Teenage Wastelands: A Guide to Dystopian Young Adult Fiction

by Sherri L Smith, The Great Courses

Fiction geared toward young adults has been thriving over the past several decades. And while young adult (YA) fiction contains many genres and subgenres, dystopian fiction has become one of its definitive storytelling modes, producing not just best-selling books but also expanding into film, television, and more. What is it about dystopia that makes it so beloved by readers? Why has this dark and often cynical take on the future become a literary and publishing juggernaut? And what makes younger readers so particularly enamored of it?

In the six lectures of Teenage A Guide to Dystopian Young Adult Fiction, award-winning YA author Sherri L. Smith will show you why dystopian stories have become so successful and why they continue to inspire. As you trace the history of dystopian stories and dive into some of YA’s most influential tales of the future, you’ll see why these often dark and challenging works have such a hold on the imagination. From The Giver to The Hunger Games to Orleans, dystopian tales allow us to grapple with hard questions and consider how we want to live—both now and in the future.

While adult dystopian stories are often pessimistic, YA fiction offers something a little hope. Speculative fiction—of which dystopia is just one of many subgenres—allows readers to explore all sorts of “what if?” questions. For younger readers, there is perhaps no greater “what if” than the future itself and its many possibilities. While new genres and stories are always on the rise, competing with dystopia’s hold on the young adult imagination, you’ll find that the complex mixture of darkness and optimism that defines these tales continues to thrive as we seek answers to life’s great “what ifs.”

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Education, Dystopia

3 pages, Audible Audio

Published March 13, 2025

Reviews

[Ericka Clou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun review of some young adult dystopian books.

[Tara Cignarella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teenage Wastelands with Shetti L. Smith
Audio Version
Overall Grade: C+
Information: C
Writing/Organization: C
Narration: B
Best Aspect: A few books I never heard of were talked about and I may read them.
Worst Aspect: Lots of info I already knew and the author pushed her own book the most.
Recommend: Maybe.
Free with Audible

[Dave Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

A (Limited) Guide to (Recent) Dystopian Young Adult Fiction
...and a big plug for the professor's own book.

This thing is Short, a little over two hours. It is brief, citing only a few examples of each type: Man vs Nature - superNatural / Man vs Society / Man vs Technology / Man vs Man. The lecturer Sherri L Smith admits that she was forced to leave out more than she included due to time constraints. Yet she somehow found the time to include her own book from 2013.
This is not what I was expecting when I picked it up, but it might be more of what I needed than what I wanted. I was expecting a list of books I'd already read, and someone telling me why they were great.
What I got was a list of books I'd never heard of* and why they are relevant. (* except for the Hunger Games. Yes I've heard of the Hunger Games) Also, the only mention of Grimdark was in relation to Warhammer 40K, and even that only as a roleplaying game, no mention of the hundreds of 'books' set in that universe. Yes, realistically I can not expect the professor to list each and every dystopian book ever written, but to omit the mention of Grimdark (hate it as much as I do) in a lecture about Dystopian Fiction makes it seem like the lecturer is out of the loop. (but if anything were to be omitted on purpose, I can think or nothing more worthy)

Big Surprise! at the end, when she delves into the opposite of Dystopian fiction, She give a shout out to Travis Baldree Legends & Lattes! While noting that sales of Dystopian novels have been down just lately when compared to historical norms. (Hummmmm. I wonder why?)
So yeah, IF you are looking for reading list suggestions that come with a history of literature and some explainers about what is / isn't this genre or that genre, you could do much worse, and it won't take much of your time.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

You may not have noticed it, but dystopian literature directed at young people is all the rage these days. You seem to bump into another one every time you turn around. But these are not your father's dystopias and Sherri L. Smith explains why.

Adult dystopias are very dark and usually end in defeat for the protagonists. Think 1984 where our hero learns to love Big Brother. But for youths, dystopian literature often ends with hope, making it a more satisfying reading experience. Smith also convincingly argues that the other elements of dystopia all correspond to a teenager's desire to exercise some basic freedom. So, there are always significant societal controls and at least one rebellious person trying at first to make sense of it all and finally to bring the rules crashing down.

This was a very fun set of lectures which I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Alie James · Rating 1 out of 5]

Positives: You can listen to this in a few hours and it was free! I did look at a few of the titles I had not heard of before and may check them out.
Negatives: I would say the points made about dystopian YA novels were fairly self-evident and less than impressive. Even the summaries were fairly trite. As other reviewers have pointed out there is quite a bit of self-promotion, and I would not say I learned much and was disappointed in the lack fo content and insightfulness. It really is a great topic and could have been done better.

[Hunter Ross · Rating 1 out of 5]

Super short.Honestly it just felt more like a YouTube channel rehash of some YA novels with a healthy dose of self promotion. There were a few themes the person put forward but I did not really learn anything and would not label this a Great Courses lecture series. Again, just some summaries and a few cursory and not well fleshed out ideas. The summaries were super basic and I have seen better on YouTube.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a listen, especially since I needed a break from what I was reading. I honestly wanted more depth/discussion, but I appreciate some of the suggested books that I havent read. We'll see how those turn out!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

So enjoyed this book/lecture series and discovered some new YA dystopia fiction to enjoy

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and found some new dystopian books to check out.

[Inna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Very informative and detailed.

[Cloak88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting!

More-so because I've read or at least heard of most of the books discussed.

Review to follow

[GoBeIt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thoughtful overview!