Jen Robinson's Book Page: Futuristic, Speculative, Science Fiction and Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults

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

Back in June of 2008, 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. I've started listing other titles, as I run across them, at the bottom of the page. Note that this list is broader than a straight pot-apocalypse and dystopia list, with other science fiction titles, and some speculative fantasy.

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.
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, recommended by Melissa Taylor. Little Brown.
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.
The Reaper Series (The Time of the Reaper, Slave Harvest, and The Tomorrow Seed) by Andrew Butcher, recommended by Janice Robertson (her review here).
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. I'll add a general recommendation for the entire Mortal Instruments series (reviewed here) and the newer Infernal Devices series.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, recommended by Jen. (Reviewed here). See also the sequel, Catching Fire (My early thoughts - not a full review). The third book in the series is Mockingjay (Hunger Games series) (reviewed here).
The Maze Runner by James Dashner, recommended by Vickie Motter. Delacorte Press. My review. (There is a sequel, but I didn't care for it - Jen.)
Eva by Peter Dickinson, suggested by Anamaria.
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, recommended by Anna Marie and Laura. (Reviewed here)
The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle, recommended by Becky.
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, recommended by Kate.
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, recommended by Tessa. See also the three sequels, The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood (reviewed here), and The Diamond of Darkhold (reviewed here).
Enchantress from the Stars (and sequels) by Sylvia Engdahl, recommended by Sara Lewis Holmes.
The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach, recommended by Laini Taylor.
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, recommended by Janssen and Laura.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding, recommended by JenFW and Jill.
Feed by Mira Grant, recommended by B. E. Sanderson.
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 and Jill.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, recommended by Sue Sirgany and Christie.
Children of Men by P.D. James, recommended by Sherry Early.
Masters of Solitude by Marvin Kaye & Parke Godwin, recommended by B. E. Sanderson.
Epic by Conor Kostick, recommended by Donalyn Miller.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, recommended by Hank. Also A Swiftly Tilting Planet and A Wind in the Door, both recommended by Aerin.
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). Also the sequel, The Resistance, reviewed here.
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville, recommended by Maya.
Z is for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien, recommended by Renee.
1984 by George Orwell, recommended by JenFW, Jill and Kristen.
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, recommended by Rebecca B. and Jen. (Reviewed here). See also #2 The dead & the gone (Reviewed here), and #3 this world we live in (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. My review.
On the Beach by Neville Shute, recommended by Jill.
The Galahad Series by Dom Testa, recommended by Melissa Taylor. #1 The Comet's Curse (my review) and #2 The Web of Titan (my review). Tor Teen.
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
Candor by Pam Bachorz. Egmont. My review.
Exodus and Zenith by Julie Bertagna. (Reviewed here and here)
Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. Egmont. My review.
Neptune's Children by Bonnie Dobkin. (Reviewed here)
Brain Jack by Brian Falkner. Random House. My review.
Ghost Huntress series by Marley Gibson. Ghost Huntress (my review) and Ghost Huntress, Book 2: The Guidance (my review). Sandpiper.
The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman. (Reviewed here)
Gone by Michael Grant (my review). Also Hunger (Book 2).
Rash by Pete Hautman. (Reviewed here)
The Enemy by Charlie Higson. Hyperion. My review.
The Dead: An Enemy Novel by Charlie Higson. Hyperion. My review.
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch. Scholastic. My review.
The Forgotten Worlds trilogy by P.J. Hoover. #1 The Emerald Tablet (reviewed here), #2 The Navel of the World (my review), #3 The Necropolis (my review)
The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key (reviewed here)
The Dust of 100 Dogs by A. S. King. Flux. February 2009. My review.
The Stand by Stephen King
False Memory by Dan Krokos, reviewed here
Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne, reviewed here.
Fearless by Tim Lott. (Reviewed here)
The Tomorrow series by John Marsden. (Reviewed here)
Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin. Random House. My review.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
Wake and Fade (Simon Pulse) by Lisa McMann. (Reviewed here)
Ashfall by Mike Mullin. Tanglewood Press. My review.
The Girl Who Owned a City by O. T. Nelson
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Candlewick.
Airborn trilogy by Ken Oppel. Airborn (Book 1), Skybreaker (Book 2) and Starclimber (Book 3)
Epitaph Road by David Patneaude. Egmont. My review.
The Fox Inheritance (The Jenna Fox Chronicles, Book 2), by Mary E. Pearson. Henry Holt. My review.
Starters by Lissa Price. Delacorte Books for Young Readers. My review.
The Traces series by Malcolm Rose (Reviewed here)
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan. St. Martins Griffin. First book in Sky Chasers series. My review.
Divergent by Veronica Roth. Katherine Tegan Books.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy by Carrie Ryan. #1 The Forest of Hands and Teeth (my review), #2 The Dead-Tossed Waves (my review), and #3 The Dark and Hollow Places (my review). Delacorte Books for Young Readers. Book 1 was also recommended by Donalyn Miller.
Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner (and sequel).
Dead Girl Walking by Linda Joy Singleton. Flux. My review. Also Dead Girl Dancing and Dead Girl in Love (my review).
Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. My review.
The Linger trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater. #1 Shiver (my review), #2 Linger (my review), and #3 Forever. Scholastic.
Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari. Scholastic. My review.
Escape the Mask by David Ward (reviewed here)
Numbers by Rachel Ward. The Chicken House. My review. See also book 2: The Chaos and book 3: Infinity (reviewed here).
Skinned by Robin Wasserman. (Reviewed here). See also sequel.
Partials by Dan Wells. Balzer + Bray. My review.
Double Helix by Nancy Werlin (Puffin Sleuth).
All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). My review.