This post was originally published on Audible.com.
The popularity of Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games trilogy and its film adaptations has paved the way for so many great dystopian books and series in YA, imagining harrowing worlds where teens must fight for survival and define what life means to them. Although it's been 15 years since the release of the first installment, the enduring popularity of the series has proven that dystopian stories and the sometimes-dark futures they imagine are endlessly fascinating to our imaginations—witness the furor surrounding the series prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, performed by fan favorite narrator Santino Fontana.
Here, we’ve rounded up some of the best books like The Hunger Games series for listeners to explore. From eerily familiar near-future landscapes to creative far-future scenarios, these listens will fascinate, entertain, and provoke plenty of conversations! May the odds be ever in your favor with these chilling and thrilling YA dystopian listens.
Perhaps the second-most popular dystopian YA series in recent years, Veronica Roth's Divergent imagines a bleak future set in the wreckage of what used to be Chicago along the dry bed of Lake Michigan. The survivors of a global fallout have organized themselves into five different factions—Amity, Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, and Dauntless—each embodying a value they cherish above all else. This effectively defines each faction’s role in this society and allows them to work apart, but together, to survive. Each year, teens are tested and sorted into their future homes, and Beatrice Prior is no exception. But she’s utterly shocked when she finds a new home in Dauntless, and as she begins to see her city and her own fears in a new light, she uncovers a sinister plot to overthrow their carefully balanced world. The trilogy is narrated by Emma Galvin, with Aaron Stanford voicing the prequel Four, told from the perspective of Tobias, culminating with a glimpse into the role of loyalty—and love—in the decisions he makes shortly after meeting "Tris."
If you are fascinated by the controlled order of a future society and you're a fan of The Giver, then definitely pick up the Matched trilogy! Cassia has complete trust in the Society to regulate everything in her life—what she eats, where she lives, her education, who she will marry, and even when she will die. But when another person’s face flashes for a moment on her Match ceremony screen before settling on her intended’s, Cassia begins to have doubts about how Society manages to know what's best for her. She connects with Ky, whose appearance on the screen was only supposed to be a rare glitch, and as she falls for him, they begin challenging everything they’ve ever been taught about Society and life ... even if it means escaping into an unknown land. The trilogy is narrated by Kate Simses and Jack Riccobono.
If the survival aspect of The Hunger Games appeals to you, The Grace Year is a can't-miss listen. In the County, women are banished during their 16th year to a compound in the woods, where they are expected to release their magic before returning home to become docile wives, mothers, and workers. Tierney just wants to survive her Grace Year unscathed, but it’s clear to her that the dangers in the woods are greater than she could have imagined. She was warned about poachers and the importance of following the guidelines, but no one warned her about the brutality of the other girls. When Tierney stumbles across a shocking secret about the Grace Year, she must pick between survival by any means necessary, or exposing the truth and upsetting her world. Emily Shaffer delivers a powerful performance of this book, which has been optioned for film by Elizabeth Banks.
In this series, set on the West Coast of the United States, the Republic rules all. June is a military prodigy. Day is a notorious criminal, and one of the Republic's most wanted. When June's brother is murdered, the Republic wastes no time in pointing fingers at Day, and June decides to hunt him down and exact revenge. But Day didn't do it, and furthermore, he's got his own shadowy motivations for doing the things that are labelled as crimes. What ensues is an elaborate cat-and-mouse chase that will bring Day and June face to face, and force them to dismantle the lies and illusions they've been told in order to fight for the truth. Steve Kaplan and Mariel Stern narrate the first three books in Legend, and Nile Bullock steps in for Stern in the gripping finale, Rebel.
Set in 2172, War Girls is about two sisters, Onyii and Ify, living in a war-torn Nigeria. After climate change and decades of civil war, the world is nearly uninhabitable. Only the luckiest of people can escape the horrors on land and live in the safe havens of the sky colonies. Onyii and Ify want to be among the lucky few, and they want to stay together. That means doing whatever it takes to see their dream realized, even if they have to fight their way through. Narrated by Adepero Oduye, this is an action-packed story about sisterhood and survival with a sci-fi feel, perfect for listeners fascinated by how advanced technology and robotics may look in the future. Nkeki Obi-Melekwe narrates the epic sequel, set five years after the war's end, with the sisters living worlds apart and drawn together to fight a new threat: a mysterious deadly virus.
Kyla Garcia narrates both books in this fiery duology about Dani, a young woman enrolled in the premier school for young women, which trains girls to become society wives—either mothers and caregivers, or partners who run households. Dani is triumphant at finally making an advantageous match, just as she is asked to spy for a rebel organization. Not only that, but she finds herself falling for her biggest rival, another student named Carmen. As her carefully planned future begins slipping from her grasp, Dani tries to balance the demands placed upon her and her own desires. Because Dani has a secret: Her pedigree is a lie, and if her past is discovered, her whole family could be in danger. This is an excellent dystopian duology with great LGBTQ+ representation.
In this dystopian novel with Mad Max vibes, Nalah is the leader of the Las Mal Criadas, an all-female crew who own the streets of Mega City and inspire respect and awe wherever they go. Nalah has worked hard to get her girls to the top of the street game, fighting to forget a painful childhood marked with abandonment, but now she wants more out of life than endless challenges, violence, and throwdowns. When she accepts a job from Mega City's top boss, she thinks it's a ticket to a better life—but soon the Las Mal Criadas find themselves outside of the city, facing uncomfortable truths about who really has the power. Is Nalah willing to risk the family she has created to fulfill her dreams? Marisol Ramirez narrates this fierce thriller.
Neal Shusterman is a master at writing vividly realized dystopian realities, and Scythe is no exception. In a near-ish future, hunger, illness, and death have all been eradicated—humans have the ability to reset themselves to age 25. Even fatal accidents can be reversed, thanks to the omnipresent Thunderhead (think the cloud, but with all the power on the planet). To keep the population under control, and remind everyone of the threat of mortality, Scythes randomly "glean" people. Citra and Rowan have just been chosen as Scythe apprentices, and have also just become the latest pawns in an epic struggle among Scythedom that no one, not even the Thunderhead, can stop. Greg Tremblay narrates this Audible exclusive trilogy about the price of a perfect world.
Set in futuristic Taipei, Cindy Pon’s Want series envisions a reality where environmental damage is rampant and the rich have manufactured special suits to protect themselves from the plagues and disease brought on by pollution. Zhou is among the poor, who must suffer without protection, and when his mother dies as a result of the city's horrible conditions, he decides to exact revenge. He sets his sights on bringing down the CEO of Jin Corporation, the company that manufactures the protective wear. As Zhou infiltrates the world of the protected mega-rich, he begins to suspect Jin Corp of manufacturing the very pollution their suits are made to protect against. To complicate matters, Zhou realizes he is falling for Daiyu, the CEO’s daughter. How far is he willing to go for vengeance? Roger Yeh narrates this "positively chilling" (The New York Times) dystopian thriller, joined by narrator Kim Mai Guest in the second volume, Ruse.
