You may be asking "what is a dystopian novel?" Well... Dictionary.com defines a dystopia as a "society characterized by human misery, squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding." As you may have noticed, this theme is huge in teen fiction currently. For some reason teens like to read about societies that have fallen apart, and if I am truthful, I like to read them too!
Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Fantastic! Amazing! Stupendous (meaning extraordinary)! After all of my praise, I will admit that I struggled momentarily to start this book. The dialog in the story uses, what I would call, a backwoods dialect. For example, for=fer and afraid=afeared. However, once I found my rhythm, it surprised me how much I truly enjoyed it. It is hard to sum up the story into a few brief sentences, but I will try. Saba and her twin Lugh are as close as twins could be, until one day, he is taken away from her. The book then becomes about Saba's journey to reunite with her brother. What makes this book so entertaining is that it is set in a world that is rugged and primitive (also known as dystopian). Despite this harsh setting and her cruel circumstances, Saba manages to form relationships with great characters along the way. You will definitely want to check out this book. It comes out in hardback this summer on June 7th, but you can get your hands on an advanced copy at Bistro Book Club, which meets every Wednesday from 4-5pm at the Central Library.
Dark Parties
by Sara Grant
I would like to first say that the cover of this book does not do it justice. I almost didn't pick the book up because it looked like a teen book about winter and partying (contemporary teen fiction). Instead, this book was about a world where everyone is created to look the same by altering genetics. To really express their individuality, teens have dark parties where they meet each other based on personality and not on looks, which would be hard because everyone is the same. At one of these dark parties, the teens decided to organize and rebel against the tyrannical government. However, when people rebel they usually go missing. This story follows Neva as she uncovers secrets that the government has been trying to hide, which means she may go missing next... Definitely look for this book on the shelves in August, or, as previously mentioned, come to the Bistro Book Club!!!
Here are some other teen titles that I have read and been labeled "dystopian fiction:"
-Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
-Wither by Lauren Destefano
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Grace by Elizabeth Scott
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Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
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Maze Runner by James Dashner
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Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat
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Forest of Hands and Teeth Series by Carrie Ryan
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The Uglies Series by Scott Westfeld
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Unwind by Neal Shusterman
There are many more titles, but the ones above are the only ones that I have read.
Enjoy!
Shanna
~Teen Librarian
Die for Me
