirkus nicknamed it The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games, and it came out in 2012. The verdict was harsh: a probably harmless, entirely forgettable series opener, with thin worldbuilding and a lot of dresses. I would still point you here if you want the competition and the gowns more than the politics, and I would tell you to skip it if worldbuilding is the reason you read dystopia.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
The youngest book here, from November 2016, and a good sign that the form kept evolving. Death and disease have nearly been eliminated, a benevolent AI called the Thunderhead governs Earth, and human Scythes are tasked with ending lives to control the population. Sixteen-year-old Citra and Rowan become apprentices to Scythe Faraday, and when both fail their first test, only one of them can become a Scythe. Kirkus named it one of its Best Books of 2016 and praised the elegant prose and complex worldbuilding while noting that the action moves slowly. Time later put it on a list of the 100 best YA books, per Wikipedia. Skip it if you want the 2010-style romantic triangle, because this one is two apprentices and a moral problem.
Where to start
If you only read one, make it Matched for the genre’s cool, controlled mood, or Delirium if you want your dystopia with a pulse. If you want a chase, Legend. If you want the deepest world and do not mind a heavy influence list, Pure. If you want the most recent and the most morally uncomfortable, Scythe.
Questions readers ask
What counts as old-school YA dystopian?
For this list, it means the wave that built up around The Hunger Games (2008), with Uglies (2005) as the ancestor and the core books landing between 2010 and 2012. Scythe (2016) is the late addition, included because it shares the same ideas with a different shape.
Which of these lean hardest on romance?
Delirium, Matched and The Selection all build their premises around who gets to love whom, according to the descriptions I opened. If you want the romance to be secondary, go to Pure or Scythe, where the premise leans on society and survival.
Do I have to read these in order?
Yes, within each series: Matched, Delirium, Legend and Pure are each the first of a trilogy, Uglies starts a longer run, and Scythe is the first in the Arc of a Scythe series, followed by Thunderhead. None of the picks above is a standalone.
Is The Selection really dystopian?
Kirkus called it a dystopian romance set in a caste-based future, but also said the worldbuilding is weak and the political upheaval behind the story goes unexplained. Read it as a competition romance with a dystopian coat of paint.
If you want more after this, our roundups of dystopian and post-apocalyptic books from 2012 and 2013 and dystopian books for teens who loved The Hunger Games and Divergent go deeper into the lesser-known shelf, and our Hunger Games review covers the book that started the race.
Amazon links are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
More like this: Dark YA Dystopian Books With Worldbuilding That Earns the Dread, Best YA Murder Mysteries Set at Boarding Schools.
Leave a Reply