unusual utopia/dystopia

[D.M.]

Also

The Green Child by Herbert Read
John Christopher's books, like The Death of Grass, The Lotus Caves, and The Long Winter
Arslan by M.J Engh.
Never Let Me Go by Kashuo Ishigoro

[Ari]

Bats of the Republic: An Illuminated Novel is only half dystopian so if you're ok with historical fiction as well I'd recommend it.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Terranauts - 8 adults, scientists, living together under a biosphere for 2 years. This is more realistic fiction than utopia/dystopia genre, but the idea behind it is kind of utopian, and some aspects of it are rather dystopian.

[Courtney]

I'm reading The Last One. It starts off with a survival contest between 12 people. The story alternates between the beginning of the contest and a few weeks later when the main character is alone. The main character is coming across all of these horrific things thinking it's part of the game. It's not part of the game. What she doesn't know is a pandemic started while she was cutoff from the world.

A lot of people compare it to Station Eleven.

[Michael]

I'm not sure if it exactly qualifies for what you seek - but you might enjoy M. K. Wren's A Gift Upon the Shore. Post-apocalyptic, but to me, it's always seemed dystopian. Also personally threatening, as it features a group that sees books as terrible things that should be burned, shades of Fahrenheit 451!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Wall

[Elena]

oryx and crake by margaret atwood
main character living in dystopian future, all of humanity gone except him and some tribe of partly human creatures he has to take care of. he has flashbacks to his childhood (which is also a dystopian future but different situation and humans were alive).

really interesting ideas of religion, he becomes sort of the prophet of that tribe, telling them how things work, where they came from, who is their creator, etc

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

[Elena]

Check out The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

civilizations built after a zombie apocalypse

[El]

None of these are YA, but...

Dystopia:
-The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstaya
-Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
-A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

Utopia:
-The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You by Dorothy Bryant
-The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Orphan Master's Son

[Mandy]

Days Like This was quite a refreshing YA dystopia.

Wither is one of my favourites but may be a little too predictable.

I Am Legend was very ground-breaking at the time.

Mortal Engines is a steampunk/dystopia with a difference.

Munmun is one of the weirdest dystopias I have ever read but very good.

Scythe is a new one by the author of Unwind

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

[Nora]

You might like Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace