18 Dystopian Valentines

What is a dystopia but a love gone wrong. This list of dystopian fiction is a trove of suspenseful, adventurous, anti-valentines.  Some of them are brand new, just out of the box fresh; feel the angst, live the adventure.  Happy Valentines!  "May the odds be ever in your favor."--Hunger Games

The Hunger Games - Official Theatrical Trailer
Movie Release date: March 23, 2012

If you liked The Hunger Games, then you may like... :

 

The Diary of Pelly D, by L. J. Adlington, 2005.  When Toni V, a construction worker on a futuristic colony, finds the diary of a teenage girl whose life has been turned upside-down by holocaust-like events, he begins to question his own beliefs.

Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi, 2010.  In a futuristic world, teen-aged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.

Ashes, by Ilsa Bick, 2011.  Alex, a resourceful 17-year-old running from her incurable brain tumor, Tom, who has left the war in Afghanistan, and Ellie, an angry 8-year-old, join forces after an electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky and kills most of the world's population, turning some of those who remain into zombies and giving the others superhuman senses.

Matched, by Ally Condie, 2010.  Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her, so when Xander appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate--until Ky Markham's face appears for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, 2009.  Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.

Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, 2008.  After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco,17-year-old Marcus, released into what is now a police state, decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

The Eleventh Plague, by Jeff Hirsch, 2011.  20 years after the start of the war that caused the Collapse, 15-year-old Stephen, his father, and grandfather travel post-Collapse America scavenging, but when his grandfather dies and his father decides to risk everything to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down.

Epic, by Conor Kostick, 2007.  On New Earth, a world based on a video role-playing game, 14-year-old Erik pursuades his friends to aid him in some unusual gambits in order to save Erik's father from exile and safeguard the futures of each of their families.

Legend, by Marie Lu, 2011.  In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

The Secret Under My Skin, by Janet McNaughton, 2005.  In the year 2368, humans exist under dire environmental conditions. Blay, rescued from a work camp and chosen for a special duty, uses her love of learning to discover the truth about the planet's future and her own dark past.

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer, 2012.  As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.

The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness, 2008.  Pursued by power-hungry Prentiss and mad minister Aaron, young Todd and Viola set out across New World searching for answers about his colony's true past and seeking a way to warn the ship bringing hopeful settlers from Old World.

Delirium, by Lauren Oliver, 2011.  Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis, 2011.  Amy, a cryogenically frozen passenger on the spaceship Godspeed, wakes up to discover that someone may have tried to murder her.

Under the Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi, 2012.  When Aria is exiled from the enclosed city of Reverie, she forms an unlikely alliance with an Outsider named Perry, who could be her only chance of survival providing they can overcome their prejudices.

Divergent, by Veronica Roth, 2011.  In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice must choose among five factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group.

Unwind, by Neal Shusterman, 2007.  In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives "unwound" and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs--and, perhaps, save their own lives.

All These Things I've Done, by Gabrielle Zevin, 2011.  In a future where chocolate and caffeine are contraband, teenage cellphone use is illegal, and water and paper are carefully rationed, 16-year-old Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight as heir apparent to an important New York City crime family.

THE SCIENCE OF LOVE

Check out the recent spate of new Science Fiction books below, that have arrived with a large dollop of romantic angst, and the sting of dystopia.  If this trend continues, we might need a new genre: Romience?.

GIRL PARTS by John Cusick, 2010.  Summary: The lives of David, wealthy and popular but still lonely, and Charlie, a soulful outsider, intersect when Rose, the female Companion bot David's parents buy to treat his dissociative disorder, forms a bond with Charlie.
My rating: 3 and a half stars.

MATCHED by Ally Condie, 2010.  Summary: All her life, Cassia has never had a choice. The Society dictates everything: when and how to play, where to work, where to live, what to eat and wear, when to die, and most importantly to Cassia as she turns 17, who to marry. When she is Matched with her best friend Xander, things couldn't be more perfect. But why did her neighbor Ky's face show up on her match disk as well?
My rating: 3 and a half stars.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis, 2011.  Summary: Amy, a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed, is nearly killed when her cyro chamber is unplugged fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing. All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again--and she doesn't know who she can trust on a ship ruled by a tyrant.  My rating: 4 stars.

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver, 2011.  Summary:  Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.
My rating: 3 and a half stars.

WITHER by Lauren DeStefano, 2011.  Summary: After modern science turns every human into a genetic time bomb with men dying at age twenty-five and women dying at age twenty, girls are kidnapped and married off in order to repopulate the world.
My rating: 3 and a half stars.

4 STAR SCIENCE FICTION

POD, by Stephen Wallenfels, 2009.  One morning at 5 AM gray black spheres dot the sky, and any human or car outside is instantly zapped in a flash light "no explosion, no ball of flame, just gone".  Strangely animals and plants are not affected.  Those who are caught in buildings must find a way to survive, like 16 year old Josh and his father trapped in their house in Washington, and 12 year old Megs caught in the parking garage of a hotel in California.  Although the pods seem menacing, the human beings in the story are often more scary.  If you like Science Fiction straight up, (no fantasy funny business), or you like survival stories this book will dish it out.  The ending is surprising, and satisfying.  This is Mr. Wallenfels first book.  According to his website, he is currently working on POD 2.  My rating: 4 stars
Stephen Wallenfels website

Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi, 2010.
Nailer Lopez lives on a Gulf Coast beach in a dystopian future.  To survive he works on a crew that scavenges beached ships and oil tankers for wire, scrap metal, and fuel.  It is a harsh, primitive, and dangerous way of life.  Out in the distance Nailer can see the modern clipper ships that fly over the waves, and longs to be on one.  In this future world there are also human/dog hybrid slaves, crews who salvage body parts, the very wealthy "swank", and the very poor.  At the center of the story is Nailer's love/hate relationship with his abusive drug-addicted father.  One day a storm shipwrecks one of the clipper ships.  The wreck could be Nailer's "Lucky Strike", however, he discovers the owner, a girl, still alive in the wreck.  Thus begins a series of events that require Nailer to make life and death decisions, in this fast paced gritty Sci-Fi adventure story.  My rating: 4 stars

Featured Author: Neal Shusterman

Mr. Shusterman's books reward the reader with a rich bounty of things to think or wonder about that are sometimes intense, sometimes humorous:

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman, 2010.
In Bruiser, Mr. Shusterman has taken an intriguing concept and built a supernatural story that may leave you thinking long after the final page is turned.  What happens when any pain, physical or emotional, is taken away?  While reading this book I kept thinking of the Bible phrase, "he taketh away the sins of the world."  And then wondering - Is there a flip side, a dark side, to salvation?  Brewster Rawlins aka Bruiser is described as a sasquatch, a hulking teenager of 16 years, with eyes that are an ugly pea green.  Voted by his classmates as "Most Likely to Receive the Death Penalty."  What no one knows, since Brewster keeps to himself, is that if he cares about you, he automatically takes away your injuries or pain as his own.  Bruiser is told from four points of view; Tennyson and Bronte who are twins, and Brewster and his brother Cody.  Tennyson and Bronte live with parents on the verge of divorce, and Brewster and Cody live with their abusive Uncle Hoyt.  Brewster's point of view is told in free verse.  The first chapter starts with Tennyson's point of view when Brewster asks his sister Bronte out on a date to play miniature golf.  Every book I've read by Neal Shusterman has been a thought-generating, and a gratifying read.  Bruiser is no exception.  My rating: 3 and a half stars

Everlost by Neal Shusterman published in 2006 is the first book in the Skinjacker Trilogy. Everfound, the third book in the Skinjacker Trilogy, is scheduled for publication in May 2011. Everlost begins with two cars that accidentally crash.  A passenger in each car dies; Nick and Allie. As they feel themselves moving through a tunnel towards a light, they bump each other off course and don't get to where they are going.  They wake up in Everlost, an in between place for lost souls where there are only children and teenagers.  Nick and Allie take different approaches to the people and circumstances of their new existence.  Will they choose complacency, choose to be in Everlost, or will they find the strength to get to where they are going?  Everlost is a terrific adventure-fantasy in an unpredictable setting.  My rating, so far, for this trilogy: 4 stars

Unwind by Neal Shusterman, 2007.  Unwind takes place in a dystopian society where organ harvesting of every part of the body is not viewed as death for the donor.  In this future society a war was fought between the Pro-life and the Pro-choice armies over reproductive rights, and now there is no abortion.  A "Bill of Life" was passed that ended the war.  The Bill of Life gives parents the right to choose, when their child is between the ages of 13 and 18, to have them "unwound".  Every part of the body is used to help someone else, including brain parts, skin, nerves, limbs, etc. so that technically the unwound person is still living.  One of the horrifying parts of this story is that that the person being unwound is awake and conscious (pain-free) during the whole procedure.  Sometimes the body parts retain a memory of skills, thoughts, or emotions, that the recipient then experiences.  This is a story of dismembering as well as remembering.  Three teens, Connor, Risa, and Lev, who do not want to be "unwound" try to escape. Unwind is a science fiction thriller that gives one serious moral issues to think about as we move out of the current infancy of organ harvesting.  My rating: 4 stars   Unwind movie website

Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman, 2008.
I have not read this - write your review in the comments section below.  Library Catalog Summary:  Fourteen-year-old Anthony "Antsy" Bonano learns about life, death, and a lot more when he tries to help a friend with a terminal illness feel hopeful about the future.

Darkness Creeping: Twenty Twisted Tales by Neal Shusterman, 2007.   A collection of horror tales. Tell your tale, write your review in the comments below!  Library Catalog Summary: Imagine being trapped forever in someone else's nightmare, with no means of escape. Or caught on one of the most terrifying roller coasters of all time, when suddenly the tracks ahead just disappear. Enter the world of Darkness Creeping, where hollow-eyed skulls arrive in the mail and nothing is as it seems... a collection of masterfully creepy stories so horrifying, you may have to read them twice to remind yourself they're not real.

The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman, 2004.
I have not yet had a chance to read this book.  It won the 2005 Boston Globe Horn Book Award.  Library Catalog Summary: A Brooklyn eighth-grader nicknamed Antsy befriends the Schwa, an "invisible-ish" boy who is tired of blending into his surroundings and going unnoticed by nearly everyone.  Write your review in the comments section below.

Neal Shusterman Books & Audiobooks in the Library Consortium
Neal Shusterman website

Neal Shusterman conducts a tour of his home including his awards, where he writes, art work, and home theater, May 15, 2009.