A dystopian future with a strong female lead that manages to be both an action-packed romp and a thought piece on media and revolution. There’s a lot to love about The Hunger Games! For all you readers who have finished The Hunger Games and want to move on to something equally exciting, we offer this top 10 as a tribute.
In this list, we try to avoid the obvious reads posted in the recent spate of Hunger Games-inspired posts, to present a unique selection of cult favorites and classics. try something new!
You are reading: Books to read after the hunger games
1. battle royale by koushun takami
In an alternate Japan, 42 children are sent to a desert 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 that one person must die every 24 hours or they all die.
A word of warning: This is a lot bloodier than The Hunger Games and we only recommend it for picky readers with strong stomachs. for graphic novel fans, battle royale is also a manga series (which manages to be both pretty and exceptionally gory, again, for older young adults only).
2. gone by michael grant
everyone over the age of 15 suddenly disappears. no trace, no explanation. the remaining children are left to rebuild society and find out what happened to all the adults.
It’s not strictly dystopian fiction and lacks a female lead like Katniss, but the series is a lot of fun and moves like a movie, which isn’t bad for people struggling to finish a book. Gone is guaranteed to drive anyone away from their playstation or xbox. yes, even you.
Read a review by Mal Peet. Read a review by a member of Bookworm1408. Listen to a podcast interview with website member Michael Grant and Patrick.
3. random acts of senseless violence by jack womack
See Also: Mitford – Book Series In Order
A recently republished work of dystopian fiction, Random Acts of Senseless Violence has been a longtime favorite of speculative fiction fans. Lola Hart is a 12-year-old girl who lives in a future New York and this book is her diary. As society falls apart, Lola transforms from a typical pre-teen into a murderous street thief, driven by her desperation to survive in the chaos that surrounds her. With a female lead (tick!), a clever use of writing style (tick, tick!), and some heartwarming scenes (tick, tick, tick!), this is a fantastic, mature read to follow along with. hungry.
4. the sleeper wakes by hg wells
graham falls asleep in 1897 and wakes up 200 years later. not only has society and technology advanced without him, but he is isolated by the ruling powers that have used him as a symbol to suppress the masses. But the leader of the rebellion is as power-hungry as the ruling party, and Graham finds himself caught between two bad leaders and an unhappy populace. While the language is classic, HG Wells’ book is a good story filled with plane battles, futuristic technology, and street chases.
5. the lathe of heaven by ursula le guin
While the book is set in 2002, that was far in the 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 without knowing it, but only he remembers everything before. he starts seeing a psychiatrist, who starts using george for his own reasons. a little more science fiction than the hunger games but with the same rebellious streak. and everyone loves le guin.
read questions and answers from an author with ursula le guin.
6. lauren oliver delusion
Delirium is set in present-day America in an alternate universe. love is treated like a disease by the totalitarian government, which calls it deliria nervosa love. They all receive a permanent cure at the age of 18, but just before her birthday, Lena falls in love with Alex, a cure-rejected man living in limbo outside the borders. Before they can escape, Lena is captured. We might also recommend Matched by Ally Condie, which deals with similar topics if you’ve already read Delirium.
Read a member’s review of TheBookAddictedGirl. Read a member’s review of Reenie’s Delirium Trilogy (Spoiler Warning!) Hear Lauren Oliver talk about the latest book, Reqiuem.
7. hugh howey wool
Humanity lives in silos, tunnels below the surface of the devastated earth. people live in fear of their leaders, with delivery to the surface and a painful death by gas a common punishment for dissidents. Feeling truly miserable, Holston decides to voluntarily go to the surface and discovers the lie that everyone believes to be true. wool is a twisted trilogy that contains much more of the politics than the hunger games just touched on.
See Also: Best Books on Resilience | Everyday Health
read a review of wool. listen to hugh howey talk about self-publishing wool.
8. the penultimate truth of philip k dick
Almost the classic version of wool, humanity lives in underground tanks after the apparent destruction of the earth’s surface after the third world war. people live in fear while the government keeps them in check with stories of faceless enemies and nuclear waste on the surface. but they lie: the war ended a long time ago and they live in the splendor of what was new york. In typical Philip K Dick fashion, The Penultimate Truth is full of big ideas about media, politics, and people power.
do you know much 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 banned and firefighters are employed to destroy them. but firefighter boy has started taking books home to keep… a cautionary tale about censorship, government and the empty lure of the media. Like Katniss, Guy is a non-conformist who struggles with his individuality.
read about ray bradbury and the books of the 1950s.
10. divergent by veronica roth
finally: it may appear on every ‘so-you-read-the-hunger-games’ list, but it’s for good reason. divergent has a strong female lead in tris, who is a rare ‘divergent’, someone who equally fits multiple factions in the city of chicago. it’s better to be in a faction than to be factionless, so tris joins one and undergoes initiation after initiation while she stays away from the trickery and manipulation of the rest of her cohort due to her divergent status. lots of action, lots of focus on training and fighting, it’s a perfect series to continue the hunger games. and look, there’s even a movie franchise coming.
Read a review from a Pearlydewdrops member.Read a review from an Amysharps member.Watch an interview with Veronica Roth.
See Also: I Stack Experience Through Writing Books – Chapter 115 – Mangatx