Growing up I was such a big fan of Hunger Games and Divergent. Granted I didn’t get to them until I was in high school but I’m so happy that they came around when I was young. It was so beneficial to me to be able to read books that actually have strong women. I have never been a strong person. At least I don’t feel like I have ever been. So, it was nice getting to read a book where there were women my age that are actually strong. Seeing (or rather reading) that sort of thing made me want to be as strong as they are. I wanted to learn and be able to kick butt. Because of that I wanted to create a post of books like hunger games and divergent for those who want more!
Now I just need that sort of thing as an adult! I hope these are the type of books that you would want to read and would inspire you as they did me.
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What type of books are they?
Hunger Games and Divergent are dystopian novels. What this means is that they take place in our world and they can take place in any time frame. The only thing that’s really different is that the government is in more control than what it is now. Not only that but it will only take a small thing to really tip over the more common people and create a revolution.
Books like Hunger Games and Divergent
I want to state this now before I really get into this list is that these books aren’t exactly like Hunger Games and Divergent. They have a lot of the same qualities and some similarities. I just don’t want my readers to go into the story thinking it will be exactly the same.
Recruitment
In Valta, no matter when you were born everyone is assigned the same birthday. The day is November 1 and that is the day when the government declared war on the Eastern Order. When you turn seventeen, the recruiters come to take you away. After that, no one ever hears from you again. Today Kress is sixteen and tomorrow she’ll be taken. The good news is that her best friend will be taken with her. The only downside is that the recruitment isn’t what they expected.
This is the first time I’m hearing of this one. It does sound good though. It kind of makes me wonder why exactly the government would give everyone the same birthday. I get that it’s kind of a power trip and the anniversary of when they “succeed” at something. Part of me wants to know if there is potentially another reason. Does it make it easier to keep up with everyone?
I do wish that our library had the book so I could read it!
Legend
I reviewed Legend a while back because I kept seeing it all over TikTok. I know I know TikTok gives you some of the craziest recommendations. To be honest most of the recommendations that are on there are books that I really don’t care anything about. A lot of them are super spicy romance books and I don’t care anything about it. Not that there’s anything wrong with spicy romance but it’s not my cup of tea.
But I’m a huge fan of dystopian novels and how a lot of them strive for girl power. They empowered me a lot back in high school and I really needed that.
Legend follows two characters. One lives in the bad part of town while the other is privileged. Something happens that intertwines their lives together and they realize that their government has them duped.
Just an FYI this is a young adult novel but if you do enjoy books such as Hunger Games and Divergent then you may like this one as well.
The Testing
The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.
Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies—trust no one.
This is the first time I’m hearing about The Testing but I do want to check it out. The premise of it sounds promising! The Testing seems like one of the scarier dystopian novels and will make you think.
Delirium
For me, Delirium has such an interesting concept. It’s crazy to think about the government controlling who you can “love”. You are picked who you are able to marry and how many children you can have. Technically you are given a choice of who to marry but you aren’t given many choices.
I know I would hate the idea of having limited decisions. Then again something like this might better help those who want to get married to pick a better partner. This is a trilogy by Lauren Oliver and takes you down a road that’s thrilling and wondering what is going to happen next.
This is one of Lauren Oliver’s books that I wish would get a movie but the book has been out so long I don’t know if it would do it any good anymore.
Matched
Matched is one that has been on TikTok quite a few times. But!! I did not buy this book because of TikTok. Matched is a book that I had bought a long time ago and just haven’t gotten the chance to read yet.
This is a story that deals with being picked out who you marry as well. On top of that, you are picked where you work as well. Cassia has always trusted their decision that is until she’s looking at the matching screen and a quick glimpse of someone else shows up. At first, she thinks it’s a glitch until she starts thinking more of it.
To me, this is another interesting concept. I don’t know if I would like the government to have that much control though.
What do you guys think about this sort of plot?
The Gender Game
In Violet Bate’s world, a toxic lake divides land by gender. Women rule the east. Men rule the west. Ever since her brother disappeared, Violet’s life has been nothing but the anger she struggles to control. She’s already a prisoner in her own nation but now she’s being sentenced to death for her crimes. In order to stay alive, she has to enter the kingdom where the men rule. She cannot break the rules here if she wants to stay alive. When she’s forced into even more danger she has to sacrifice many things.
So, I have actually seen this book around a lot. I’m not really sure why I haven’t gotten around to it yet though. After reading the description the premise does sound really good.
I wonder how our world would deal with something like this. Would the women’s kingdom be a lot better than the men’s? Do they ever talk to each other?
I hope you enjoyed this post about books like Hunger Games and Divergent as much as I enjoyed creating it. Let me know in the comments if there is anything I miss!
If you enjoyed this post then you might also like YA dystopian novels.
