Back when I was in high school, it seemed like dystopian novels were on a huge rise. I loved them, and it all started with The Hunger Games. Now, years later, it seems like they are kind of on a rise again especially since we’re getting extensions of the Hunger Games world. Which is why I wanted to create a list of books like The Hunger Games.
I’m so excited about this, though! I loved dystopian novels back then, and I still really enjoy them today as well. It just seems like the world kind of fell out of love with them for a while.
A lot of these are books I have already read, either back in high school or recently, actually. There are a few that I didn’t find out about until last year! Reading them has sparked my love for the genre again, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more now!
Books Like the Hunger Games
These are all books like The Hunger Games in some way or form. There’s only one on this list that I actually haven’t read, but I’m going to try to read it soon. I quite enjoy these, and a few I feel more people should talk about. At least if they are talked about, then it just doesn’t come across my feed much.
But here are 4 books like The Hunger Games that you should add to your TBR!
Delirium
Delirium just so happens to be my favorite on this list of books like The Hunger Games. I remember starting this one, and I could not put it down for the life of me.
But I also really enjoyed a lot of Lauren Oliver‘s books at the time.
Here is what Delirium is about.
Delirium is in an alternate United States, and love is a dangerous disease. When everyone turns eighteen, the government forces them to have a surgery called the Cure. Lena lives with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Portland, Maine, and she’s so ready for the cure for her. She wants a safe and predictable life. Love destroyed her mother, and it’s not going to do the same thing to her.
When she has only ninety-five days left until the surgery, she meets Alex. He’s an exciting boy from the “Wilds,” and he’s able to hide from the government’s radar along with other people. What will happen to Lena if the unthinkable happens and they fall in love?
Warcross
So, Warcross is the one that I read recently, and I don’t know if I managed it, but I completely missed it when it first came out. It’s a little surprising, mostly because this was around the time I was really reading a lot of dystopian novels.
But I got to it now, and I’m glad that I wound up reading it even though it was a lot later.
Here is what Warcross is about.
Millions log into Warcross every day. For them, it isn’t just a game but a way of life. Ten years ago, is when the fan base grew across the globe, and the obsession began. Some are just trying to escape from the world, while others are using it to make money. Emika is struggling to make ends meet. She’s a teenage hacker who works as a bounty hunter and tracks down players who are betting on the game illegally. The bounty hunting world is competitive, though, and her survival hasn’t been easy. To make some fast money, she risks a hack into the opening game of the International Warcross Championships. Instead, she accidentally glitches herself into the action and becomes an overnight sensation.
She’s convinced that she’s going to get arrested. But she’s shocked when she gets a call from Hideo, who just so happens to be a young billionaire and creator of Warcross, with an interesting offer. He needs a spy inside this year’s tournament to figure out a security problem, and he wants to give Emika the job. After accepting, she’s immediately taken to Tokyo and thrown into the world of fame and fortune that’s only ever been in her dreams. During her investigation, though, she begins to uncover a sinister plot that will have major consequences for the entirety of Warcross.
Scythe
Scythe is the only one on this list that I haven’t read yet, but now that he’s coming out with a prequel, I’m picking it up and reading it.
I probably should have read this one a lot sooner than I am, but it hasn’t been on my radar, really. If you’ve read this one, then let me know what you thought about it!
Here is what Scythe is about.
This is a world that has no hunger, no disease, no war, and no misery. People have finally conquered all of those things, and even now have conquered death. Scythes are the only ones who can end a life now. They do it not because they want to, but because those in power order them to keep the population under control.
Citra and Rowan have been picked to apprentice a scythe. It’s a role that neither of them wants. Now they have to master the “art” of killing someone, and they are well aware of the consequences if they fail, which means losing their own life.
Skinned
Skinned is one of the books on the books like The Hunger Games list that was on my radar. I had it on my shelf, but it took me forever to even read it. This is another one that I feel like not many people are aware of.
If you’re one of those people, then please go read this one! It’s really good, and I feel like a lot of people have missed this one.
Here is what Skinned is about.
Downloading promised to change the world. Downloading promised an end to aging, death, and the birth of a new generation. No one ever intended Lia to become a part of it.
On top of that, it wasn’t supposed to ruin her life.
Lia wants to be grateful, and she knows that she should be since she didn’t “die” in the accident. Being downloaded saved her, but it also changed her forever. She can figure out how to deal with being a freak, she can learn to deal with the fear that is now in her parents’ eyes, and how her boyfriend flinches at her touch now. What she can’t deal with is what she knows deep down, and that’s when she looks in the mirror and sees that she’s not the same person.
Maybe she isn’t even a person at all.
Conclusion to books like The Hunger Games
What books do you feel like belong on this list? I’m sure there are a ton that I have missed that are a lot like The Hunger Games. There are even quite a few that I know about that I haven’t included, but those I might add later on down the road.
With that being said, make sure to join our newsletter so that when I do update this, you will be the first to know!