A dystopian future with a strong, female protagonist that manages to be both an action-packed romp and a thought piece on mass media and revolution. There is a lot to love about The Hunger Games! For all the readers who have finished The Hunger Games and want to move on to something equally thrilling, we volunteer this top 10 as tribute.
In this list, we tried to avoid the obvious YA reads released in the recent surge of Hunger-Games-inspired publishing, to instead present a unique selection of cult favourites and classics. Try something new!
1. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
In an alternate Japan, 42 children are sent to a deserted island to fight to the death as part of The Program, a military project to control the population with fear. There are no rules, except one person must die every 24 hours or everyone will be killed.
As a caution: this is a lot more gorey than The Hunger Games and we only recommend it to discerning readers with strong stomachs. For graphic novel fans, Battle Royale is also a manga series (which manages to be both pretty and exceptionally bloody – again, only for older young adults).
2. Gone by Michael Grant
Everyone over the age of 15 suddenly disappears. No trace, no explanation. The children that remain are left to rebuild society and figure out just what happened to all the adults.
Gone is not strictly-dystopian fiction and it lacks a female protagonist like Katniss, but the series is so much fun and it moves like a film – not a bad thing for people who struggle to finish a book. Gone is guaranteed to tear anyone away from their PlayStation or Xbox. Yes, even you.
Read a review from Mal Peet.
Read a member review by Bookworm1408.
Listen to a podcast interview with Michael Grant and website member Patrick.
3. Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack
A work of dystopian fiction that has only recently come back into print, Random Acts of Senseless Violence has been a favourite of speculative fiction fans for yonks. Lola Hart is a 12-year-old girl living in a future New York and this book is her diary. As society breaks down, Lola transforms from a typical pre-teen into a murderous, street thief, driven by her desperation to survive in the chaos around her. With a female protagonist (tick!), clever use of writing style (tick tick!) and some heart-pounding scenes (tick tick tick!), this is a fantastic, mature read to follow The Hunger Games.
4. The Sleeper Awakes by HG Wells
Graham falls asleep in 1897 and wakes up 200 years later. Not only has society and technology moved on without him, he is isolated by the ruling powers who have used him as a symbol to repress the masses. But the leader of the rebellion is just as power hungry as the ruling party and Graham finds himself trapped between two bad leaders and one unhappy population.
While the language is classical, HG Wells' book is rollicking good yarn full of plane battles, futuristic technology and chases through the streets.
5. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin
While the book is set in 2002, that was a distant future when The Lathe of Heaven was written in 1971. George has dreams that change reality – when he wakes up, everyone lives in the new reality unknowingly but he alone remembers everything before. He begins to see a psychiatrist, who begins to use George for his own reasons. A bit more science-fiction than The Hunger Games but with the same vein of rebellion. And everyone loves Le Guin.
Read a author Q&A with Ursula Le Guin.
6. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Delirium is set in present-day America in an alternate universe. Love is treated as a disease by the totalitarian government, who call it amor deliria nervosa. Everyone receives a permanent cure at the age of 18, but just before her birthday, Lena falls in love with Alex, a man who refused the cure who lives in limbo outside the borders. Before they can escape, Lena is captured. We could also recommend Matched by Ally Condie, which deals with similar themes if you have already read Delirium.
Read a member review by TheBookAddictedGirl.
Read a member review of the Delirium Trilogy by Reenie (warning for spoilers!)
Listen to Lauren Oliver talk about the last book, Reqiuem.
7. Wool by Hugh Howey
Humanity lives in the Silos, tunnels underneath the surface of the ravaged Earth. People live in fear of their leaders, with being sent to the surface and a painful death by gassing a common punishment for dissenters. Feeling properly miserable, Holston decides to go voluntarily to the surface and discovers the lie everyone believes to be true. Wool is a twisting trilogy that contains much more of the politics that the Hunger Games only touched upon.
Read a review for Wool.
Listen to Hugh Howey talk about self-publishing Wool.
8. The Penultimate Truth by Philip K Dick
Almost the classic version of Wool, humanity lives in underground tanks after the apparent destruction of the surface of the earth after World War Three. The people live in fear as the government keep them in check with tales of faceless enemies and nuclear waste above ground. But they are lying: the war ended ages ago and they are living in splendour in what was New York City. In typical Philip K Dick fashion, The Penultimate Truth is full of big ideas about media, politics and the power of people.
Do you know a lot about Philip K Dick? Take our quiz!
9. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The classic example of dystopian fiction, along with 1984 and Brave New World. Fahrenheit 451 is about a future America where books are outlawed and firemen are employed to destroy them. But fireman Guy has begun to take books home to keep... A cautionary tale about censorship, government and the alluring emptiness of mass media. Like Katniss, Guy is a non-conformist who struggles with his individuality.
Read about Ray Bradbury and books in the 1950s.
10. Divergent by Veronica Roth
Finally: it may appear on every 'so-you-read-Hunger-Games' list, but it is for good reason. Divergent has a strong female protagonist in Tris, who is a rare 'divergent', someone who is equally suited to multiple factions in the city of Chicago. It is better to be in a faction than be factionless, so Tris joins one and undergoes initiation after initiation while remaining removed from the tricks and manipulation of the rest of her cohort due to her divergent status. Lots of action, lots of focus on training and fighting, it is a perfect series to follow on from The Hunger Games. And look, there is even a movie franchise coming too.
Read a member review by PearlyDewdrops.
Read a member review by AmySharps.
Watch an interview with Veronica Roth.
