YA dystopian and/or post apocalyptic SF and Fantasy

[Teresa Edgerton]

So I've been reading a lot of the dystopian Fantasy and SF written for YA readers ... largely because there is such a lot of it. Something about dystopian societies seems to appeal to young readers. Ten years ago, there was Mortal Engines (and its sequels) by Philip Reeve, with its mobile, predatory cities. I can think of others between then and now. The great prison with its constantly shifting landscapes in Catherine Fisher's Incarceron and Sapphique comes to mind. And then there are the books that are not strictly dystopian, but which deal with life after some great catastrophe has overtaken the world, or the city (frequently London) which the young characters inhabit. The catastrophe may be magical, like The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding, or technological, or political. Sometimes it is mysterious enough that its nature is never quite clear, as in Carrie Ryan's terrifying The Forest of Hands and Teeth and sequels, which to my mind makes any other zombie apocalypse (not that the creatures are called zombies) look pale by comparison, combining horror, suspense, and heartbreak.

So what is it about these harsh*, frequently urban, settings that appeal to young readers, and especially to teenage girls, since so many recent examples were written with them in mind: teenage girl as protagonist, some element of romance. Is this some trend that started with The Hunger Games (which I have not read by the way), but if so, what was it about that book that fans found so appealing that it created a trend?

Most recently, I've read Gates of Thread and Stone (which I liked) by Lori M. Lee, set in a world that might or might not be ours after a world-changing catastrophe; Branded (about which I had mixed feelings), by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki, where the government and particularly the judicial system has broken down and been replaced by a tyrannical regime; Frost by Kate Avery Ellison, which I thought was very good; and I suppose the Cherry St. Croix books would count with their dystopian steampunk London. Right now I am reading Legend, by Marie Lu, which seems to be shaping up very well, and I've read the sample for The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa, and mean to either buy it or check it out at the library when I get the chance.

So, can anyone think of any other titles? And if you've read them (or any of these), what did you think of them?

_____
*I'm tempted to say "gritty" except that's a word that has taken on a particular meaning these days, usually having more to do with violence than trying to live in the kind of dirty, decaying, unforgiving environments one often sees in these books.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I think part of it is the conflict it offers, in an escapist fashion. Also, living with a teen - their lives are in turmoil. They face change almost daily and graviate to stories that help with that change - in dystopia change happens and must be met and shaped. So the coming of age comes quickly.

But loads of YA fiction doesn't have a dystopia. In fact, at the moment, it's a hard sell (i ran against that with my 2nd novel which doesn't, actually, present a dystopic world but the opening section has that feel to it - a really good agent turned me down because she didn't think she could sell it because dystopia was so un-vogue-ish).

So, I think rather than anything deeper it was post Hunger Games market conditions (ie everyone wanted to emulate it) that then led to a swamped market, a natural conflict arena for storytelling that suited the challenges of a certain age group.

But I have no evidence for any of this (except dystopia is a hard sell in YA currently.)

On terms of others, Patrick Ness's The Knife of Never Letting Go is very popular.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Is this some trend that started with The Hunger Games (which I have not read by the way), but if so, what was it about that book that fans found so appealing that it created a trend?

IMO Hunger Games is a superb example of use of internal conflict. The story is primarily about how the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, is under pressure from everyone around her to conform to their individual expectations. The dystopian setting provides a way to amplify these pressures.

The film can only focus on external conflict, when the book is all about internal conflict.

 

[Null_Zone]

Charlie Higson's The Enemy series is very good. A plague wipes out almost everyone over the age of fourteen and the few is leaves behind are turned into, effectively, zombies with a degree of intelligence and ability to plan.

Adult post apocalyptic/dystopian futures often doesn't seem to be a suitable genre for "serious" writers, Jim Crace's Pest House is one of the best books on the subject that I have read but never features in the genre section of bookshops or even Amazon (last time I looked). So that particular part of of the genre seems to be laregly filled with self published (or limited run) authors churning out terrible wish fullfilment. YA, well it's ok for kids to like post apocalyptic and it's a large market so it's seen as an acceptable area for talented writers to cover. The fact that teenagers will read the "adult" books and adults will read the "YA" books seems to pass a lot of people in the business by.

Personally of course.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

except dystopia is a hard sell in YA currently

Which probably means that they've bought more of it than they can immediately publish, and we'll be seeing more of it come out in the next 18-24 months as they bring out what they've already bought.

And then they'll decide that the sub-genre is indeed done-for, or some of the books in the pipeline now will have sold so well, they'll change their minds.

And of course I know that loads of YA fiction doesn't have any sort of dystopian setting. But it is a feature of a significant part of what is out there right now.

I think you are right that the turmoil teenagers go through as a normal part of adolescence is a large part of the reason so many of them are drawn to this kind of setting. But I sense that it is more complicated than that.

The fact that teenagers will read the "adult" books and adults will read the "YA" books seems to pass a lot of people in the business by.

I think that editorial is more in touch with this cross-over because they have more actual contact with the readers but other departments only look at numbers.

 

[Hex]

The best dystopian YA I've read for ages was Unwind by Neil Shusterman, in which abortion is forbidden but, as a balance, it is permitted to 'unwind' a child after their fourteenth birthday. I think it was dystopia rather than straight science fiction, but the border seems a bit blurry to me. I also really enjoyed Skinned by Robin Wasserman, where people can be reborn as cyborgs -- that's probably more straight science fiction.

I loved The Hunger Games -- the tension was unbelievable and I couldn't stop reading. Likewise, The Knife of Never Letting Go (is that dystopian? It's set on another planet, but with a political dimension that makes me think it must be dystopian... hmm). The Forest of Hands and Teeth was horrific. I think there's a sequel but I'm too much of a coward to seek it out. Brrrr. Much lighter, I really liked Cinder (which comes up in lists of dystopian YA, though I'd have said it was fairytale retelling/ science fiction, but what do I know?)

The Selection looks like fun -- it's on my TBR list, and The Maze Runner books look good too.

There was certainly a feeling when I was querying that agents etc had had enough of dystopian YA -- I always find it difficult to draw the line (clearly -- from above).

There's a certain amount of adult dystopia around, isn't there? I'm thinking of Never Let Me Go and The Handmaid's Tale (which aren't as recent, of course). Maybe YA literature is just more prone to wild enthusiasms, either because people think that's how the YA market works or because that is how the YA market works...

Is it another version of The Great Evil? Instead of a flaming mountain and an Eye, you have an evil government seeking to control you? An extension of everyone's need to decide what they think is worth fighting for? Or maybe because The Hunger Games was so utterly brilliant...?

 

[HareBrain]

Is it another version of The Great Evil? Instead of a flaming mountain and an Eye, you have an evil government seeking to control you?

Is it too obvious/crude to suggest it's an exaggerated version of normal adult authority, one against which it's entirely unproblematic (morally at least) to rebel? That obviously would push most teenagers' buttons.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Is it too obvious/crude to suggest it's an exaggerated version of normal adult authority, one against which it's entirely unproblematic (morally at least) to rebel? That obviously would push most teenagers' buttons.

I think that's very much a theme.

Fwiw, I put The Knife of Never letting go firmly into dystopian. Interestingly, neither it or the Hunger Games did anything for me - perhaps I felt the dystopia made a nice setting (ach, you all know what I mean) but that the story didn't (Knife - for Hunger Games I just instantly hated Katniss' voice).

 

[Hex]

Yes, I'm sure morally unambiguous rebellion must be part of it, and there's a dimension of extra adultyness because unlike Tolkein-esque baddies, who are super-totally Bad (like the daleks...), most dystopian bad guys think they're doing the right thing and adults, obviously, think they're doing the right thing, even when sensible teens can see it's all wrong.

Over the summer we listened endlessly to Emma Clayton's The Roar, which should also go on the list of YA (or maybe MG??) dystopias. My son became obsessed (the book was full of pod fighters, mind powers, a boy hero keen to be reunited with his sister, and absolutely no kissing) and drove the rest of us crazy.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The Forest of Hands and Teeth was horrific. I think there's a sequel but I'm too much of a coward to seek it out. Brrrr. Much lighter, I really liked Cinder (which comes up in lists of dystopian YA, though I'd have said it was fairytale retelling/ science fiction, but what do I know?)

The Selection looks like fun -- it's on my TBR list, and The Maze Runner books look good too.

There are a number of sequels to The Forest of Hands and Teeth, I believe, but I gave up after the second book -- it left me feeling so sick and sad, and I decided I didn't want to feel that way again reading another sequel. The tension was exhausting.

I came very close to buying Cinder, and as you recommend it I might go ahead and get it. I thought about The Selection, too.

One book I forgot to mention was Wither, by Lauren DeStefano which was SF rather than fantasy, but YA dystopian. I'm still deciding whether I feel up to reading the sequels. Due to some sort of genetic experiment gone awry, all the young men die at 25 and the girls at 20. Girls from poor families are kidnapped to become the polygamous wives of the sons of rich families. It's depressing, because most of the characters are either withering away and dying, or will be soon.

Is it too obvious/crude to suggest it's an exaggerated version of normal adult authority, one against which it's entirely unproblematic (morally at least) to rebel? That obviously would push most teenagers' buttons.

That is a very good point.

Interestingly, neither it or the Hunger Games did anything for me - perhaps I felt the dystopia made a nice setting (ach, you all know what I mean) but that the story didn't (Knife - for Hunger Games I just instantly hated Katniss' voice).

I just cannot bring myself to read The Hunger Games, no matter how many good things I hear about it, because the plot sounds not at all to my taste. I think you are the first person I've heard of who read it and didn't like it. Which sort of increases my reluctance to read it.

But I suppose, in all fairness, I ought to read the sample on Kindle and see if it draws me in regardless. I know it's an influential book and maybe I should find out what all the hoopla is about.

 

[Hex]

I would absolutely recommend Cinder -- I also took ages to decide whether to get it (attracted in part by the fabulous cover of the cyborg foot). I enjoyed almost everything about it, went dashing out for the next one, which I also enjoyed although not quite as much, and then stuck a bit on the third, Cress, but I suspect that was partly because I was so keen to read it I bought it as an ebook and tried to read it on my laptop.

I found the first of the Hunger Games trilogy very readable. There is no doubt it is grim, but I didn't find it as difficult to read as, for example, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, or some of the darker MG. I think that's in part because of the voice and the characters of Katniss and Peeta. I'd like to write more about them but I don't want to spoil it, so I'll just say I felt they held the novel up despite the darkness, in the same way some of Carol Berg's characters do in her darker books. The second two books of the trilogy gave me very serious nightmares and I almost wish I hadn't read them, particularly the third. However, there was a section of Unwind that gave me waking nightmares for months, even after I'd skipped most of it.

I couldn't read Divergent. I don't know why, but perhaps I'd had enough of dystopia for a while. The introduction of the world turned me off so completely I couldn't bring myself to continue. I keep meaning to go back to it.

EDIT: I agree with HB (of course) -- the world is presented but there's not much dwelling on the horror -- you have to choose to think about it more deeply. She doesn't ram it down your throat. Also, there is always hope.

 

[HareBrain]

I just cannot bring myself to read The Hunger Games, no matter how many good things I hear about it, because the plot sounds not at all to my taste.

I was reluctant too for what I imagine to be the same reason, but it's less dark than you might think. Which is possibly a fault -- I won't go into details, but Collins pulls her punches to a degree that pretty much invalidates her premise, in my opinion. I found the book gripping, but its impact quickly faded, and I wasn't tempted to read the sequels.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

My teen put it down about halfway through and said she found it was dragging. I suppose it's like everything - not everyone will love a book. I didn't like Patrick Ness at all (although the start was fantastic).

 

[psikeyhackr]

I just cannot bring myself to read The Hunger Games, no matter how many good things I hear about it, because the plot sounds not at all to my taste. I think you are the first person I've heard of who read it and didn't like it. Which sort of increases my reluctance to read it.

I have read all three book and seen the first movie. Did it out of curiosity, like reading a couple of Harry Potter books.

Comparing the first movie to the book, I would say see the movie if you care that much and don't waste your time reading the book.

Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin is way better.

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2009/08/growing-up-for-real-alexei-panshins-rite-of-passage

I tend to like Jo Walton's reviews too.

psik

 

[Zendexor]

So I've been reading a lot of the dystopian Fantasy and SF written for YA readers ... largely because there is such a lot of it. Something about dystopian societies seems to appeal to young readers. Ten years ago, there was Mortal Engines (and its sequels) by Philip Reeve, with its mobile, predatory cities. I can think of others between then and now. The great prison with its constantly shifting landscapes in Catherine Fisher's Incarceron and Sapphique comes to mind. And then there are the books that are not strictly dystopian, but which deal with life after some great catastrophe has overtaken the world, or the city (frequently London) which the young characters inhabit. The catastrophe may be magical, like The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding, or technological, or political. Sometimes it is mysterious enough that its nature is never quite clear, as in Carrie Ryan's terrifying The Forest of Hands and Teeth and sequels, which to my mind makes any other zombie apocalypse (not that the creatures are called zombies) look pale by comparison, combining horror, suspense, and heartbreak.

So what is it about these harsh*, frequently urban, settings that appeal to young readers, and especially to teenage girls, since so many recent examples were written with them in mind: teenage girl as protagonist, some element of romance. Is this some trend that started with The Hunger Games (which I have not read by the way), but if so, what was it about that book that fans found so appealing that it created a trend?

Most recently, I've read Gates of Thread and Stone (which I liked) by Lori M. Lee, set in a world that might or might not be ours after a world-changing catastrophe; Branded (about which I had mixed feelings), by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki, where the government and particularly the judicial system has broken down and been replaced by a tyrannical regime; Frost by Kate Avery Ellison, which I thought was very good; and I suppose the Cherry St. Croix books would count with their dystopian steampunk London. Right now I am reading Legend, by Marie Lu, which seems to be shaping up very well, and I've read the sample for The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa, and mean to either buy it or check it out at the library when I get the chance.

So, can anyone think of any other titles? And if you've read them (or any of these), what did you think of them?

_____
*I'm tempted to say "gritty" except that's a word that has taken on a particular meaning these days, usually having more to do with violence than trying to live in the kind of dirty, decaying, unforgiving environments one often sees in these books.

Also: John Christopher's The Guardians. Highly intelligent, exciting, YA dystopian novel.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Does "The Girl with all the Gifts" count as YA? Certainly dystopian post-apocalypse. A major character is 10 years old.

I'd have thought it's Adult though. I thought an interesting variation on the Zombie theme.

 

[Ryan Mueller]

I haven't read a ton of YA dystopian, but I've liked what I've read. The Hunger Games. The Divergent series. Unwind. Maze Runner. Red Rising. The Chaos Walking trilogy.

There are probably more out there, but I can't remember at the moment.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Too few people mention Exodus by Julia Bertagna.

 

[SleepyDormouse]

I have read Maze Runner, but found it lacked the closeness to character that I enjoyed in Hunger Games. It was also predictable and the ending was just.. odd. plus the monsters just didn't' seem all that scary. It was a lot less dark than hunger games, until the end.

I used to read quite a few dystopian novels as a teen myself. Though they were nothing like as popular as they are now. The Chrysalids was a favourite, I so wanted to be telepathic. (still do!)

 

[Corn! Corn! Corn!]

Try Red Rising, I just finished the second. Really, really good. Great reviews - especially for the second, Golden Son.