The End of a Decade. 27 YA Dystopian Reads

For those who don't know, I'm a very clueless person. I only realized it was actually the end of the decade a few days ago when I saw on Twitter someone talking about her/his/their favourite books of the last ten years. I might be clueless, but I do want to celebrate all those books that came out in the last decade. Okay. This might be very ambitious. Especially since I've little to no time to blog. Well, then, I'm sharing with you some YA dystopias that inspired a decade and that little did I know would inspire my MA thesis.

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins. In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. 

The Book of Ivy, Amy Engel. After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation.

Ink, Alice Broadway. From the second you're born, every achievement, every failing, every significant moment are all immortalized on your skin.

Partials, Dan Wells. Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population.

Angelfall, Susan Ee. It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world.

The Darkest Minds, Alexandra Bracken. She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

The 5th Wave, Rick Yancey. 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.

This Savage Song, Victoria Schwab. Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. 

Dry, Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman. When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions for her family in this harrowing story of survival.

 

Blood Red Road, Moira Young. Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms.

Uglies, Scott Westerfeld. 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. Note: Only after the graphics were done did I realize that this book was not published in the last decade.

Orleans, Sherry L. Smith. After a string of devastating hurricanes and a severe outbreak of Delta Fever, the Gulf Coast has been quarantined.

Chosen Ones, Tiffany Truitt. But there is more to Templeton than Tess ever knew. Can she stand against her oppressors, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life? 

Delirium, Lauren Oliver. 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.

Across the Universe, Beth Revis. 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. 

For Darkness Shows the Stars, Deana Peterfreund. It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology. 

Wither, Lauren DeStefano. By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb.

Matched, Ally Condie. In the Society, officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Legend, Marie Lu. What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors.

Darkness Before Dawn, J.A. London. At seventeen, Dawn Montgomery knows that monsters really do come out at night—after all, they are her job.

Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Selection, Keira Cass. For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth.

Under the Never Sky, Veronica Rossi. Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors.

Divergent, Veronica Roth. In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).

Red Queen, Victoria Aveyard. This is a world divided by blood - red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers.

Cinder, Marissa Meyer. Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless Lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl...

Enclave, Ann Aguirre. 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.

Hopefully, the next decade will bring many more dystopias. If you haven't noticed it yet, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is one of my most anticipated releases of 2020.

What is your favourite YA dystopia? Did you develop an obsession with The Hunger Games trilogy like me? Are you hoping for another decade of dystopias?

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