What's your view on the dystopian bandwagon?

[Kayla]

I like some types of dystopian novels. Hate any and all that involve zombies, but that's because i have issues with zombies. I'm reading Divergent right now, which I'm not sure what to think of yet. I didn't like Uglies but I loved XVI and The Hunger Games.

[Christine]

I hope to read Uglies soon and Insurgent. DIVERGENT WAS THE BEST!

[Julia]

I am currently reading Partials and enjoying it very much. It's got characters whose lives I want to keep reading about, a social/ political situation that is murky and multi- layered. And I am curious about what will happen next.

[Christine]

Julia wrote: "I am currently reading Partials and enjoying it very much. It's got characters whose lives I want to keep reading about, a social/ political situation that is murky and multi- layer..."

Sounds like something I should definitey read then!

[[deleted user]]

I actually am becoming quite a dystopian novel fan.
I loved the Giver, The HG, Matched, Delirium... all very, very well-written, and the whole post-apocalyptic and dystopian societies intrigue me.
I will be reading Divergent next!

[Christine]

Carina wrote: "I actually am becoming quite a dystopian novel fan.
I loved the Giver, The HG, Matched, Delirium... all very, very well-written, and the whole post-apocalyptic and dystopian societies intrigue me. ..."

I did not like the Giver because I read it for school, but I liked HG. I plan to read matched and Delirium very soon. Oh and I love Divergent!

[Mic]

Divergent was great. But I didn't like the direction of the storyline during the last chapters. But overall it was amazing. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

OT: I really hope the dystopian genre doesn't turn into the next twilight.

[Christine]

Mic wrote: "Divergent was great. But I didn't like the direction of the storyline during the last chapters. But overall it was amazing. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

OT: I really hope the dy..."

I think it might already have.

[Stephanie]

I'm really picky on dystopians; the world has to make sense to me and the characters have to wrestle with the challenges in believable ways. I know that sounds obvious but it's not always the case! I usually only read this genre if a book is highly recommended. I'm a sucker for good YA contemporaries.

[Christina]

Honestly, I am not too fond of bandwagons in general. Once a couple of authors gain success in a certain genre, every book that follows capitalizes on the same idea. It gets a bit overwhelming at times, does it not?

[Julia]

Christina wrote: It gets a bit overwhelming at times, does it not?

Yes, yes it does. Still reading and loving Partials. The reason I'm loving this one, is that unusually for a YA dystpoian novel, it's hard sf, or rather hard medical sf. Because the MC & her friends work closely with the government, we see how very messed up they are. And we can recognize the seeds of that messed- up- ness in our own present government and society, I think.

[Mandy]

i think all dystopian books are good, espeiclly the ones with danger in them.

[Christine]

Mandy wrote: "i think all dystopian books are good, espeiclly the ones with danger in them."

It's nice to know that someone likes them wholly and completely.

[Christine]

Nicola wrote: "While I definitely prefer this craze over paranormal romance, I haven't read a whole lot of dystopian novels to really get a handle on whether it's a genre I'll wholly enjoy yet. I've read "The Giv..."

Yes, it definitely does get annoying when everyone gets placed into some kind of group!

[T.M.]

Stephanie wrote: "I'm really picky on dystopians; the world has to make sense to me and the characters have to wrestle with the challenges in believable ways. I know that sounds obvious but it's not always the case!..."

I completely agree Stephanie! I love a good Dystopian novel BUT you have to make it believable. That is what i like about them, that i could actually see what i'm reading happening. Its a scarey thrill! Divergent was an excellent example, it may well be my fav. Delirium series by Lauren Oliver is quite good as well. Matched was great but the sequel, crossed didn't impress me.. The Hunger Games though was phenominal; i still get chills when she screams "I VOLUNTEER"!!

[Valencia]

With how the economies in the world are threatening to crash and all the natural disasters and revolutions across the world I think dystopians are right on time. I know a lot of people complain about how the different worlds are portrayed, but in my opinion that isn't always the most important aspect. I think that most of the new dystopians are really a hope for change. In every dystopian I've read since the Hunger Games I realized that I get a lesson from each and every one. Since our world has a good chance of ending up as one of these dystopians it just gives me hope that there are good people in the world with some sense that can save us all. One bad book shouldn't throw you off an entire genre/theme each book is different and has a different effect so it's always best to see each book how it is and nothing more :D

[Stephanie]

Great discussion! I've read a number of YA dystopians, and as a few have commented, the weakest are those that focus on the romance at the expense of a belieavable world. I acutally like the romance aspect, it draws in a different crowd that might be spooked by traditional sci-fi or dystopian, but it doesn't work to throw characters into a poorly constructed world and expect readers to buy it. I only touch dystopians if they have been widely recommended (like Divergent for example).

As for jumping on the bandwagon, most of what's coming out in 2012 was optioned by a publisher in early 201 or 2010, meaning it was written probably 3 or even 4 years ago. I think it's partly agents and publishers who knew Hunger Games was big back then and looking to find more of that, and then later iterations is writers thinking "I could write my own version of this" (*cough* Tyra Banks "Modelland"). There's genre fatigue for sure, but I think we'll still see dystopians for another year or two given how many were probably signed on the last year.

As for what's next: that's always the million dollar question! It seems like contemporary and historical are gaining more interest, and more sci-fi. I'd like to see more thriller/mystery type books like Barry Lyga's "I Hunt Killers." And I'm a sucker for more recent historical. Are any of you craving a 1960s "Mad Men" era YA? Please say yes... :)

[Julia]

Stephanie asked: Are any of you craving a 1960s "Mad Men" era YA? Please say yes... :)

Not me, Stephanie! I was a few years younger than Sally in 1967 and the constrained circumstances of Peggy, Joan, Dawn and even Megan in "Mad Men" are still very real to me.

[David]

I'm completely obsessed with dystopian at the moment lol

[Mina^_^]

I like dystopian books and I don't even purposely pick that genre of book it just happens such as: Across The Universe(which was really good), The Forest of Hands & Teeth(absolutely great) &Rot & Ruin(one word-whoa). but I really like them though they're different and interesting.

Marie wrote: "I hope to read Uglies soon and Insurgent. DIVERGENT WAS THE BEST!"

I really wanted to read Divergent and it seems good. And I advise you to read Uglies. I'm reading it now and to me it was a bit rough in the beginning but later it gets INTERESTING.

[Dystopian]

I don't think it's a "bandwagon." Genre popularity comes and goes. Dystopian fiction has been around for a long time.

As my name probably tips you off, I'm a big fan of a well-written dystopian novel. ;)

[Angie, YA lovin mod!!]

Great discussion!

[David]

Dystopian wrote: "I don't think it's a "bandwagon." Genre popularity comes and goes. Dystopian fiction has been around for a long time.

As my name probably tips you off, I'm a big fan of a well-written dystopia..."

Agree with this completely. Think The Giver, pre-The Hunger Games but still awesome. Anyway, "fads" are good because they spawn new creativity although there may be a bit of muck to wade through sometimes

[Kelly]

I do like dystopias, but...well...these trends have a habit of wearing a good thing out. Like the obvious one, vampires. Okay maybe you disagree with me on that front, as a lot of popular YA is still big on vamps, but no one can argue that they are not the scary, sensual, prowling creatures of the night that they once were.

I love love love love The Hunger Games trilogy. One of my very first book loves was The Giver by Lois Lowry. But I honestly don't like seeing a dozen odd dystopians on the YA shelves when I'm at the bookstore. I do not want to see a sub-genre full of societal and moral implications turned into another (sorry if this offends anyone here) Twilight. I just don't.

Five years ago, I'll bet most people didn't even know what a dystopia was....

[Kelly]

But let me add that the points a lot of people made for the dystopian craze are very valid. One of the things that makes it so effective is the current state of the world. My concerns stem more from pop-culture's tendency to jump on a craze and spit out a multitude of sub-par items to make a profit off of it before the hype inevitably dies down. Especially when it comes to the teenage demographic.

[Christine]

It's true, I didn't know what dystopian was until maybe 2 years ago or a little under that.

[Kim]

Dystopian wrote: "I don't think it's a "bandwagon." Genre popularity comes and goes. Dystopian fiction has been around for a long time...."

Agreed. Books like 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 are all dystopians that have been around forever and are often read in school. I would think they count as YA.

The GoodRead's blog did an interesting piece on dystopians earlier this year. You can find it here:

http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/35...

[[deleted user]]

to me.....the terminology or word Dystopia is new. Books mentioned like 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit were called Science Fiction before Hunger Games and people marketing books started to use the phrase Dystopia.

It seems like whenever there is a book or a series of books that are very successful - you will see many others just like it being printed. Often, they are good and were written at the same time and just now are getting publishers attentions since they seem to hit what their marketing firms are saying is a "hot trend." But then there are those that seem to only be riding on the bandwagon and are often poorly written knockoffs.

What happens though is that the majority of teens will want something different and new instead of reading only one genre. It is the nature of things and is why trends evolve continuously. So the genre of Dystopia is hot right now but it will soon by replaced by something else such as comedy, realistic fiction, horror, or maybe even science fiction in it's purest form.

[Jada]

I like them, but I hate the way there are so many now! The Hunger Games was brilliant, and I actually liked Matched, but dystopians are getting too common... But then again this often happens when movie success is involved....

[Christine]

I just try to not get too caught up in the mania and just read what looks interesting and what I feel like reading, regardless of genre,

[Riya]

So far I am still digging dystopian novels, much better than paranormal romance, in my opinion.

I wonder what the next trend will be??

Paranormal/ urban fantasy is overdone, same with steampunk and now dystopias, what will be next?

[David]

Mariya wrote: "So far I am still digging dystopian novels, much better than paranormal romance, in my opinion.

I wonder what the next trend will be??

Paranormal/ urban fantasy is overdone, same with steampunk a..."

Here are my guesses:

1) Variations on dystopian- like paranormal dystopian. Have you read Angelfall? Pretty awesome and combines angels with dystopian really well. I think we'll see more of this.

2) New Adult books, particularly contemporary. Already this seems to be popping up as the many people that are older than YA crave something with slightly older characters.

[Christine]

Yeah the paranormal dystopian I've been seeing a lot of lately.

[Riya]

David, I haven't read Angelfall yet, but it looks interesting.

And I have been seeing New Adult contemporary books everywhere - I think that's definitely the next big thing.

[Julia]

and are dystopian science fiction novels with a young woman protagonist that take place just a few years into our future. They are harrowing, real novels, perhaps part of why the author, Octavia E. Butler was the first science fiction author to win a MacArthur Genius grant. She saw what was going on with corporations and thought legalized slavery wouldn't be far behind...
It's possible you've heard of her better known novel which is time travel but primarily set in the ante- bellum South .

What is this 'New Adult contemporary books ?'

And hopefully most of my favorite authors Charles de Lint, Emma Bull,Terri Windling, Jane Yolen, Neil Gaiman and their publishers disagree with you, Mariya, that urban fantasy is overdone.

[Teresa]

For me, dystopian books make me feel thankful that we are still loving

[Teresa]

And living, (I didn't mean to auto correct that).
It makes YA books even more exciting than it used to be. Ever since the talk about Global Warming and The End of the world, everyone has been putting there imaginations to work and filtering stories of different eras and times where life was hard to live through or was too good to be true. V.V Thus, it makes better plots which are easier to understand. That's what I like about dystopian books.