Half a Century of English-Language Young Adult Dystopias
1960s
The Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle (1962-1989)
The City Underground (a.k.a. Surreal 3000) by Suzanne Martel (1963)
Legend of Lost Earth by Hope Campbell (1963)
The Changes Trilogy by Peter Dickinson (1968-1970)
Dark Piper by Andre Norton (1968)
The Tripods Series by Samuel Youd (as John Christopher) (1968-1988) (read)
The Day of the Drones by A.M. Lightner (1969)
1970s
Earth Times Two by Pamela Reynolds (1970)
The Hydronauts Series by Carl L. Biemiller (1970-1974)
The Incredible Tide by Alexander Key (1970)
The Sword of the Spirits Trilogy by Samuel Youd (as John Christopher) (1970-1972)
Andra by Louise Lawrence (1971)
The Far Side of Evil by Sylvia Engdahl (1971, revised edition 2003)
The Guardians by Samuel Youd (as John Christopher) (1971)
Out There by Adrien Stoutenburg (1971)
Sleep Two, Three, Four! A Political Thriller by John Neufeld (1971)
Time Gate by John Jakes (1972)
The Endless Pavement by Jacqueline Jackson and William Perlmutter (1973)
The Morrow Duology by H.M. Hoover (1973, 1976)
House of Stairs by William Sleator (1974) (read)
Outside by Andre Norton (1974)
The Pale Invaders by G.R. Crosher (as G.R. Kestavan) (1974)
Wild Jack by by Samuel Youd (as John Christopher) (1974) (read)
Conversations by Barry Malzberg (1975)
The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson (1975)
No Man's Land by Simon Watson (1975)
No Night Without Stars by Andre Norton (1975)
Noah's Castle by John Rowe Townsend (1975)
Odyssey from River Bend by Tom McGowan (1975)
Ransome Revisited and The Travelling Man by Elisabeth Mace (1975, 1976)
Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien (1975) (read)
City of Darkness by Ben Bova (1976)
Kennaquhair by Ruth Hooker (1976)
The Missing Person's League by Frank Bonham (1976)
The Delikon by H.M. Hoover (1977)
Empty World by Samuel Youd (as John Christopher) (1977)
I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier (1977)
The Shadow of the Gloom-World by Roger Eldridge (1977)
Survival Planet: A Novel of the Future by Arthur Tofte (1977)
The Ennead by Jan Mark (1978)
Jack-in-the-Box Planet by Robert Hoskins (1978)
The Justice Trilogy by Virginia Hamilton (1978-1981)
Keep Calm (a.k.a. When the City Stopped) by Joan Phipson (1978)
The Tomorrow City by Monica Hughes (1978)
A Quest for Orion and Tower of the Stars by Rosemary Harris (1978, 1980)
The Awakening Water by G.R. Crosher (as G.R. Kesteven) (1979)
Beyond the Dark River by Monica Hughes (1979)
Dark Wing by Carl West and Katherine MacLean (1979)
The Forever Formula by Frank Bonham (1979)
1980s
The Creatures (a.k.a. King Creature, Come) by John Rowe Townsend (1980)
A Rag, A Bone, and Hank of Hair by Nicholas Fisk (1980)
Red Zone by Tom Browne (1980)
This Time of Darkness by H.M. Hoover (1980)
The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh (1981)
The S.I.L.V.E.R. Series by Tanith Lee (1981, 2005)
The Voyage Begun by Nancy Bond (1981)
The Vandal by Ann Schlee (1981)
An Alien Music by Annabel and Edgar Johnson (1982)
The DNA Dimension, Fusion Factor (also published as It's Up to Us), Zanu, and Me, Myself & I by Carol Matas (1982, 1986, 1987)
The Huntsman Trilogy by Douglas Hill (1982-1984)
The Last Children of Schewenborn (also spelled Schevenborn) by Gudrun Pausewang (1983)
Waiting for the End of the World by Lee Harding (1983)
After the Bomb and Week One by Gloria Miklowitz (1984, 1987)
Brother in the Land by Robert Swindells (1984)
The Colsec Series by Douglas Hill (1984-1985)
The Danger Quotient by Annabel and Edgar Johnson (1984)
The Devil on My Back and The Dream Catcher by Monica Hughes (1984, 1986)
Futuretrack 5 by Robert Westall (1984)
Guardians of Time by Peter Baltensperger (1984)
The Shepherd Moon by H.M. Hoover (1984)
Beyond the Future by Johanne Masse (1985)
Children of the Dust by Louise Lawrence (1985)
Earthchange by Clare Cooper (1985)
Quest Beyond Time by Tony Morphett (1985)
Strange Tomorrow by Jean E. Karl (1985)
The Time Keeper Trilogy by Barbara Bartholomew (1985)
The Winter Trilogy by Pamela F. Service (1985-2008)
Wolf of Shadows by Whitley Strieber (1985)
The Keeper by Barry Faville (1986)
The Others by Alison Prince (1986)
Taronga by Victor Kelleher (1986)
The Fire Brats Series by Barbara Siegel, Scott Siegel, and Barbara Steiner (1987-1988)
The Makers by Victor Kelleher (1987)
Orvis (a.k.a. Journey Through the Empty) by H.M. Hoover (1987)
The Paperchaser and The Catalyst by Penny Hall (1987, 1989)
The Sword and the Dream Duology by Janice Elliott (1987, 1988)
The Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody (1987-2008, ongoing)
Cityscape by Frances Thomas (1988)
Escape to the Overworld by Nicole Luiken (1988)
Eva by Peter Dickinson (1988)
The Lake at the End of the World by Caroline Macdonald (1988)
Children of Time by Deborah Moulton (1989)
The Glimpses by Laurence Staig (1989)
I Feel Like the Morning Star by Gregory Maguire (1989)
The Last War by Martyn Godfrey (1989)
Plague 99 (a.k.a. Plague) and Come Lucky April (a.k.a. After the Plague) by Jean Ure (1989, 1992)
Why Weeps the Brogan? by Hugh Scott (1989)
1990s
Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes (1990)
Smart Rats by Thomas Baird (1990)
The Survival Squad by Floyd Priddle (1990)
A Time of Darkness by Sherryl Jordan (1990)
The Eye Witness by Caroline Macdonald (1991)
Scatterlings by Isobelle Carmody (1991)
The Crystal Drop by Monica Hughes (1992)
The Dark Future Series by Laurence James (1992)
Dead Water Zone by Kenneth Oppel (1992)
Future Thaw by Audrey O'Hearn (1992)
River Rats by Caroline Stevermer (1992)
The Baby and the Fly Pie by Melvin Burgess (1993)
Guardian of the Dark by Beverley Spencer (1993)
The Giver Trilogy by Lois Lowry (1993-2004) (read)
The Last Oasis by Sue Pace (1993)
Winter of Fire by Sherryl Jordan (1993)
The Disinherited (a.k.a. The Patchwork People) by Louise Lawrence (1994)
The Electric Kid by Garry Kilworth (1994)
The Parkland Series by Victor Kelleher (1994-1996)
Time Ghost by Welwyn Wilton Katz (1994)
The Tomorrow Series by John Marsden (1994-1999) (read) and The Ellie Chronicles (2003-2006)
The His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman (1995-2000) (*read Golden Compass)
Fall-Out by Gudrun Pausewang (1995)
Foundling (a.k.a. Found) by June Oldham (1995)
Galax-Arena and Terra-Farma by Gillian Rubenstein (1995, 2001)
Waterbound by Jane Stemp (1995)
Cave Rats by Kerry Greenwood (1997)
The Scavenger's Tale by Rachel Anderson (1997)
Shade's Children by Garth Nix (1997)
The Virtual War Chronologs by Gloria Skurzynski (1997-2006)
The Ark Trilogy by Stephanie S. Tolan (1998-ongoing)
The Denials of Kow-Ten by Jenny Robson (1998)
Evan's Voice by Sallie Lowenstein (1998)
Forbidden Memories by Jamila Gavin (1998)
Off the Road by Nina Bawden (1998)
Originator by Claire Carmichael (1998)
The Shadow Children Sequence by Margaret Peterson Haddix (1998-2006)
Bloodtide and Bloodsong by Melvin Burgess (1999, 2005)
Cloning Miranda, The Second Clone, and The Dark Clone by Carol Matas (1999, 2001, 2005)
The Copper Elephant by Adam Rapp (1999)
The Cure by Sonia Levitin (1999)
Fabricant by Claire Carmichael (1999)
The Hermit Thrush Sings by Susan Butler (1999)
Star Split by Kathryn Lasky (1999)
The Aughts
Floodland by Marcus Sedgwick (2000)
The Heaven and Earth Trilogy by Richard Harland (2000-2003)
Incognito by Claire Carmichael (2000)
The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick (2000)
Songs of Power by Hilari Bell (2000)
The White Fox Chronicles by Gary Paulsen (2000)
Hole in the Sky by Pete Hautman (2001)
Memory Boy by Will Weaver (2001)
Mortal Engines Quartet and two prequels (a.k.a. The Hungry City Chronicles) by Philip Reeve (2001-2006, 2009, 2011)
The Noughts and Crosses Series by Malorie Blackman (2001-2008)
The Remnants Series by K.A. Applegate (2001-2003)
This Side of Paradise by Steven L. Layne (2001)
Violet Eyes and Silver Eyes (sequel Angel Eyes pending) by Nicole Luiken (2001)
The Wintering Trilogy by Stephen Bowkett (2001-2002)
Bootleg by Alex Shearer (2002)
Feed by M.T. Anderson (2002)
The Fire-Us Trilogy by Jennifer Armstrong and Nancy Butcher (2002-2003)
Green Boy by Susan Cooper (2002)
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (2002)
The Books of Ember by Jeanne Duprau (2003-2008, ongoing)
The Dirt Eaters by Dennis Foon (2003)
Green Angel and Green Witch by Alice Hoffman (2003, 2010) (read)
The Lionboy Trilogy by Zizou Corder (2003-2006)
The Silver Sequence by Cliff McNish (2003-2005)
The Bar Code Tattoo and The Bar Code Rebellion by Suzanne Weyn (2004, 2006) (read)
The Big Empty Series by J.B. Stephens (2004-2005)
Bringing Reuben Home by Glenda Millard (2004)
Epic and Saga by Conor Kostick (2004, 2006)
The Galahad Series (The Comet's Curse, The Web of Titan, and The Cassini Code) by Dom Testa (2004-2007)
Flux and Fixed by Beth Goobie (2004, 2005)
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (2004) (read)
The Pack by Tom Pow (2004)
Sharp North and Blown Away by Patrick Cave (2004, 2005)
Sleepwalking by Nicola Morgan (2004)
The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (2004)
Thinner Than Thou by Kit Reed (2004)
The Truesight Trilogy by David Stahler, Jr. (2004-2007)
Useful Idiots by Jan Mark (2004)
The Destiny of Linus Hoppe and The Second Life of Linus Hoppe by Anne-Laure Bondoux (2005)
The Diary of Pelly D and Cherry Heaven by L.J. Adlington (2005, 2007)
The Goodness Gene by Sonia Levitin (2005)
The Hunted by Alex Shearer (2005)
Maddigan's Fantasia by Margaret Mahy (2005)
Pure by Karen Krossing (2005)
Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083 by Andrea White (2005)
The Secret Under My Skin and The Raintree Rebellion by Janet McNaughton (2005, 2006)
Siberia by Ann Halam (2005)
Stolen Voices by Ellen Dee Davidson (2005)
The Traces Series by Malcolm Rose (2005-2o08, ongoing)
The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld (2005-2007) (read)
GemX by Nicky Singer (2006)
Ads R Us (a.k.a. Leaving Simplicity) by Claire Carmichael (2006)
The Caretaker Trilogy by David Klass (2006, 2008, ongoing)
Life As We Knew It, The Dead and the Gone, and This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer (2006, 2008, 2010) (read)
Mergers by Steven L. Layne (2006)
Rash by Pete Hautman (2006)
The Six of Hearts Series by Jack Heath (2006-ongoing)
Winter Song (also released as Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat (2006)
The Atherton Trilogy by Patrick Carman (2007-2009)
The Declaration and The Resistance by Gemma Malley (2007, 2008)
Escape from Genopolis and Fearless by T.E. Berry-Hart (2007, 2009)
Fearless by Tim Lott (2007)
First Light by Rebecca Stead (2007)
Hybrids by David Thorpe (2007)
Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher (2007, 2008) (read)
The Inferior by Peadar ó Guilín (2007) (read)
The Rule of Claw by John Brindley (2007)
The Silenced by James DeVita (2007)
Silverhorse by Lene Kaaberbøl (2007)
Titanic 2020: Cannibal City by Colin Bateman (2007)
Tug of War by Catherine Forde (2007)
Unwind by Neal Shusterman (2007) (read)
The Witness by James Jauncey (2007)
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson (2008)
Bad Faith by Gillian Philip (2008)
The Carbon Diaries 2015 and The Carbon Diaries 2017 by Saci Lloyd (2008, 2010 forthcoming)
The Cure by Michael Coleman (2008)
The Compound by S.A. Bodeen (2008) (read)
Daylight Runner by Oisín McGann (2008)
Exodus, Zenith, and Aurora by Julie Bertagna
Gone, Hunger, Lies, and Plague by Michael Grant (2008-2010) (read 1 & 2)
The Grassland Trilogy by David Ward (2008-2010)
The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (2008-2010) (read)
In the Company of Whispers by Sallie Lowenstein (2008)
The Chaos Walking Trilogy (The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, and Monsters of Men) by Patrick Ness (2008, 2009) (read 1 & 2)
The Last Free Cat by Jon Blake (2008)
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2008)
The Lost Art by Simon Morden (2008)
Neptune's Children by Bonnie Dobkin (2008)
The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman (2008) (read)
Reavers Ransom (also released as Flood Child and Raiders Ransom) and Flood and Fire by Emily Diamand (2008, 2010) (read 1)
Shift by Charlotte Agell (2008)
The Sky Inside and The Walls Have Eyes by Clare B. Dunkle (2008, 2009)
Streams of Babel and Fire Will Fall by Carol Plum-Ucci (2008, 2010) (read)
Truancy, Truancy: Origins, and Truancy City by Isamu Fukui (2008-2010)
Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner (2009) (read)
Candor by Pam Bachorz (2009) (read)
The Enemy by Charlie Higson (2009)
The Farwalker's Quest by Joni Sensel (2009)
The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Dead-Tossed Waves, The Dark and Hollow Places (Mar. 22, 2011) by Carrie Ryan (read 1)
Furnace: Lockdown, Furnace: Solitary, and Furnace: Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith (2009) (read 1)
Genesis by Bernard Beckett (2009) (read)
Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines (2009) (read)
Legend by John Brindley (2009)
Libyrinth by Pearl North (2009)
Lifegame by Alison Allen-Gray (2009)
The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure - 2011 by James Dashner (2009, 2010) (read)
Pastworld by Ian Beck (2009)
Skinned, Crashed, and Wired by Robin Wasserman (2009-2010)
A Small Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard (2009) (read)
Vulture’s Gate (also released as Vulture's Wake) by Kirsty Murray (2009) (read)
Witch and Wizard, The Gift (W&W2) by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet (2009) (read)
X-isle by Steve Augarde (2009)
Contemporary
Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien (2010) (read)
Blackout by Sam Mills (2010)
The Clone Codes by Patricia C. McKissack, Frederick L. McKissack, and John McKissack (2010)
Dark Life (sequel "Rip Tide") by Kat Falls (read)
Empty by Suzanne Weyn (2010) (read)
Epitaph Road by David Patneaude (2010)
For the Win by Cory Doctorow (2010)
The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen (2010) (read)
Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder (2010)
Last Midnight by Parker Peevyhouse (2010)
The Line (sequel "Away", September 15th 2011) by Teri Hall 2010 (read)
Matched, "Crossed" (Matched 2) Reached (Matched 3) by Ally Condie (read)
Nomansland by Lesley Hauge (2010) (read)
The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones (2010) (read)
Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony (2010)(read)
Rot and Ruin - Bits & Pieces (Rot & Ruin, 5) by Jonathan Maberry (2010) (read)
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010) (read)
The Unidentified by Rae Mariz (2010)
We by John Dickinson (2010)
Delirium by Lauren Oliver (2011) (read)
The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann (2011)
The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher (2011) (read)
Perfect by Peter Lerangis (2012)