Dystopian Fiction
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, when she lived with her husband Luke; when she protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now.... |
Ship Breaker
Paolo Bacigalupi In America's Gulf Coast region, grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts. Nailer, a teen boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring to make quota -- and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or by chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life. Should he strip the ship for all it's worth, or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life? |
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins In the ruins of North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing each to send two teens to the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. 16-year-old Katniss regards it as a death sentence when she has to represent her district in the Games. But survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to make choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. (Sequels: Catching Fire and Mockingjay) |
The Chocolate War
Robert Cormier Does Jerry Renault dare to disturb the universe? You wouldn't think that his refusal to sell chocolates during his school's fundraiser would create such a stir, but it does; it's as if the whole school comes apart at the seams. To some, Jerry is a hero, but to others, he becomes a target for their pent-up hatred. And Jerry? He's just trying to stand up for what he believes, but perhaps there is no way for him to escape becoming a pawn in this game of control; students are pitted against other students, fighting for honor -- or are they fighting for their lives? |
The City of Ember
Jeanne DuPrau Ember was built as a last refuge for humanity, but the lamps that light the city are starting to flicker. Young Doon and Lina are worried. They have just been assigned jobs – Lina as a messenger and Doon as a Pipeworker, fixing the plumbing in the tunnels under the city. But when Lina finds mysterious "Instructions for Egress," they begin to work out the dangerous way to the city of light in Lina's dreams. |
The House of the Scorpion
Nancy Farmer Matteo was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium--a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt is a boy now, but most consider him a monster--except for El Patrón. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself. As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by El Patrón's power-hungry family. Escape is the only chance he has to survive. But escape is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked in ways he doesn't suspect. |
Lord of the Flies
William Golding When a group of schoolboys are stranded on a deserted island, at first they cooperate to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph and his friend Piggy. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted |
Running Out of Time
Margaret Peterson Haddix Jessie lives with her family in the frontier village of Clifton, Indiana, in 1840, but when diphtheria strikes the village and the children of Clifton start dying, Jessie's mother reveals a shocking secret -- it's actually 1996, and they are living in a reconstructed village that serves as a tourist site. In the world outside, medicine exists that can cure the dread disease, and Jessie's mother is sending her on a dangerous mission to bring back help. But beyond the walls of Clifton, Jessie discovers a world even more alien and threatening than she could have imagined, and soon she finds her own life in jeopardy. Can she get help before the children of Clifton, and Jessie herself, run out of time? |
Gathering Blue
Lois Lowry Newly-orphaned Kira is taken from her village to live in the Council Edifice because of her skill at embroidery. There she is given the task of restoring the robe worn at the Gathering, a day-long performance of the story of their world's past. Down the hall lives Thomas, who works on the intricate symbols carved on the Singer's staff, and a tiny girl who is being trained as the next Singer. Over the three artists hovers the menace of authority, seemingly kind but suffocating to their creativity. With the help of a cheerful waif called Matt, Kira finds the courage to shape the future by following her art wherever it may lead. |
No Safety in Numbers
Dayna Lorentz A biological bomb has just been discovered in the air ducts of a busy suburban mall. At first nobody knows if it's even life threatening, but then the entire complex is quarantined, people start getting sick, supplies start running low, and there's no way out. Among the hundreds of trapped shoppers are four teens. These four must change in ways they wouldn't have predicted, trying to find safety and escape at a time when the adults are behaving badly. |
Legend
Marie Lu Born in the Republic's wealthiest district, 15-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's military. Born in the slums, 15-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. They have no reason to cross paths, until June's brother is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in a game of cat and mouse, the two uncover the truth of what brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to to keep secrets. |
Shade's Children
Garth Nix The Overlords have decreed that no child shall live past his 14th birthday. On that birthday, the child is the object of an obscene harvest, resulting in a machinelike creature built to kill. The few children who escape are recruited by the mysterious Shade. With luck and skill, four of Shade's children come close to the key to the Overlords' downfall. But the closer they get, the more ruthless Shade becomes... |
After
Francine Prose Following a Columbine-like massacre at a nearby school, the students at Central High find their world turned upside down. The arrival of a "grief counselor" brings a new era of repression -- no cell phones, no reading Catcher in the Rye, no hanging out at the mall. Even worse, students guilty of breaking the rules have begun to disappear, supposedly to a kind of detention camp called Operation Turnaround. But nobody ever comes back. |
Fever Crumb
Philip Reeve Fever Crumb is an anomaly, the only female to serve in the Order of Engineers. She assists archeologist Kit Solent on a top-secret project, but she is plagued by memories that are not her own, and Kit seems to have an interest in finding out what they are. Fever has also been singled out by city-dwellers who declare her part Scriven. The Scriveners were hunted down and killed in an uprising by the people – and if there are any remaining Scriven, they are to be eliminated. |
Divergent
Veronica Roth In Beatrice Prior’s world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue. On an appointed day of every year, all 16-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. Beatrice makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. But she also has a secret, and as she discovers the unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she learns that her secret might help her save those she loves -- or it might destroy her. (Sequel: Insurgent) |
Nothing
Janne Teller “Nothing matters.” So says Pierre Anthon when he decides there is no meaning to life, leaves his seventh-grade classroom, climbs a plum tree, and stays there. His friends and classmates cannot get him to come down, not even by pelting him with rocks. So to prove to him that there is a meaning to life, they set out to give up things of importance, challenging one another to make increasingly serious sacrifices. The pile is started with a collection of Dungeons & Dragons books, but as each demand becomes more extreme, events take a morbid twist. And what if, after all these sacrifices, the pile is still not meaningful enough to bring Pierre Anthon down? |
The Green Futures of Tycho
William Sleator When 11-year-old Tycho discovers that the mysterious object he dug up in his garden is a time travel device, he can’t resist using his new-found power. Soon he is jumping back and forth in time, mostly to play tricks on his brothers and sister. But every time he uses the device, things are different when he gets back, and the futures he visits are getting darker and scarier. Then he comes face-to-face with the most horrible thing of all: his grown-up self. Can Tycho prevent the terrifying future he sees from coming true? |
Uglies
Scott Westerfeld Tally lives in a society that teaches its citizens that they are ugly until age 16, when they'll undergo an operation that will change them into "pretties." She meets Shay, who disdains the false values and conformity of society and urges Tally to defect with her to the Smoke, a settlement of conscientious objectors. Tally declines, yet when Shay is found missing, Tally is coerced to find her – or remain forever "ugly." Tally locates Shay and the Smoke and attracts the eye of youthful rebel David. But she knows she is living a lie, for she wears a locator that could blow the rebels' cover. (Sequels: Pretties, Specials, and Extras) |
