The world of YA dystopian novels Is cavernous. Multi-book series and detailed story lines make every novel intriguing in its own way. But, what are the best books, what plot lines and twists make a book a good read? Here I will rate some of the most well-known and well-written books under the YA dystopian genre.
To begin, the best YA dystopian novel has to be the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu. It brings together all plausible environmental, romantic, and real-life experiences a person could go through under a corrupt government. This thrilling book series is about a flood-ridden United States split in two, undergoing a civil war. The Colonies and the Republic, once united, have fallen into despair in a fight for all the land that is left after a natural disaster. Amid this war the main character Day(Daniel Altan Wing) appears. The Republic’s most wanted criminal crosses paths in a war-ridden Los Angeles with June Iparis, the Republic’s prodigy. As it goes in a dystopian narrative, it’s not just war and disaster that wreak havoc on the characters of the story, but the government as well. In Legend both the Colony and the Republic of America are in shambles. Both are corrupt and fight for land while disregarding the people of said land and their rights. Not much about the Colony’s government is known, but in the Republic, it is as follows: a president and the military. That is it. The president is none other than a dictator named President Primo who holds complete control over all the workings of the Republic. Day, who was once a common citizen born into poverty, becomes a dangerous criminal because of his own government’s curiosity. See, in the Republic, it is mandatory that when all citizens reach a certain grade level they must take a special test to prove their skills to the government. This test could lead to a successful future, the slums, or death. Not passing the test means you are taken away from your family and forced to the outskirts of the city, where they will experiment with you, and eventually kill you. Now Day did anything but fail his test; he was the very first person known to the Republic (before June) who got a perfect score. He was supposed to be a military prodigy, but the government decided that they wanted to study and examine him for their benefit. Later, they thought he was dead, but he returned to begin a legacy of tearing down the Republic. As he builds a notorious reputation he crosses paths with June, a special government agent at age 15, used to track Day down and bring him to “justice.” Not initially knowing the other’s identity, they fall into a threatening love circle, hurting and healing each other through this wonderful trilogy. The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu is a story of hurt, pain, healing, and justice. This well-written, thrilling story will take you on quite an adventure.
10/10
Next in line, another fan favorite and well-written dystopian classic is Divergent by Veronica Roth. The Divergent series is a bit longer than Legend, but still full of surprising plot twists and turns that keep you reading. This dystopian government split into 5 factions: Abnegation-the selfless, Candor-the honest, Amity-the kind, Erudite-the intelligent, and Dauntless-the brave. The system of factions is corrupt and individuals live only for full control of all existing factions. The main character, Tris (Beatrice Prior) Is a young girl with hopes of making her parents proud. Not unlike Legend, after a certain age or education level, the citizens of the factions gather and the young are forced to make a decision about what faction they will be in for the rest of their lives. Growing up in Abnegation, Tris wanted to stay with her parents and brother Caleb, but when reality came, she realized she was simply not meant for a life of selflessness. Over her parents, she chose to live for herself in Dauntless which is where she meets her love interest and possibly the worst decision of her life, Four (Tobias). After meeting Four and realizing the discrete flaws in their beloved system, Tris and Four team up with a band of friends to overthrow the soon-to-be tyrant of the city, Jeanine Mathews. After completing their destiny they move beyond the confinement of the city’s walls to find a war-ridden, apocalyptic display of the outside world to continue their adventures.
8/10
Matched by Allie Condie is an interesting novel series, but it is not for everyone. Again, it has a corrupt system of government where all citizens are forced into strict life plans; who they love, what they eat, and their hobbies are all decided by a futuristic United States government otherwise known as “The Society.” Citizens who misbehave or don’t follow the rules of the Society become outcasts or worse, get killed. Cassia, the main character of this series, is a young woman who is curious, outgoing, and extremely intelligent. Eventually, Cassia meets a young man by the name of Ky. Ky is a quiet, kind man and loves to read poetry and learn to write, however, both are forbidden by Society. After meeting, Cassia and Ky start to fall in love, forbidden yet strong the two of them fight to be together. They start to realize they cannot stay in this Society, so they escape. The second book of the series is a little bit of filler because they lose and find each other in the outside world and it becomes a little confusing for the reader to follow. Although it is a great book to find yourself reading at the start of a journey, Matched mostly has a middle school audience. This book is a great start for anyone looking for a dystopian read.
6/10
All of these novels are extremely well written in their own ways. These unique novels speak to everyone in different ways and live on in people’s lives distinctly from the rest. These ratings are my opinions and how I felt the books spoke to me. All of these series compiled to create my love for reading and to this day bring me a feeling of nostalgia everytime I talk about them. I hope every novel is a ten out of ten to each and every person who picks them up.
