As a society we are fascinated with ideas of what the future may hold and because of this dystopian novels have always been a large part of the literature of our society. For example some of the most famous include Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and The Giver, just to name a few. However, the popularity of The Hunger Games has recently caused an explosion in the Young Adult dystopian book market. Every where you look there’s a new dystopian or post-apocalyptic series hitting the shelves.
This list highlights what I believe will be the best debut YA dystopian books this year. I have not read all of these books and some of them have not yet been released, so this list is in no particular order. Click each title to find a summery of the novel at goodreads.com.
This novel has already gained quite a bit of popularity and I believe a novel about a society full of reincarnated souls is a refreshing addition to the dystopian world. Anna is the only new soul in a world full of reincarnated souls. “Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.”
Incarnate was released in January 2012 and you can read our review of Incarnate here.
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Glitch is unique for the genre because it combines both a controlling dystopian society and characters who posess paranormal abilities. In a world where everyone’s thoughts are controlled by chips, Zoe is one of the few who malfunctions and “this action-packed debut, Glitch begins an exciting new young adult trilogy.”
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Glitch will be released August 7th, 2012.
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Cinder incorporates a world full of humans and androids as well as beings from outer space. In this tale a Cyborg named Cinder finds herself “caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.”
Cinder was released in January 2012 and you can read our review here.
This novel has gained much popularity in the two months since its publication especially since it has been adapted into a possible TV show for The CW. America Singer, who loathes being a part of the selection, “gradually starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself- and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.”
Selection was published in April 2012 and you can read our review here.
In a world that consists of either the safety of Reverie or the wasteland known as The Death Shop, Under the Never Sky is an exciting new novel . In The Death Shop, Aria meets a wild outsider named Perry and “their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.”
Under the Never Sky was released in January 2012 and our review can be found here.
The Other Life is a look at the questions: what if things went wrong and a family was forced to retreat to a bunker to hide and what would they find when they finally come out? “Can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?”
The Other Life was released in February 2012.
The Starters is unique in that it presents a world where everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty were lost in a war and only the very old and young remain. Callie will go to whatever lengths to protect her brother, Tyler, and their friend Michael, even if that means renting her body. But Callie soon “discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations’ plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined.”
The Starters was released in March 2012.
The Immortal Rules is a brilliant combination of the ever popular vampire and dystopian worlds. Allie, a newly changed vampire, is pretending to be human in a group of people trying to find a cure. She “soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.”
The Immortal Rules was released in April 2012 and our review can be found here.
Struck is a story about a girl named Mia who is a lightning addict and a devastating earthquake caused by a freak electrical storm. “When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.”
Struck was released in May 2012.
Miranda wakes up with no memory of who she is but soon finds out she is a part of an elite force of genetically manufactured teens that have been trained to be weapons. Miranda discovers a dark secret and “suddenly her past doesn’t seem to matter…when there may not be a future.”
False Memory will be released on August 14, 2012.
*All quotes are taken from goodreads.com summaries.
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