Karen in CO Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 She loved the Hunger Games trilogy. She adored The Giver trilology. She inhaled Stolen Voices yesterday and asked for more dystopian books. If you know any that are good literature and appropriate for a younger reader (no-s*x and no descriptive violence at least no more than Hunger Games), please help me. I don't think she's old enought to appreciate Fahrenheit 451 since she prefers books with a younger protagonist, but it is my favorite. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I don't consider them of the same quality as The Hunger Games or The Giver, but has she read Uglies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Anything by Margaret Peterson Haddix - Among the Hidden, Running out of Time.. The Girl With the Silver Eyes (drug trial gone wrong) City of Ember series The Barcode Tattoo The Uglies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Karen, what about some of the Pendragon series? Fantasy with many dystopian elements, especially the fourth book where everyone is so involved in a virtual world that the real world is crumbling around them, actually decaying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Thanks, ladies. I had forgotten about City of Ember and never read The Uglies. Pendragon looks terrific also. I'll check out the others too. This will keep her busy reading again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer In the future, in a place called Satelite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill enters the world, unwanted by his parents. He's sent to the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys, Freight class. At Clarissa Frayne, the boys are put to work by the state, testing highly dangerous products. At the end of most days, they are covered with burns, bruises, and sores. Cosmo realizes that if he doesn't escape, he will die at this so-called orphanage. When the moment finally comes, Cosmo seizes his chance and breaks out with the help of the Supernaturalists, a motley crew of kids who all have the same special ability as Cosmo-they can see supernatural Parasites, creatures that feed on the life force of humans. The Supernaturalists patrol the city at night, hunting the Parasites in hopes of saving what's left of humanity in Satellite City. Or so they think. The Supernaturalist soon find themselves caught in a web far more complicated than they'd imagined, when they discover a horrifying secret that will force them to question everything they believe in. Eoin Colfer has created an eerie and captivating world-part Blade Runner, part futuristic Dickens-replete with non-stop action Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Has she read Ender's Game? I let dd read it too early and she found it disturbing, but if yours can handle the ones you describe, she should be fine with it. Anne McCaffrey's series about Menolly (Dragonsinger) has some dystopian elements. They come in later in the series (not the Menolly part) as you discover where the world really is. How about Alas, Babylon? (Might have too much sx for you.) I don't know that it's really dystopian so much as "this could happen." In the same vein, has she read Lord of the Flies? Again, not dystopian in the regular sense, but along the same lines. Maybe too much violence for you, but not more than HG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines series is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbmom Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Huffington Post came out with a good list awhile back- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/14/scholastics-top-picks-dys_n_1149644.html#s544021&title=The_Bar_Code I would also add the Divergent series by Veronica Roth to the list of possibilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verity Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 On a slightly different slant Tamora Pierce's has several different series of books in a fantasy setting that feature young female protagonists who become knights. Honor, loving animals, and typical coming of age themes. I've been enjoying these series as light reading for the summer. :) I'd start with http://www.amazon.com/Alanna-First-Adventure-Song-Lioness/dp/0689878559/ref=pd_sim_b_20 No sex/language but still assumes the reader is intelligent. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Veronica Roth's Divergent series perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Veronica Roth's Divergent series perhaps? I read that one. It would have been perfect if it had skipped the multiple, long descriptions of the funny feelings the girl got looking at the body of her love interest. Saving that one for when she's a little older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 She read a couple of Tamora Pierce's books last year. She's not in a fantasy mode right now, but I'll have to remember these for next time she is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Has she read Ender's Game? I let dd read it too early and she found it disturbing, but if yours can handle the ones you describe, she should be fine with it. Anne McCaffrey's series about Menolly (Dragonsinger) has some dystopian elements. They come in later in the series (not the Menolly part) as you discover where the world really is. How about Alas, Babylon? (Might have too much sx for you.) I don't know that it's really dystopian so much as "this could happen." In the same vein, has she read Lord of the Flies? Again, not dystopian in the regular sense, but along the same lines. Maybe too much violence for you, but not more than HG. I had thought Ender's Game and Lord of the Flies might be too much, but you're right. They probably aren't any worse than the ones she loves. Alas, Babylon has much more s*x than I'm comfortable with for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Thanks, this one looks great. We'll try it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines series is good. THis one looks very different. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 The Dark Is Rising series is nice and grim and WONDERFUL and very appropriate for this age. Lucifer's Hammer is an old dystopian novel that should be pretty readable by an 11yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 1984 will likely cure her of the dystopian phase. But it's probably not PG. I kind of hate the latest fad of dystopian novels for young adults. The few I've read have been kind of, well, not that great. They depend on the philosophy that writing about bad things is so deep that every kid would be enlightened by reading them, even if the writing is so-so and they don't make much sense. So now that I've rained on that parade, I'll go crawl away. (My kids didn't much care for them either, by the way. They just went to see The Hunger Games. Pretty much hated it from start to finish. I hear the best thing about it was the sound design and the popcorn. I warned them. If they couldn't get through The Giver without throwing it against a wall, they weren't exactly going to like The Hunger Games.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 This one is hard to find these days, but Mind Hold by Wilanne Belden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 The Dark Is Rising series is nice and grim and WONDERFUL and very appropriate for this age. Lucifer's Hammer is an old dystopian novel that should be pretty readable by an 11yo. Oh - I enjoyed that series - thanks. And I already have Lucifer's Hammer on my kindle for me to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Thanks, but I'm not looking to cure her, and I'm saving 1984 for when she's older. She goes through periods when she devours everything she can find of a certain type. I didn't discourage her classic orphan girl phase, English history phase, or her biology and natural history phase. I let her free choice reading be free choice as long as it is reasonable appropriate material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Sue Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Veronica Roth's Divergent series perhaps? My 11yo HG lover also LOVES this trilogy (Divergent, Insurgent...) and also a book called "Matched" that has sequels coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 The Dark Is Rising series is nice and grim and WONDERFUL and very appropriate for this age. Lucifer's Hammer is an old dystopian novel that should be pretty readable by an 11yo. :iagree:Susan Cooper is a marvelous writer. Anytime we talk about setting in literature and making your reader "see" what is going on, we talk about Cooper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 A family member is reading "The Roar" to her 8 and 9 year old kids. She is really enjoying it. It sounds like it might line up with your daughter's taste. http://www.amazon.com/Roar-Emma-Clayton/dp/0439927854/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341850816&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Roar Mika lives in future London, behind The Wall: Solid concrete topped with high-voltage razor wire and guarded by a battalion of Ghengis Borgs, it was built to keep out the animals, because animals carry the plague. Or so Mika's been told. But ever since Ellie vanished a year ago, Mika's suspected his world may be built on secrets--and lies. When a mysterious organization starts recruiting mutant kids to compete in violent virtual reality games, Mika takes the chance to search for his twin sister--and the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 We enjoyed Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Brotherhood of the Conch trilogy. It doesn't get really dystopian until the third book, but the first two are compelling, as well. One element I really like about these books is that while the protagonists are clever and capable kids, adults (at least some) are still presented as wise and able to provide guidance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I just finished reading Cinder. It is dystopian, science fiction, and fairy tale all kind of swirled together. Not my usual cup of tea (the science fiction part anyway), but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the rest of the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 My daughter just read The Rifle by Gary Paulson and really enjoyed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Anthem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I can't believe that no one has mentioned the Underland Chronicles yet! http://www.amazon.com/The-Underland-Chronicles-Books-Paperback/dp/0545166810/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341882762&sr=8-1&keywords=underland+chronicles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 I can't believe that no one has mentioned the Underland Chronicles yet! http://www.amazon.com/The-Underland-Chronicles-Books-Paperback/dp/0545166810/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341882762&sr=8-1&keywords=underland+chronicles Where is the smilie for, "I should have thought of that"? Thanks. These are now on the kindle and waiting for her to finish The Uglies. You guys are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 Anthem? I've never read that one. Atlas Shrugged was as much Rand as I could stand. She was interesting in reading it, but I persuaded her to wait. Maybe Anthem will quench her objectivist curiosity, but I will certainly have to read it first. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 My daughter just read The Rifle by Gary Paulson and really enjoyed it. She loves Paulson. She read all of the Brian books this year while reading survival stories. I'll stick this one on the list for her. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I've never read that one. Atlas Shrugged was as much Rand as I could stand. She was interesting in reading it, but I persuaded her to wait. Maybe Anthem will quench her objectivist curiosity, but I will certainly have to read it first. Thanks. Anthem is super short but I don't think I would have an eleven yer old read Ayn Rand. I tend to be hesitant regarding her because she was so intolerant towards Christianity in particular and religion in general. I intend to wait until dd is older and more able to judge for herself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I can't believe that the Maze Runner trilogy has not been mentioned. I literally could not put it down...I think I read them cover to cover in one sitting. Way better than the Hunger Games, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I can't believe that the Maze Runner trilogy has not been mentioned. I literally could not put it down...I think I read them cover to cover in one sitting. Way better than the Hunger Games, in my opinion. Really? I had that in my hands not longer ago, thinking about buying it for dd. I wasn't sure. I will have to pick it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Unwind (this one is creepy--check it out first) Maximum Ride Ender's Game Maze Runner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.