The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games Readalikes

Survival...or not. That's what these thrilling titles, many set in dystopic societies, have in common; they explore survival in future worlds, past ones revisioned, prison-like settings, the wilderness, diabolical mazes, and cities submerged under water due to global warming. Escape, swim, or run for your life, make a stop at the Loft, and grab one of these books as if your life depended on it!

Anderson, M. T. Feed. 2002. (YA Science Fiction Ander.M)

In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble.

 

 

 

Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship Breaker. 2010. (YA Science Fiction Bacig.P)

In a futuristic world, teen Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl. Winner of the 2011 Michael Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.

 

 

 

Bertagna, Julie. Exodus. 2008. (YA Science Fiction Berta.J)

In the year 2100, as the island of Wing is about to be covered by water after a century of global warming, fifteen-year-old Mara discovers the existence of New World sky cities that are safe from the storms and rising waters. She guides her community to one of these cities across the ocean, only to discover upon arriving that they are barred from the heavily walled civilization. Mara needs to find a way to get inside the walled off cities in order to save herself and the others.

 

Burgess, Melvin. Bloodsong. 2007. (YA Science Fiction Burge.J)

This stand-alone YA sequel to the adult book Bloodtide (2001) melds violent Viking mythology with a futuristic, war-torn England populated by human-animal hybrids and organic machines. Fifteen-year-old Sigurd embarks on a quest to reclaim his royal lineage and to unite and bring peace to his country.

 

 

Cashore, Kristin. Graceling. 2008. (YA Science Fiction Casho.K & YA Playaway Sci Fi Casho.K & YA CD Science Fiction Casho.K & eAudiobook)

In a world where people are sometimes honored and frequently feared for their graces, a special talent marked by two different eye colors, Katsa is feared for her killing grace. She breaks away from her uncle, King Randa, who is using her grace for his own benefits. She goes on a journey with Po who also has a mysterious grace, and together they come to terms with the intricacies of their graces and their relationship to each other.

 

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. 2008. (YA Science Fiction Colli.S & YA CD Science Fiction Colli.S & eAudiobook)

In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, 16-year-old Katniss's survival skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.

 

 

 

Condie, Ally. Matched. 2010. (YA Fiction Condi.A)

All her life, Cassia has never had a choice. The Society dictates everything: when and how to play, where to work, where to live, what to eat and wear, when to die, and most importantly to Cassia as she turns 17, who to marry. When she is Matched with her best friend Xander, things couldn't be more perfect. But why did her neighbor Ky's face show up on her match disk as well?

 

 

Dashner, James. The Maze Runner. 2009. (YA Science Fiction Dashn.J & YA CD Science Fiction Dashn.J)

Teenage boys are deposited from a freight elevator into the middle of an enormous maze with no memory of their prior life or how they got there. One of the boys, 16-year-old Thomas, comes to a frightening understanding that he and the other boys must lock themselves in at night just to remain alive, and fight for their survival and a way to escape by day.

 

DeStefano, Lauren. Wither. 2011. (YA Science Fiction)

After modern science turns every human into a genetic time bomb with men dying at age twenty-five and women dying at age twenty, girls are kidnapped and married off in order to repopulate the world.

Doctorow, Cory. Little Brother. 2008. (YA Fiction Docto.C & YA CD Fiction Docto.C & eAudiobook)

Set in the near future, this anti-establishment thriller follows 17-year-old Marcus who is being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California. He is released into what is now a police state, and decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

 

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