Dystopian, Futuristic and Speculative Fiction (YA)

Dystopian fiction is interested in imagining what would happen if everything went horribly wrong some time in the future (distant, or not-too distant). The word ‘dystopia’ was conceived to be the opposite of ‘utopia,’ which in turn comes from the Greek roots ou-topos (the not-place) and eu-topos (the good place). So, while a utopia is a perfect society that cannot truly exist, a dystopia is a broken society that is normally based in some way on the real world.

Sometimes it has a bit of a sci-fi feel (like the spaceship setting in Across the Universe), but it’s nearly always a bit bleak (like the list below!). The horrible wrong-ness can be due to social, political (or socio-political) problems (see The Hunger Games, Divergent, 1984 for example). It can also be due to environmental problems (Ship Breaker, The Water Wars, Blood Red Road etc).

Here’s a selection of dystopian/futuristic titles for you to work your way through.

Updated June 19, 2024
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Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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Internment
Ahmed, Samira (Fiction writer)
Paper Book
'Samira has created a chilling, powerful, all-too-real near future that's a must-read for everyone's TBR' Karen M. McManus, author of One Of Us Is Lying 'A must-read . . . A heart-rending and all-too credible tale of sacrifice, the ugly face of authority...
The handmaid's tale
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
** THE SUNDAY TIMESNO. 1 BESTSELLER ** Go back to where it all began with the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series. 'The Handmaid's Talechanged me profoundly, hopefully for the better'Lee Child, Guardian ...
All that's left in the world
Brown, Erik J
Paper Book
Jamie and Andrew are strangers, but they're two of the last people left alive. They don't know what they'll find on their dangerous journey ... but they may just find each other. A queer romance about courage, hope and humanity for fans of They Both Die at the End, The Hunger Games<...
The ballad of songbirds and snakes
Collins, Suzanne
Paper Book
  "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the best Hunger Games movie of them all"USA TODAY "Everything you would expect from Collins is here: fraught teenage love; plenty of violence... the themes of friendship, betrayal, authority and oppression will please and thrill"The...
Hunger Games
Collins, Suzanne.
Paper Book
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before-and survival, for her, is second nature. The Hunger Games is a searing novel set in a...
The grace year
Liggett, Kim
Paper Book
'An incredibly important and empowering read' Natasha Ngan, author of Girls of Paper and Fire A New York Times bestselling dark speculative feminist thriller, perfect for fans of The Power and The Handmaid's Tale. ___________________...
The giver
Lowry, Lois.
Paper Book
In a perfect world, Jonas begins to see the flaws... THE GIVER is the classic award-winning novel that inspired the dystopian genre and a major motion picture adaptation for 2014 starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift. It is the...
The dog runner
MacDibble, Bren
Paper Book
That ugly red fungus killed all the wheat for flour, killed all the oat, and sugar cane for sugar and golden syrup, along with all the grass for cows and butter. Killed just about every ingredient that me and Dad used to use when we made Anzac bickies. I don't think I'll ever see another Anzac...
The knife of never letting go
Ness, Patrick
Paper Book
Imagine you can hear everything the town of men say about you. And they can hear everything you think. Imagine you don't fit into their plans. Todd Hewitt is just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. But his town has been keeping secrets from him. Secrets that are going to...
Nineteen eighty-four
Orwell, George
Paper Book
One of the BBC's '100 Novels that Shaped the World' 'Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past' Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit...
Greywaren
Stiefvater, Maggie
Paper Book
  The Majestic Conclusion To The Dreamer Trilogy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater. ...
Uglies
Westerfeld, Scott.
Paper Book
The first book in Scott Westerfeld's international bestselling Uglies series - over six million copies of the series have been sold worldwide! In Tally Youngblood's world, looks matter. At sixteen everyone undergoes a transformation from "Ugly" to "Pretty" and...

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