Find more great Horn Book content at these links:

Interviews with authors and illustrators
Recommended books: reviews and themed booklists
App and e-book reviews
Movie reviews
Event news and recaps
Events calendar

Brave new worlds

by Katie Bircher
Apr 30, 2012 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
In her article “What Makes a Good YA Dystopian Novel?” from the May/June Horn Book Magazine, April Spisak offers thirteen recommendations for young adult dystopian books and series. We've also suggested some recently published Hunger Games trilogy readalikes for both YA and younger audiences here on Out of the Box.

But since it’s always good to know your history, here are some forerunners of the current dystopian boom:

The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood


The Long Walk and The Running Man by Richard Bachman (nom de plume of Stephen King)


Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury


A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess


Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card


Lord of the Flies by William Golding


Brave New World by Aldous Huxley


The Iron Heel by Jack London


The Giver by Lois Lowry


V for Vendetta by Alan Moore


Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell


Anthem and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand


The Time Machine by H.G. Wells


It's interesting to note that while many of these titles, such as Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four, were originally published for adults, they have since crossed over to YA readers. What dystopian works would you consider classics?

And speaking of The Giver, The Minnesota Opera is currently performing a sold-out production based on the novel. Have any readers in Minnesota seen it?

For more in our Fan Week series, click on the tag Fan Week 2016 and see #HBFanWeek on Twitter.

Katie Bircher

Katie Bircher is agency assistant at the new Sara Crowe Literary. She spent nine years as an editor and staff reviewer for The Horn Book’s publications and has over seven years of experience as an indie bookseller specializing in children’s and YA literature. She holds an MA in children’s literature from Simmons University.

Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

Andy Hollandbeck

Definitely "We" by Yevgeny Zamiatin. This was the first book banned by the soviet censorship bureau, and it greatly influenced 1984. (Orwell wrote a review of We about 6 months before he started 1984.)

Posted : Apr 30, 2012 06:23

Andrew Karre

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller. Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov.

Posted : Apr 30, 2012 06:15

RELATED 

OUT OF THE BOX

Week in Review, July 1st-5th
by Horn Book
OUT OF THE BOX

Week in Review, June 24th-28th
by Horn Book
OUT OF THE BOX

Cambridge Public Library Young Authors' Squad
by Elissa Gershowitz
OUT OF THE BOX

A Campfire Chat with the Boston Comic Arts Foundation
by Horn Book
OUT OF THE BOX

2024 Carle Honors Honorees...including us!
by Elissa Gershowitz
OUT OF THE BOX

Week in Review, June 17th-21st
by Horn Book
More
RECOMMENDED
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?