A dystopian book that feels uncomfortably plausible

Book Prompt #19 for the Between the Lines 2026 Reading Challenge

Updated January 16, 2026
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Chain-Gang All-Stars
Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame
Paper Book
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR
I, robot
Asimov, Isaac
Paper Book
The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders givein to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own...
The handmaid's tale
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
One of the most powerful and most widely read novels of our time in display-worthy hardcover: A gripping vision of our society radically overturned by a theocratic revolution--from "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction" (The New York Times) The sixth and final season...
Oryx and Crake
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The first volume in the internationally acclaimed MaddAddam trilogy is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future--from the bestselling author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments A Kirkus...
Fahrenheit 451 : the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns ...
Bradbury, Ray
Paper Book
For use in schools and libraries only. A totalitarian regime has ordered all books to be destroyed, but one of the book burners suddenly realizes their merit.
The light pirate
Brooks-Dalton, Lily
Paper Book
RUNNER-UP FOR THE DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE Set in the near future, this hopeful story of survival and resilience follows Wanda--a luminous child born out of a devastating hurricane--as she navigates a rapidly changing world: A "symphony of beauty and heartbreak"...
Ready player one
Cline, Ernest
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg. "Enchanting . . . Willy Wonka meets The Matrix."--USA Today * "As one adventure leads expertly to the next...
The great transition : a novel
Fuller Googins, Nick
Paper Book
This richly imaginative, immersive, and "electrifyingly relevant" (William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author) debut novel follows a shocking disappearance amid the climate crisis of our near future--perfect for fans of Station Eleven and The Last Thing...
Brave new world : with the essay "Brave new world revisited"
Huxley, Aldous
Paper Book
Huxley's story shows a futuristic World State where all emotion, love, art, and human individuality have been replaced by social stability. An ominous warning to the world's population, this literary classic is a must-read.
The running man
Bachman, Richard
Paper Book
In the reality TV show The Running Man, the only objective is to stay alive. This 'slam-bang action suspense' (Vulture) from Stephen King is also a major motion picture. It's not just a game when you're running for your life . . . Ben...
The dream hotel
Lalami, Laila
Paper Book
* LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025 * * A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK MARCH 2025 * 'A gripping, Kafkaesque foray into an all-too-plausible future' JENNIFER EGAN'So cleverly conceived, so relevant, that everyone should read it and...
A guardian and a thief
Majumdar, Megha
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2026 A GUARDIAN 'BOOK TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2026' SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK TIME MUST-READ BOOK WINNER OF...
The deluge
Markley, Stephen
Paper Book
A New York Times Notable Book "This book is, simply put, a modern classic. If you read it, you'll never forget it. Prophetic, terrifying, uplifting." --Stephen King From the bestselling author of Ohio, a masterful American epic charting a near future...
The road
McCarthy, Cormac
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A searing, post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son's fight to survive that "only adds to McCarthy's stature as a living master. It's gripping, frightening and, ultimately, beautiful" (San Francisco Chronicle). One of...
What we can know
McEwan, Ian
Paper Book
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS FICTION AWARD 2025** 'McEwan's most richly layered work' Sunday Times 'A gripping page-turner' Observer 'A daring, beautiful novel, full of wisdom and heart' Elif Shafak A quest, a literary...
V for vendetta
Moore, Alan
Paper Book
In an alternate future in which Germany wins World War II and Britain becomes a fascist state, a vigilante named "V" tries to free England of its ideological chains.
Nineteen eighty-four
Orwell, George
Paper Book
Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth in what remains of a Britain ravaged by revolution. His every move is monitored by the Thought Police, who are responsible for detecting dissent against the Party and its leader, Big Brother-and eliminating it. When he meets Julia, Winston thinks he...
The compound
Rawle, Aisling
Paper Book
** A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK ** 'Lord of the Flies meets Love Island - dark, thrilling, and delightfully twisted' LOUISE O'NEILL 'So gripping and propulsive that it beats reality TV at its own game. Why watch TV when Aisling Rawle does it better?' TORREY PETERS 'THIS is...
Station eleven
Mandel, Emily St. John
Paper Book
One of The New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century 'Best novel. The big one . . . stands above all the others' - George R.R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones Now an HBO Max original TV series The New York Times<...
Zone one : a novel
Whitehead, Colson
Paper Book
In this wry take on the post-apocalyptic horror novel, a pandemic has devastated the planet. The plague has sorted humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. Now the plague is receding, and Americans are busy rebuild­ing civilization under...
Land of milk and honey
Zhang, C Pam
Paper Book
" The award-winning author of How Much of These Hills Is Gold returns with a rapturous and revelatory novel about a young chef whose discovery of pleasure alters her life and, indirectly, the world A smog has spread. Food crops are rapidly...
Akira. Book one
ÅŒtomo, Katsuhiro
Paper Book
Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.