Futuristic, Speculative, Science Fiction and Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults

UPDATED to add: An amended version of this list is now available here. Please click through to see the updated list. 

Last week, I had a contest by which people could win a copy of Mary Pearson's latest book, The Adoration of Jenna Fox (reviewed here). I asked people, as kind of a bonus question, to "recommend another futuristic, speculative, science fiction or dystopian fiction title aimed at young adults." And the suggestions poured in. Here is a summary (alphabetical by author), with many thanks to everyone who commented. Note that a few are crossover titles, published for adults but with teen appeal.

• Feed by M. T. Anderson, recommended by Sara Lewis Holmes, Anna Marie, , Laura, and Kim.
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, recommended by Rebecca B. and Gautami Tripathy.
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, recommended by Rebecca B.
• Jennifer Government by Max Barry, recommended by Lenore.
• The Voyage Begun by Nancy Bond, recommended by Charlotte.
• Sky Horizon by David Brin, recommended by Cindi.
• The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier, recommended by Renee.
• Airhead by Meg Cabot, recommended by Gretchen.
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, recommended by Jen Rouse and Mrs. Hill.
• The Obernewtyn series by Isobelle Carmody, recommended by Emmaco.
• The Tripods Trilogy by John Christopher, recommended by Laura.
• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, recommended by Eliza.
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, recommended by Jen.
• Eva by Peter Dickinson, suggested by Anamaria.
• Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, recommended by Anna Marie and Laura.
• Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, recommended by Kate.
• The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, recommended by Tessa.
• Enchantress from the Stars (and sequels) by Sylvia Engdahl, recommended by Sara Lewis Holmes.
• The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, recommended by Janssen and Laura.
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding, recommended by JenFW.
• Found (The Missing, Book 1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix, recommended by Kristine Michael and Mrs. Hill. (Reviewed here)
• Into the Forest by Jean Hegland, recommended by Lenore
• Green Angel by Alice Hoffman, recommended by Rebecca B.
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, recommended by JenFW.
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, recommended by Sue Sirgany and Christie.
• Children of Men by P.D. James, recommended by Sherry Early
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, recommended by Hank
• Out of the Silent Planet (and sequels) by C. S. Lewis, recommended by Hank
• The Giver by Lois Lowry, recommended by Megan Germano, Tasses, Laura, Kristen, and Eliza.
• Messenger by Lois Lowry, recommended by Tasses
• Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, recommended by Nan Hoekstra and Tasses.
• The Declaration by Gemma Malley, recommended by WEB and Sherry Early. (Reviewed here)
• Z is for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien, recommended by Renee.
• 1984 by George Orwell, recommended by JenFW and Kristen.
• Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, recommended by Rebecca B. and Jen. (Reviewed here)
• The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett, recommended by Tessa.
• The Hungry City Chronicles by Philip Reeve, recommended by Laura.
• The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex, recommended by anonymous.
• How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, recommended by JenFW, Laura, and Alessandra.
• Unwind by Neal Shusterman, recommened by Abby (the) Librarian and Sherry Early
• The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, recommended by Hank
• The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, recommended by Abby (the) Librarian, cuileann, Laura, Tessa, and Eliza. (Reviewed here)
• Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, recommended by Sara Lewis Holmes and Jen. (Reviewed here)

I'm going to add (in addition to the many excellent titles above):

• The Fire-Us series by Jennifer Armstrong and Nancy Butcher
• Exodus by Julie Bertagna. (Reviewed here)
• Neptune's Children by Bonnie Dobkin. (Reviewed here)
• The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman.
• Rash by Pete Hautman. (Reviewed here)
• Fearless by Tim Lott. (Reviewed here)
• The Stand by Stephen King.
• The Tomorrow series by John Marsden. (Reviewed here)
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
• The Girl Who Owned a City by O. T. Nelson
• The dead & the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer. (Reviewed here)
• The Traces series by Malcolm Rose (Reviewed here)

Any other suggestions? Please note that this list is not comprehensive - it merely represents some suggested titles in this genre by readers of the blog. But I am happy to continue adding to it. See also Little Willow's Dystopia Booklist and (found via LW) the Dystopian Literature Wikipedia page.

© 2009 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Charlotte]

Hi Jen,

Great list!

I messed up, though, and one of my Nancy Bond titles--A Place to Come Back To-- isn't dystopian. So sorry!

[Jen Robinson]

No worries Charlotte. I have quietly deleted that one. Thanks for letting me know.

[Sherry Early]

I forgot The Children of Men by P.D. James, probably because I was thinking only of YA titles. I do think that James's book would be accessible to young adults, too, though.

I liked the book much better than the movie, but the movie's not bad.

[Jen Robinson]

Oh, good one, Sherry! I'm going to add that to the list right now. Thanks!

[Little Willow]

Ooh, nice mix!

My dystopic booklist:
http://slayground.livejournal.com/88462.html

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks, LW! I added a link to your list above, and also to the Wikipedia list that you referenced. Reading your list also reminded me of a couple of others that I had missed from my list, and I added those. Thanks!! I knew you'd be on top of this one.

[lenore]

Great list - I would add Into the Forest by Jean Hegland and Jennifer Government by Max Berry.

[Little Willow]

Gracias y de nada, mi amiga.

I am a fan of dystopia. Ah, original Twilight Zone . . . How I would have loved to have worked with Serling!

[Hank]

Good list! I'm on a dystopian fiction kick this year myself. The only things I can think to add would be a few sf classics - Time Machine by HG Wells and the trilogy by CS Lewis that starts with Out of the Silent Planet. Oh! And, of course, a Wrinkle in Time by L'Engle - that should be required reading in middle school.

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks, Lenore. Into the Forest looks especially fascinating to me. I've added your suggestions to the list.

LW, it's always a pleasure talking books with you.

And Hank, thanks for the suggestions. Of course A Wrinkle in Time should be on this list. I've added your suggestions above.

[AHS]

I've only recently found your blog, and it's wonderful! Thanks for these great lists. I've compiled a working list of Young Adult Dystopian Novels here, FYI, and your suggestions have been invaluable.

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks, AHS. I added a link to your list in my updated list. I'm always happy to hear from a fellow fan of dystopias.