Dystopian fiction lets older kids experience all the scariness of the worst what-if scenarios — monsters, zombies, the end of humanity — in a safe, controlled way. Even better: these books allow your tween or teen to imagine themselves as the hero who survives and saves the day.
The best part is, there’s an end-of-the-world read for every taste and preference. Whether your young readers are into eldritch abominations, undead ghouls, or reality TV-inspired metaphors about the collapse of society, we’ve got you covered. These are some of the best children’s books with dystopian themes.
The Hunger Games
No dystopian book list would be complete without The Hunger Games series. Often imitated, never equaled, Suzanne Collins’ epic series found instant fans after the 2008 debut of the first novel, The Hunger Games. Young readers, their parents, and YA fans of all ages became engrossed in the saga of Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old survivor who volunteers as a tribute in the deadly games to save her sister’s life. She expects a death sentence, but instead becomes an accidental hero and figure of resistance.
In the nation of Panem lies a shining Capitol, surrounded by 12 outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them to send two tributes — one boy and one girl — between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death broadcasted live for all to see. And the odds are never in the tributes' favor.
All five of Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games novels were equally popular and critically acclaimed. It's easy to see why: Collins never talks down to her readers. She trusts them to be able to handle heartbreak and struggle.
Need new copies to replace your worn-out originals? Buy them separately or get the trilogy in either a deluxe or illustrated edition.
Plus, read more about the heart-pounding books in the Hunger Games series.
More Deadly Contests With Teen Protagonists
What do you get when you mix reality TV with the end of the world? These dystopian stories featuring heroes who are battling society instead of zombies and ghouls.
Set in the same world as the Mortal Engines series, Thunder City features the adventures of Tamzin Pook, a fighter who has spent most of her young life battling Revenants in the Amusement Arcade. Her only goal: survive another day. That is, until a teacher named Miss Torpenhow seeks Tamzin’s help in saving her city.
In the near-future world of The Kill Factor, affordable housing is buried underground. To escape her subterranean village, Emerson will compete with 49 other contestants in a series of five challenges.
The winner will earn a place in society and a cash prize. The losers will be incarcerated in a maximum-security reform camp on an island – or at least, that’s what the contestants are told. In fact, the island prison is empty, and the defeated players are losing more than just their shot at freedom.
Or, if your teen craves something different: Dive into best-selling coming-of-age books about love.
Zombies, Gods, and Eldritch Horrors
Freida, the protagonist of The Library of Broken Worlds, also lives underground. But her journey will take her deeper into the Library’s winding underground tunnels. Can she uncover the secret of her past and her power and save her new friends?
Sometimes, the creepiest horrors are the ones that seem just a few turns off the normalcy of our reality. In this way, Beholder may be scarier than any other book on our list. Athanasios "Athan" Bakirtzis is used to charming his way through life.
But when he scores an invitation to an exclusive penthouse party, Athan is getting more than he bargained for: A scream, a mysterious stranger who saves him and then disappears, a room full of bodies arranged like a sculpture … and an accusation of murder.
Prefer your literary dead bodies on the move? Get ready for Zombie Season, which envisions an armageddon full of teens who are bored with zombie preparedness drills. (Weirdly realistic and very much how the actual zombie apocalypse would go down.)
The End of the World (But Make It Funny)
And finally, if your children prefer a side of humor with your dystopian fiction, they’ll love It's the End of the World & I'm in My Bathing Suit and Running in Flip-Flops From the End of the World. Aimed at middle-grade readers, these hilarious novels imagine the adventures of a bunch of unsupervised kids during the apocalypse.
Ready to dive into these dystopian reads? Stock up at The Scholastic Store. You can search by subject, author, age, and more.
