44 Young Adult Dystopian Novels For Teens

Many young adults are drawn to dystopian novels because they offer a glimpse into a world that may be possible in the future.

While their content can cause anxiety for some readers, dystopian novels for young adults can also provide a kind of therapeutic benefit–a kind of practice–for visualizing and navigating an uncertain world. They also often center a younger person as a central character (compared to adults)–a teenager, for example, empowered to solve crucial challenges and overcome obstacles in order to persevere fantastically cataclysmic circumstances.

Below is a collection of some of the most popular young adult dystopian novels available today.

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44 Thrilling Dystopian Novels For Teen Readers

An Ember In The Ashes (Book 1 of 4: An Ember In The Ashes series) by Sabaa Tahir

Battle Royale: The Novel by Koushun Takami

Blindness (Book 1 of 2: Blindness series) by Jose Saramago

Bluescreen (Book 1 of 3: Mirador series) by Dan Wells

Brave New Girl (Book 1 of 2: Brave New Girl series) by Rachel Vincent

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Delirium (Book 1 of 3: Delirium series) by Lauren Oliver

Divergent (Book 1 of 3: Divergent series) by Veronica Roth

Diverse Energies by Paolo Bacigalupi, Ursula K. Le Guin & Malinda Lo

Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman

Enclave (Book 1 of 4: The Razorland series) by Ann Aguirre

Flawed (Book 1 of 2: Flawed series) by Cecelia Ahern

Internment by Samira Ahmed

Goddess in the Machine by Lora Beth Johnson

Legend (Book 1 of 4: Legend series) by Marie Lu

Matched (Book 1 of 3: Matched series) by Ally Condie

Maze Runner (Book 1 of 5: The Maze Runner series) by James Dashner

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Oryx and Crake (Book 1 of 3: MaddAddam Trilogy) by Margaret Atwood

Parable of the Sower (Book 1 of 2: Parable series) by Octavia Butler

Ready Player One (Book 1 of 2: Ready Player One series) by Ernest Cline

Red Queen (Book 1 of 4: Red Queen series) by Victoria Aveyard

Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza & Abby Sher

Scythe (Book 1 of 3: Arc of a Scythe series) by Neal Shusterman

Shatter Me (Book 1 of 6: Shatter Me series) by Tahereh Mafi

Skyward (Book 1 of 3: The Skyward Series) by Brandon Sanderson

The Darkest Minds (Book 1 of 4: The Darkest Minds series) by Alexandra Bracken

The Giver (Book 1 of 4: The Giver quartet) by Lois Lowry

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

The Hunger Games (Book 1 of 4: The Hunger Games series) by Suzanne Collins

The Program (Book 1 of 6: The Program series) by Suzanne Young

The Resisters by Gish Jen

The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson

The Testing (Book 1 of 3: The Testing trilogy) by Joelle Charbonneau

The 100 (Book 1 of 4: The 100 series) by Kass Morgan

The 5th Wave (Book 1 of 3: The 5th Wave series) by Rick Yancey

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

Uglies (Book 1 of 4: The Uglies series) by Scott Westerfeld

Under the Never Sky (Book 1 of 3: Under the Never Sky series) by Veronica Rossi

Unwind (Book 1 of 4: The Unwind dystology) by Neal Shusterman

Want (Book 1 of 2: Want series) by Cindy Pon

Way Down Dark (Book 1 of 3: The Australia trilogy) by James P. Smythe

We Set The Dark On Fire (Book 1 of 2: We Set the Dark on Fire series) by Tehlor Kay Meija

Life As We knew It (Book 1 of 4) trilogy) by Susan Beth Pfeffer