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Find out moreCommonly extrapolating elements of current society, dystopian fiction explores the darker side of possible worlds. Discover more than a Brave New World here.
A welcome return to the world first encountered in Matched. It’s a world in which society decides who you should love – and everything else about your life. When Cassia broke the rules because she found her own true love, everything went into meltdown. Now Cassia must try to take control again. Bravely she heads off in search of Ky. Can she save him and can she stay safe herself? Told sometimes by Cassia and sometimes by Ky the story twists and turns with danger lurking never far away. An exciting and passionate story set in a bleak and uncompromising world which raises many questions about why freedom to choose matters.
We found this an utterly compelling debut novel. It is set in a disturbing near future where society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed towards mental illness. There's a real passion for dystopian fiction at present and this one is one of the best.
Winner of the 2013 Leeds Book Awards 14-16 age category. This is a debut novel not to miss. It's an original and haunting psychological thriller that's packed with intense mystery and secrets that will have you gripped from the very first page. It's the story of Kyla whose mind has been erased; every single memory gone, living with a new name with a new family to get a second chance. But is this a second chance or is everyone around her lying ? She thinks so and is determined to prove it. Fans of Sophie McKenzie and Suzanne Collins will love it.
April 1964. The naked body of an old man floats in a river on the outskirts of Berlin. In one week it will be Adolf Hitler's 75th birthday. A terrible conspiracy is starting to unravel.
Tally can't wait to turn sixteen and become Pretty. Sixteen is the magic number that brings a transformation from a repellent Ugly into a stunningly attractive Pretty, and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks, Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend, Shay, isn't sure she wants to be Pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the Pretty world - and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worse choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn Pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.
The outstanding novel that became the cult classic film Blade Runner. Considered to be one of the great works of science fiction, it raises important questions about religion, technology and what defines us as human beings.
March 2012 New Gen Debut of the Month. Refreshingly free of vampires and werewolves this is a stunning debut novel. Written for teenage readers, categorised YA (Young Adult) in the trade, but don't be put off as it is a great read for any dystopian fan and could be seen as The Handmaid's Tale for a new generation. Genetic engineering gone wrong has lead to a radically different population structure and teenage girls are forced to breed to keep the human race alive. The first in a trilogy and this edition contains a sneak preview of the sequel, Fever, and a brand new short story by Lauren DeStefano: The First Bride.
This is a heart-pounding and thrilling urban dystopian fiction debut from an exciting young author. Divergent is a novel of non-stop suspense and twists and turn that you least expect. There's romance too and a heroine who is determined to fulfill her plans even when conflict seems the only course of action. ***Divergent, A Collector's Edition - The first in the Divergent series is now available as a special collector's hardback edition, boasting 72 pages of bonus content. A must have for fans of the series! ***The Divergent Series Box Set - The bestselling Divergent series - including the trilogy Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant plus Four - A Divergent Collection and the companion guide, World of Divergent, are now available as a boxed set for the first time!
Beautifully formed and gut-wrenchingly gripping, this is essential reading. Here at Lovereading we're glad to see the back of too much paranormal publishing and pleased to see a new theme - dystopian fiction - coming to the fore. The worry will be that it gets to be, like paranormal, an overpublished area in time but for the moment there are some really cracking books. The Other Life is absolutely no exception. Terrific characterisation and a setting so well portrayed that you can almost smell the world that Sherry and Joshua inhabit. With an incredible twist at the end which you absolutely will not know about until you read it this is an incredible debut novel not to be missed.
January 2012 NewGen Book of the Month. Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2011. The story's searing pace, its spare style, the excitement of its fabulously damaged world, its unforgettably vivid characters, its violent action and glorious love story make this a truly sensatonal YA debut novel. Much of the author's inspiration came from the epic movies she grew up with, from Gone with the Wind to The Searchers to The Wizard of Oz. The novel has been optioned by Ridley Scott and screenwriter Jack Thorne is in the process of adapting it for film. Moira Young says: “To be shortlisted with such experienced and acclaimed writers and their excellent books was wonderful. To win the Costa Children's Book Award is amazing. I am immensely gratified that the story and characters I’ve lived with and cared about for so long seem to speak not only to young people but readers of all ages.” A piece of passion from Marion Lloyd, publisher of Marion Lloyd Books: “Every publisher dreams of reading the first page of a new submission and instantly knowing they’ve found something special. I felt that electric shock with Blood Red Road. Moira Young’s searing, soaring survival story is arresting from the very first line. It is written in a compelling but very accessible dialect with an extremely distinctive authorial voice. The scope of the plot is epic and the pace is fierce, with unexpected twists. It is incredibly original. I am immensely proud to be publishing Moira Young’s astonishing debut novel which will set the summer of 2011 alight.” She adds: "Moira Young is a new writer of phenomenally powerful skills. To have the Costa judges crown her first novel as the winner of the children’s book award is simply fabulous.” You can also find out more by visiting the Facebook page for this book - http://www.facebook.com/BloodRedRoadBook Titles shortlisted for the 2011 Costa Children's Book Award: Flip - Martyn Bedford The Unforgotten Coat - Frank Cottrell Boyce Small Change for Stuart - Lissa Evans Blood Red Road - Moira Young MORE NEWS: Moira's publisher Scholastic have created a fabulous free newpaper for teens featuring a variety of their fantastic teen titles. Click here to have a read.
Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2011. The story's searing pace, its spare style, the excitement of its fabulously damaged world, its unforgettably vivid characters, its violent action and glorious love story make this a truly sensatonal YA debut novel.
An action-packed narrative that is utterly compelling and characters you will really love. The world as we know it is crumbling and has been for years; this is the story of a group who left earth aboard a space ship, which has become their home. Now 16 years on, two of them, born on the spaceship, have fallen in love.
Dystopia - The opposite of Utopia.
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from dys-‘bad’ + Utopia. An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.
H.G. Wells was the first popular dystopian writer with the Time Machine (1895) in which the future doesn’t bring continuous improvements in human kind, rather its demise to the baser darker side of our nature. Through Metamorphosis (1915) by Franz Kafka, Brave New World (1932) by Aldous Huxley Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell and on to The Handmaid's Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood dystopian fiction continues to probe the darker areas of the human condition.
Perhaps all the end of world prophecies have fueled the demand, never the less the contemporary dystopian offerings are proving popular reading – especially among a younger audience. We hope you enjoy the selection.
