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Top 10 YA Science Fiction Books
Readers of young adult science fiction are used to the world ending. In the wake of The Hunger Games (and, to a somewhat lesser extent, The Giver), dystopian worlds have dominated the genre. The sky may be the limit, but not many characters are going there yet.
Our hunt for the best YA sci-fi books on Goodreads reflects this partiality to the post-apocalypse. We set the bar high, only including books with at least a 4.0 average rating. The result? A sometimes grim, always thrilling peek into the future—where young women and men have the power to change their fates.
How long will dystopia continue its YA reign? Already the tides are shifting, as Veronica Roth ditches the end of the world for space travel with her Carve the Mark series and Marie Lu seeks to put a cyberpunk twist on The Hunger Games with her upcoming Warcross.
Check out readers' top 10 YA sci-fi books and let us know how many you've read in the comments!
by Suzanne Collins
What to look forward to in the future: distasteful reality television!
To save her sister, Katniss willingly enters the Hunger Games, an annual televised event where 24 children must fight to the death.
by Veronica Roth
What to look forward to in the future: a life-changing personality test!
Welcome to the Chicago of the future, a city where everyone is divided into five factions based on one aptitude test they take as teens.
by Lois Lowry
What to look forward to in the future: the absence of color!
Jonas' world shifts from utopian bliss to dystopian dread when he becomes his society's Receiver of Memory.
by James Dashner
What to look forward to in the future: puzzles that can kill you!
In the center of a towering, ever-shifting stone maze, a group of children must figure out how to escape—and how to survive.
by Marissa Meyer
What to look forward to in the future: cyborg heroines!
A sixteen-year-old cyborg tries to save her stepsister in this futuristic update on the classic Cinderella tale.
by Marie Lu
What to look forward to in the future: perpetual war!
After a brutal murder, a military prodigy and the country's most wanted criminal form an uneasy alliance to uncover the truth.
by Rick Yancey
What to look forward to in the future: waves of misery!
As one of Earth's last survivors, Cassie knows she must stay alone to survive…until a mysterious boy shows her a different way.
by Tahereh Mafi
What to look forward to in the future: a literal kiss of death!
Accused of murder because of her fatal touch, Juliette struggles to understand if she possesses a gift or a curse.
by Neal Shusterman
What to look forward to in the future: forced organ donation!
Risa, Lev, and Connor band together to avoid "unwounding," a legal process where all of a person's organs are transplanted into different donors.
by Alexandra Bracken
What to look forward to in the future: a disease with super side effects!
After Ruby escapes a government rehabilitation camp, she discovers a safe haven for other kids with frightening abilities.
What's your favorite YA sci-fi read? Share it with us in the comments.
See the complete coverage of Sci-Fi & Fantasy Week including:
Top 50 Science Fiction Books on Goodreads
Top 10 YA Fantasy Books
The Martian's Andy Weir Picks Space Colonization Sci-Fi
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Sam
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Aug 02, 2017 11:26AM
Another really good series (although the first book was the best one) is Life As We Knew It (the Mooncrash series) by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
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I've read five of them and the others are on my TBR list!
My faves Cinder &The Darkest Minds but I have read many of these!
Ahem... Excuse me... but where's tHE CHAOS WALKING TRILOGY, FOR GOD'S SAKE?!
divergent ı love divergent
Just a few suggestions...Fahrenheit 451, We, 1984, and Brave New World. They are all stand alone classic dystopian.
Only two of these, my favourite dystopian set in the far future is The Phoenix Legacy by M K Wren, in fact probably my favourite books overall. Sorry didn't realise this was a YA list, though some of the Phoenix Legacy could be treated as such looking at some of these.
6 out of 10, and all the others are on my tbr list
I've read 6 out of 10. Interesting that this list has a lot of dystopian.
I haven't read any of these but do want to read at least 4, and that's1. The Maze Runner
2. The 5th Wave
(which I own both on Audible, just haven't gotten around to reading it.)
3.Divergent
4.Shatter Me
"Normally if I can't get into a book I'll listen to it on audible because I can read it quicker lol)."
8 out of 10! Legend is definitely my favorite and the whole trilogy is 5 out of 5 stars (especially the last one "Champion")
6/10 with The 5th wave dnfMy favorite was Unwind, I finished the last book a few months ago.
I've technically read 4/10. I LOVE dystopian novels. Why can't that be it's own genre that I can search now??????
Umm... none of them.... But I have seen The Giver and The Hunger Games movies. But I often read older books or I try to dive into lesser known series (e.g. Scorched by Mari Mancusi--sci-fi/fantasy cross-over). I am far from your usual "YA" ;)
Jennifer wrote: "Just a few suggestions...Fahrenheit 451, We, 1984, and Brave New World. They are all stand alone classic dystopian."Agree! Read Brave New World in high school, and Fahrenheit 451 is my favourite dystopia!!
It is interesting to see what people are saying about these books and looking at my opinion on them in regards to others. I have not read all of these books, but most. Legend is my list favorite that I have read and many people are raving, which I find very interesting. The Fifth Wave receives a significant amount of hate, yet it is one of my all time favorites. It has so many great lines. The Giver and the Darkest Minds are also incredible. And Maze Runner! I would like to see The Vault of Dreamers on this list.
krazikrys wrote: "I've technically read 4/10. I LOVE dystopian novels. Why can't that be it's own genre that I can search now??????"You may find this page usual for more Dystopian:
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/dyst...
Yey! Unwind in top 10 :D Everybody should read this book.
Not much can beat Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion, a 2003 Newbery Honor book. Of the books listed in this blog, The Hunger Games is my favorite, followed closely by Neal Shusterman's Unwind.
The Hunger Games is number 1 and Divergent is number 2? Then there is no hope for this genre.*walks away*
I haven't read any of these but most of them are on my TBR list.
4/10 AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! I have literally the worst collection of books *cries hysterically*
I read The Hunger Games, The Giver, Cinder and Legend.
Not really a fan of most of these books tbh. THG was original and genre-defining when it came out, spawning tonnes of copycats with similar concepts, but many of these other novels in the lists are just spinoffs capitalising on its success. The Giver being the exception, of course, as a classic dystopia. But I've always found Divergent badly overrated, riddled with tropes, and built on a laughably dumb premise.
Ender's Game is no longer in vogue, but is still one of the best. Also, Citizen of the Galaxy, by Heinlein. Zoe's Tale, by John Scalzi, is also good. Replay, by Ken Grimwood, is good but not actually SciFi. Stranger in a Strange Land is good for older teens, as is Red Mars. Nation by Terry Pratchett is good, but more fantasy than SciFi. And of course, there's The Martian by Andy Weir.
I've read none of these and... they all seem so bleak that I really have no interest in most of them. Cinder is the only one that I've had any interest in possibly reading.
I'm surprised there aren't more classics on this list! Ray Bradbury, 1984, Brave New World etc.
