With Sunrise on the Reaping and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes reigniting interest in The Hunger Games universe, it’s no surprise that a new wave of readers are on the hunt for their next dystopian fix.
Back in the early 2010s, The Hunger Games sparked a dystopian publishing boom. Major publishers scrambled to capitalize on the trend, releasing dozens of similar novels with deadly competitions, bleak futures, and reluctant teenage heroes. For a while, it seemed like every shelf was filled with crumbling governments and rebellions in progress — and some readers burned out on the formula.
But dystopian fiction still has so much to offer, especially when you venture beyond the mainstream. Independent authors are pushing the boundaries of the genre, blending dystopia with fantasy, identity, romance, and rebellion in fresh, exciting ways.
If you’re craving stories that echo the spirit of The Hunger Games but bring something new to the table, check out these five indie YA dystopian novels.
Glitter and Kindling (The Chosen Legacy Book 1)
In a world where love is just another game, Ren never wanted to play by the rules, but in the desert biodomes of Province 5-9, every aspect of life is dictated by the Council, from job placements to relationships. At seventeen, Ren’s future has been predetermined, including an arranged marriage to a complete stranger.
Desperate for freedom, Ren takes a chance on the yearly lottery, risking everything for the slim hope of choosing her own path. Against all odds, she’s chosen.
Saving Eden: A YA Post-Apocalyptic / Dystopian Adventure (The Eden Saga)
A jaded resistance fighter. A magical mutant girl. A quest to save the last beacon of hope in a deadly, dystopian world.
Sixteen-year-old Angela thinks she and her father are the last survivors on Earth. She dreams of adventure and romance but only finds it in books. In the confines of her garden paradise, she’s untouched by contaminants that caused the rest of humanity to mutate into murderous beasts or die. But the lure of the outside world is irresistible.
When a seventeen-year-old boy stumbles upon Angela’s home with news about a thriving community, she dares to leave her garden for the first time. Does she have what it takes to stay alive and save humanity in the process?
Us Dark Few (Us Dark Few Series)
Khalani is a Prisoner
Takeshi is a Guard
Both are slaves to the Underground
Khalani Kanes has never stood on the surface of the earth. In the underground city of Apollo, faith and dreams are as absent as the sun. She longed to visit Genesis, the infamous Domed City and the final place where humanity lives aboveground. But when Khalani is given a life sentence and thrown into prison for a theft she didn’t commit, those wishes shatter into oblivion.
The Princess Trials: A young adult dystopian romance
Thirty young women. A handsome prince. A battle to the death
Water is scarce. Deserts have taken over the land. Nuclear war has devastated humanity. Humans live in walled super cities to keep out the irradiated. The land that was formerly known as America is divided into kingdoms ruled by royal elites.Born into the lowest Echelon of the Kingdom of Phangloria, sixteen-year-old Zea Calico faces a life of hunger, thirst, and toil. The only way out of this drudgery is revolution, and Zea is desperate to help the cause.
Girl of Flesh and Metal: Young Adult Near-Future Science Fiction
Lena hates her parents’ tech company. The world worships each cutting-edge CyberCorp release, but Lena has her doubts. Machines that think for themselves? She doesn’t trust them… So when a car accident lands her with the company’s first cybernetic arm, she’s pissed.
A glitch in the arm’s artificial intelligence makes her sleepwalk. Meanwhile, children of CyberCorp employees start dying in their beds, and thanks to her unwanted nighttime strolls, Lena has no alibi.
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