It’s official; I’m obsessed. The Hunger Games series took me by surprise, but once I started reading I was hooked. The books might as well have been glued to my hands, because for three solid days I could do nothing but sit, holed up in my room with my nose stuck in those pages. Time ceased to matter as I devoured the story, staying up into those early morning hours when the birds start chirping and the sky turns back to blue. By the end of the series I’d been reduced to a dream-like stupor, walking around like some half-dead zombie and trying to cope with the emotional roller-coaster that I’d just ridden. Class? What’s that? Food? Not important. The Hunger Games series was far more riveting that my actual life and I was happy to exchange the two.
There is just one problem; it had to end.
After I’d finished the last page of Mocking Jay (and seen the newly released movie…twice) I was left feeling empty. The series was over. What could ever fill the void? The answer, I realized, was simple; find a new, equally captivating series. Replacing the Hunger Games wouldn’t be easy, but luckily there are plenty of good reads out there that are similar to my beloved books in several, important ways. All 5 books listed here have futuristic settings (because who wants to read about boring, normal Earth?). In each of these books, there is a love story (clearly essential to my fantasy-world requirements). Third, the characters must fight for survival and in many of these stories there is a revolt. Last, all of these books are part of a series (meaning if you love the first, you can go back for more!).
So here you go! 5 Hunger Game-like books and their back-cover blurbs. Happy reading!
Divergent by Veronica Roth
“Beatrice “Tris” Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth’s dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth’s young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.”
Dark Life by Kat Falls
“The oceans rose, swallowing the lowlands. Earthquakes shattered the continents, toppling entire regions into the rising water. Now, humans live packed into stack cities. The only ones with any space of their own are those who live on the ocean floor: the Dark Life. Ty has spent his whole life living deep undersea. When outlaws attack his homestead, he finds himself in a fight to save the only home he has ever known. Joined by Gemma, a girl from Topside, Ty ventures into the frontier’s rough underworld and discovers some dark secrets to Dark Life. Secrets that threaten to destroy everything.”
The Graceling by Kristin Cashore
“Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.”
The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
“Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. Not for her license—for turning pretty. In Tally’s world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you 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 her life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a while 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 Giver by Lois Lowry
“The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Lowry has written three sequels to The Giver, including Gathering Blue, Messenger, and now Son, published in September 2012. Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.”
Resources:
http://2busybrunettes.com/2012/03/23/25-series-to-read-if-you-love-the-hunger-games/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/