swellmomma Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 We have been listening to an audiobook called "Little Brother", it is a very good book about a modern day dystopian society (one we are very close to living in imo). The teens are loving it (well truth be told all 4 kids are). Anyway, it made me think this would be the perfect time to do a dystopian literature study. They are in 11th grade, we can begin after the holiday. There are lots of great books out there for this genre. If you had to pick only 5-6 to study with your teens what would they be? We will for sure be doing 1984 and animal farm, but need ideas beyond those. I am thinking we will do an indepth study of 5-6 titles but I will have a book basket of other titles available for them to read on their own if they choose. I think that while this will be mainly for my older kids my ds12 may join in, though not get as much out of it as they will. So if you did this study with your teens or if you have a favorite dystopian novel please list it here :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) My DS did Dystopian novels in the fall. He read 1984 Farenheit 451 Brave New World Canticle of Leibowitz (good, but dense and a difficult read) A Clockwork Orange (would not cover this with other people's children because of content) The Handmaid's Tale (one of the few Dystopian books that have a female perspective; I included it precisely for this reason) And then there are of course numerous young adult dystopian books that are very popular and can serve as background (not great literature, but good themes and stories): Maze Runner trilogy, City of Ember, The Giver , Hunger Games, Divergent Edited December 22, 2015 by regentrude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 My DS did Dystopian novels in the fall. He read 1984 Farenheit 451 Brave New World Canticle of Leibowitz (good, but dense and a difficult read) A Clockwork Orange (would not cover this with other people's children because of content) The Handmaid's Tale (one of the few Dystopian books that have a female perspective; I included it precisely for this reason) And then there are of course numerous young adult dystopian books that are very popular and can serve as background (not great literature, but good themes and stories): Maze Runner trilogy, City of Ember, The Giver , Hunger Games, Divergent Great list. Can't believe I forgot about handmaid's tale, I even already have it on my shelf. Funny I never thought of those young adult books as dystopian novels, but they are. My daughter has read nearly all of the ones you listed and loves them. I have the Giver also on my bookshelf already so I will add that to my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) I should add that I would not feel comfortable studying the Handmaid's Tale with stranger's teens; I would have to know the parents rather well to know that they won't object. Edited December 22, 2015 by regentrude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 You are probably aware that Little Brother has a sequel called Homeland, right? Another book I really enjoyed that I don't see mentioned much was The Circle by Dave Eggers. It is like Little Brother in that it is a really, really imaginable scenario growing right out of present world conditions - no major cataclysm required. Makes you think hard about how the current system is organized. I also highly recommend We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, a Russian, written in 1921. Brave New World is great up until the end, which I have no idea how to process. I second the suggestion of The Handmaid's Tale. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Adding to the YA books: The House of the Scorpion and The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 You are probably aware that Little Brother has a sequel called Homeland, right? Another book I really enjoyed that I don't see mentioned much was The Circle by Dave Eggers. It is like Little Brother in that it is a really, really imaginable scenario growing right out of present world conditions - no major cataclysm required. Makes you think hard about how the current system is organized. I also highly recommend We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, a Russian, written in 1921. Brave New World is great up until the end, which I have no idea how to process. I second the suggestion of The Handmaid's Tale. I did not know there was a sequel. TIme to check if my library has it. It was just a random grab off the shelf because we needed a new audio book for the car and turned out to be a good one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 I did not know there was a sequel. TIme to check if my library has it. It was just a random grab off the shelf because we needed a new audio book for the car and turned out to be a good one. Oh yeah, it's a great book. Definitely check out the sequel, and read 1984. It's Cory Doctorow's homage to 1984. And if you guys like it, you will like the Dave Eggers book too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 If you want some darker, grittier dystopias for your high schoolers, you could also check out Paolo Bacigalupi. These are definitely YA, not MG like the Nancy Farmer books, the Giver, etc. Just as an example, my 13 year old has read Lois Lowry and Nancy Farmer, but not Bacigalupi yet. I guess if kids can handle the Hunger Games trilogy, they will probably be ok with these. The YA series is Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities. He also has a book called The Windup Girl, also dystopian, a little more adult. His most recent dystopia, The Water Knife, was too brutal for me to finish, so definitely read these with care. But they are very powerful. I've also really enjoyed two short story anthologies you guys might like: Loosed Upon the World: The Saga Anthology of Climate Fiction, and Brave New Worlds. They are both edited by John Joseph Adams, and have some really amazing short stories in the dystopian genre, mostly recent stuff. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 With 11th grade? Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, another dystopia from a (black) woman's perspective. This Perfect Day, which is a decent cover of the "hiddendystopia" 1984 Fahrenheit 451 Brave New World (Unless you're very uncomfortable discussing sex) Handmaid's Tale (Very much ditto!) Harrison Bergeron (short story) The Machine Stops (an early example!) A Clockwork Orange So that's a few more examples than you asked for, but two of them you might skip. For "just having around", I suggest you make sure NOT to miss the following: House of the Scorpion (and sequel) Battle Royale Watchmen Lathe of Heaven Feed When the Sleeper Wakes (another early one) We It Can't Happen Here Fatherland Oryx and Crake (series) On a Clear Day Pretties (and sequels) Unwind 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacharsis Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano. John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar might be worth a look. Maybe also something by Philip K. Dick... Also maybe helpful to go along with 1984 would be Orwell's essay, "Politics and the English Language". Edited December 22, 2015 by Anacharsis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Ok, looking at my goodreads shelf, a couple more standouts: Station Eleven World War Z The Man in the High Castle Science in the Capitol series, Kim Stanley Robinson - Forty Signs of Rain, Fifty Degrees Below, Sixty Days and Counting I totally agree with the Octavia Butler suggestions above- The Parable of the Sower et al. I like this genre a lot . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 And "Gathering Blue" should go in the YA list. It's good, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 And "Gathering Blue" should go in the YA list. It's good, too. I dunno, I think Gathering Blue - the whole Giver quartet - is more midlde grade. If we're listing middle grade books, then I'd include a whole bunch of other books I excluded from my list! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 I dunno, I think Gathering Blue - the whole Giver quartet - is more midlde grade. If we're listing middle grade books, then I'd include a whole bunch of other books I excluded from my list! List the middle grade ones too please, they may be better for ds12 than the ones I am going to use with my teens 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 I'll throw out 'Ready Player One,' since it hasn't yet been mentioned -- especially good for gamers (and their Gen X parents). 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 I'll throw out 'Ready Player One,' since it hasn't yet been mentioned -- especially good for gamers (and their Gen X parents). Sounds right up their alley, both are gamers 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) Middle grade books? Sure thing! Outside (if you can find it - very gentle, really a bit on the young side) The Girl Who Owned a City (written to introduce kiddies to Ayn Rand. Didn't work on me.) Galax-Arena (semi-dystopian) Invitation to the Game, now published as simply The Game (actually, this is in between MG and YA) The City of Ember series The Giver quartet Among the Hidden series This Time of Darkness (if you can find it - if you can't, try to buy it used. H. M. Hoover is an unsung hero of kidlit) Orvis (ditto. Less dystopian, though) The Last Book in the Universe (DO NOT MISS THIS) The Scavengers The Hermit Thrush Sings Thought of a couple more YA dystopias: House of Stairs (this is super short, and might be worth moving to the required reading) I am the Cheese (not sure this IS a dystopia) Truancy Virtual War The Diary of Pelly D. (It's all a big Holocaust allegory, but man it works well.) And, if we're including zombie apocalypse novels, The Girl With All the Gifts. Edited December 22, 2015 by Tanaqui 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Sounds right up their alley, both are gamers Then you may want to consider the Epic trilogy as well. It's not exactly dystopian, but it's not exactly NOT dystopian either. Epic, Saga, and Edda. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Station Eleven Definitely Philip K Dick. It seems like half the Hollywood Sci Fi movies are based on something of his. Maybe More's Utopia, which sort of starts the genre. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Station Eleven was ok, but I liked No Country for Ice Cream Star better. The ending was a bit disappointing, but the different dialects were amazing. Not a must-read, but a great free-read choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 José Saramago's Blindness is a wonderful book. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 In addition to those above: One Second After and the sequel One Year After. On the Beach Alas Babylon I found Handmaid's Tale extremely disturbing even as an adult so it might depend on the kids whether I would do that one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Oh,and I thought of one more: The Postman. Not the movie, just the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 My teen also really liked the Dies the Fire series (a novel of The Change). I thought the first couple were good for something different. It's more post- apocalyptic than dystopian, like One Second After & the other newer post- apoc lit genre (EMPs, nuke, zombies, plague, etc style). There's a ton of that stuff out now too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 José Saramago's Blindness is a wonderful book. That one has a sequel too - Seeing I kind of remember thinking that it really didn't need a sequel. I felt the same way about The Giver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I don't know if it fits your definition of dystopian (which I often think of as an engineered or controlled society that has gone wrong - or has deprived individuals of freedom by design), but novels like Snow Crash or Diamond Age do explore the idea of technological society that has either largely fallen into chaos (Snow Crash) or has been reordered on extreme lines (Diamond Age). Diamond Age has some sex, so you might want to preread. I can't remember if Snow Crash does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Station Eleven World War Z The Man in the High Castle Science in the Capitol series, Kim Stanley Robinson - Forty Signs of Rain, Fifty Degrees Below, Sixty Days and Counting Yes, I agree. I enjoyed all of these more than I expected. My younger one really likes dystopian books, and these are all on her list. They changed some things around, but DH and I are currently watching "Man in the High Castle" on Amazon. Very well done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Octavia Butler's Parable books (I don't recall which comes first). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 awesome suggestions folks, I think I will have to spend some time this xmas break checking what is on my shelf and putting a list on hold at the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 My boys love dystopia novels. Do you do discussions about the books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 The current one we have discussed how close to reality it is. The kids are not as far along in it as I am. I finished the whole thing including the afterwards which will pose some great discussion topics. We will discuss the books that I decide we are going to focus on but not the ones I am putting aside as extras unless they ask me to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Thought of one or two more YA dystopias as well that you should have because they're a little more diverse than my previous list: Ship Breaker Orleans Tankborn (not as dystopian as some others) Above World (middle grade!) The Boy at the End of the World (middle grade!) Partials Galahad Legend Killer of Enemies Diverse Energies (short stories) Proxy Who Fears Death? (Great book, starts with a graphic description of the protagonist's conception via rape, so use your best judgment) And, again, if we're doing zombie books, you should add I Am Legend. That's not YA. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Station Eleven Definitely Philip K Dick. It seems like half the Hollywood Sci Fi movies are based on something of his. Maybe More's Utopia, which sort of starts the genre. Not to put too fine a point on things, but I would classify Station Eleven (and several others mentioned on this thread) as post-apocalyptic, but not dystopian. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Not to put too fine a point on things, but I would classify Station Eleven (and several others mentioned on this thread) as post-apocalyptic, but not dystopian. Sometimes it's a very fine line. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Not to put too fine a point on things, but I would classify Station Eleven (and several others mentioned on this thread) as post-apocalyptic, but not dystopian. Hmm, I think you are correct, and while I know the difference I enjoy them both and often lump them together in my mind. Sorry for any confusion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 I thought of ONE MORE dystopian middle grade novel and after this I'll shut up unless something really great springs to mind: The Other Side of the Island. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Not to put too fine a point on things, but I would classify Station Eleven (and several others mentioned on this thread) as post-apocalyptic, but not dystopian. I would generally agree, although I think they can easily go together. I remember some discussion of 1984 vs Brave New World. 1984 was a society where freedoms were taken away. Brave New World was one where individualism was cheerfully given up. Similarly there is a line in Fahrenheit 451 about books being destroyed as dangerous, after people had already ceased to read and value them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 I would generally agree, although I think they can easily go together. I totally agree that often they go together, but not in a book like Station Eleven, which is set in a world where humanity is almost completely destroyed by a pandemic. The few remaining humans struggle to survive and define what it is to be human again. In this world, there isn't enough of a society to control much of anyone, and thus I would not classify it as dystopian. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in NC Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I love the whole Wool Series by Hugh Howey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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