Divergent by Veronica Roth (Fiction) is a story showing the consequences of your choices, even if those actions aren’t entirely in your control. A teenage girl, Tris, must choose between five factions, five areas who are committed to a certain belief and must live there, not traveling elsewhere in the city.
The Giver by Lois Lowry (Fiction) is a tale of a dystopian world through the eyes of a boy, Jonas. In Jonas’s world, everyone is given a life chosen for them. They are given their career at a choosing ceremony, if they want a spouse they must file for one and then be assigned someone who is perfectly paired with them, they must file for children (which are birthed by specific women) and they can only have two children, one girl and one boy. Jonas is anxious for his job, and is surprised by the one chosen for him.
Agnes at the End of the World is an eye-opening and interesting dystopian fiction novel by Kelly McWilliams. This book is about an oppressed 16-year-old girl named Agnes. Agnes lives in Red Creek, the place of the faithful. Red Creek is a Christian based community, with a mad prophet who oppressed his people into believing in his lies. Agnes runs outside her home with her youngest brother and into a dangerous world with Petra, a virus that turns anyone infected into a smooth red stoned creature.
In the first book of The Selection Series, America Singer gets chosen to be in the selection. This is a nightmare for her. In the selection 35 girls have to compete to make Prince Maxon fall in love with one of them. America grew up in a poor family and going to a palace is going to be a big change for her. In this futuristic romance novel, America will have to follow her heart, even if she doesn’t like what her heart is telling her.
Beatrice has only known to be a selfless person all of her life. She only looks in a mirror on occasion and always has to do the right thing. When she turns 16, this all changes. Beatrice can change her faction. She has to decide her future in the matter of seconds. This one decision choses her job, her friends, and almost every part of her life. What faction will she choose and how will she decide? It will change her life.
The Hunger Games follows the main protagonist Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is a sixteen-year old girl, living in District 12 in Panem. Each year, a girl and boy are taken from each district to fight in the Hunger Games. However, one day Katniss’s sister is chosen and without much thought Katniss volunteers herself instead. The Hunger Games to Katniss is a death sentence because she must kill the rest of the competitors to be the ultimate winner and that seems unlikely.
Taking place in the future, we follow American Singer, a sixteen-year old girl, who is given the ultimate chance of a lifetime. The kingdom has offered thirty-five girls a spot to potentially marry Prince Maxon. American Singer is one of the thirty-five that is chosen, but unlike her peers who would kill for this part, she is unhappy. She cannot bear to think of leaving her lover, Ashton, for some man she doesn’t know at all. However, things start to change when she meets Prince Maxon in real life.
The Giver is set in a dystopian society where no one knows the history of the society except for a select few that are assigned to be the receiver of memories. Young Jonas is selected to be the receiver for his generation. He trains with the current receiver, where he uncovers the secrets of his society and the world.
Delirium is the story about a dystopian society where love is a disease and people are forced to take the “cure” when they turn 18 in order to be unable to fall in love. Lena is very excited to get the cure until she falls in love with a boy named Alex only a few months before her 18th birthday. The concept of the book alone was enough to make me love it. I love dystopian stories, and Delirium was a super fascinating take on totalitarianism.
Juliette was born with a strange power. A strange curse. A strange gift. Her touch kills, which leads her to live a large portion of her life in solitary confinement. Outside her cell, the dystopian world is faced with a dead ozone layer, fascist governments, and constant dilemmas. One day Adam, a boy that reminds her of her childhood crush, starts to live with her in the cell. After a series of events she is held hostage by Warner, the son of The Reestablishment’s leader. She is faced with the two outcomes: become a weapon, or fight back.
