a retrospective on teen dystopian books

let's reflect on and discuss the Young Adult Dystopian phase and the rise and fall of all of our favourite hunger games copycats.
00:00 young adult trend cycles
6:26 early YA dystopians
11:57 the hunger games era
15:52 the first hunger games 'copies'
18:19 YA dystopian peak
29:41 trope analysis
34:56 the downfall of YA dystopia
37:00 defending divergent..?
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🌺 a b o u t m e
Hi! My name is Leonie and I am a 25 year old girl from the Netherlands who loves talking about books! From YA to non-fiction to classics, I read it all (although fantasy will always be my fave).
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[@JamesTullos]

The best part of this trend was the increasingly desperate and stupid ways the authors tried to justify teenagers being key to the success or failure of entire countries.

[@mariosblago94]

gold comment from a legend 🤣

[@ChemicalPenguinn]

Oh yes, this.

[@Firemast]

Yeah, the Fifth Wave movie took this to an unpreceded level imho.

[@Aigra]

That is still a big trend and one of the reasons why I didn't like the Poppy Wars trilogy.

[@haechanat236ridinmv4]

This is about the 5th wave right? 😂

[@Tomkatos]

Sometimes a teenager just needs to read a book about a dystopia in which teenagers are the most oppressed group in society lmao. Im sure that it helps process some feelings.

[@callukcraft]

i did not think about that but that makes way more sense now.

[@evieonthetv]

This was a beautiful thing to say. I think you’re absolutely right!

[@sennnia]

Not only the most oppressed, but also worlds kind of absent of adults or at least competent adults. Because now the teens are the ones to solve and save the world. That's probably cathartic and aspirational especially when adults keep telling you you don't understand "the real world" or you're too "idealistic" or whatever. But then you get to prove them wrong.

[@alien777]

Politicly they are actualy opressed. Becouse the politic and he voters are old a d make politic for old people. That is why you get so little money when we are young and would need it to start a family. And so a lot of people wait with that till it is to late and they lost the ilution that a family is what you want. Your stantarts rise and you are less likly to settle with a not ideal relationship.

[@Hello-hello-hello456]

I think Darling in the Franxx does that to some degree. It’s not the best story, but that aspect of it is convincing.

[@upsetstudios1819]

I'm still, after all these years, mad that The Hunger Games were marketed as a "silly love triangle for teenage girls" when it was *sooo* much darker and meaningful

[@cristinaaguilarrodriguez9886]

The poor girl was just trying survive!!

[@louisemiller7584]

Yes!!

[@upsetstudios1819]

re-watched the movies after this, here's my hot take: Katniss is on the Aromantic/ Asexual spectrum

[@kckennedy1325]

@@upsetstudios1819 Definitely not, she ended up with kids with Peeta. I think the reason for her behavior was fear, with the way she and her sister had to grow up without a parent and independent she did not want to bring children of her own into that world. And she also did not want to go through the pain of losing a loved one like her mother did.

[@upsetstudios1819]

@@kckennedy1325 and she was also 16 years old and traumatized

[@bokorjudit8]

the "rich girl meets lower class boy who shows her the real world" is actually the full-on opposite of "manic pixie dream girl" characters haha

[@zachanikwano]

Aladdin?

[@user-hb5cp3nm1u]

This is so true, also, didn't Lindsay Ellis actually call Jack Dawson from Titanic a 'manic pixie dream guy'? :D

[@zzineohp]

It's the Hallmark formula

[@elijahaitaok8624]

@@zzineohp no the Hallmark formula is a Rich Woman falls in love with a Lower Class Man and makes him choose between his dream job and moving up a tax bracket, and being with her. The difference being is she never gets to experience the real world

[@imbuffysummers]

Not Kate Winslet playing both Rose and Clementine and getting the best of both worlds. Even though we all know Clem was not a manic pixie ofc but there was absolutely a period of time where Joel undoubtedly believed she was.

[@giulia8509]

“There is something that all these books lack, that The Hunger Games has, that Twilight has” I confidently said a love triangle. I was wrong

[@eliza.the.earthling]

Yes! I thought romance too but was presently surprised by detective Leonie saying 1st person female POV ✨

[@ilari_inna]

Same)

[@hermionekrueger9550]

Same Same same

[@benl2140]

That was my immediate thought as well.

[@fairygoth2259]

I said autistic coded main characters

[@jesstiara4351]

I think the reason why these “older” YA books are randomly getting hyped again is because the kids who were too young to read them discovered them and found them relevant

[@fannyj7870]

How did you know?🤨 It’s literally what it’s happening to me lmao, I’m reading TLC for example and I’m 16

[@equatetoothpaste1369]

this is exactly whats going on with me! i'm 16 and i'm obsessed with this era of ya lol

[@ericacousins9786]

I read them when I was too young for them tbh and watching this video has made me wonder if that was maybe not good for me BUT I am loving the resurgence of these books and now I can enjoy them at the age I'm supposed to lmao

[@rosecoloredbby]

That’s me. 10 years ago I was 9 and wouldn’t have understood nor appreciated the hunger games even if I had read them back then (which I didn’t, I just very vaguely remember hearing about the movies around that time). Now flash forward to now, I’m 19 and just finished the trilogy and I absolutely loved it! Mockingjay was way more bleak than even I expected, but I really appreciate it for not shying away and showing how war and unrest can really break you down as a human being

[@rubydown3329]

@Purple Alien right?? 😭👵

[@annejia5382]

Another great factor is that the first twilight movie and the first hunger games book were released at a time when the younger audience of Harry Potter were just entering teenhood and the Harry Potter film series were coming to an end. those younger HP audience entering teenhood in 2008 became the force and the perfect age for the Young Adult market that peaked/rose in 2011.

[@Sd-sv2cm]

This! I also think Harry Potter was first, the twilight of children’s books in that nothing had been marketed like that to children and it was such a worldwide phenomenon. Also by the 4th book the books were being marketed to teens and could definitely fit into the YA genre

[@ethanbenson]

I also blame Harry Potter for this mess

[@noirekuroraigami2270]

@@ethanbenson Harry Potter isn't dystopian, its closer to Chronicles of Narnia than Hunger Games. The concept of a mundane boy being pushed into a magical world is pretty classic trope by the time of Harry Potter.

[@awilk418]

@@noirekuroraigami2270I would argue Harry Potter primed the market for YA dystopian novels though. It was a HUGE worldwide success that caused publishers to suddenly open their eyes to the money-making opportunities of YA books. Plus it included a world in which, especially by the later books, teenagers were absolutely vital to saving the world from the BBEG.

[@Jimpiedepimpie]

​@@noirekuroraigami2270Just because you are a proponent of the authoritarian nanny state doesn't mean it's not dystopian.

[@meghand8682]

16:20 Suzanne Collins was not a debut author when she published The Hunger Games! I was a huge fan of her series Gregor the Overlander as a kid - the first book of which came out in 2003.

[@rachelkim4457]

Gregor the overlander is so underrated it hurts me. I keep trying to like evangelize the books to others

[@faycoleman9023]

What?! I am so excited she's a great author and The Hunger Games is one of the few series that olds up. I'm going to hunt down her other series now.

[@wqweqwet1804]

Loved Gregor the overlander

[@culleymaybee5902]

Binged these audiobooks last week! So fun!

[@-rolyat44]

I read Gregor the overlander in like 5th grade which was actually during the time the hunger games was big but my parents wouldn't let me read the hunger games until like high school so I rebelled in my own small way by deciding to read another book by the same author and I'm eternally grateful to my younger self for that one

[@sophiep7184]

Whilst you spoke about tropes and the girl having their eyes opened by the boy who can show them what the world is really like, I looked at the maze runner cover and realised that Thomas is the clueless young girl being shown the real world by his knight in shining armour Teresa Agnes.

[@waveii8615]

wAIT.

[@thatpitter]

acCURATE

[@cbcimutebi5564]

I think this applies to The Selection as well. Maxon is the sheltered prince who actually knows next to nothing about his country and America opens his eyes to what’s going on under the surface

[@kingofhearts3185]

The maze runner is a weird mix of just like the other YA books and decidedly not. Probably a mix of timing and having guys as the audience. But is it still funny to realize things like this.

[@questionablekumquat4484]

I don’t really see it

[@jasmin3589]

~2008 was when the global financial crisis hit, so maybe that context of teens being confronted with the fear of social decline and poverty may have had an influence in the reception of dystopian novels 🤔🤗

[@jasmin3589]

also thank you for the video 🥰

[@daydream1066]

Glad I was not the only one who thought this! I thought that was a U.S. crisis not necessarily global. Anyways, I think you are right about that!

[@evischaefi]

I think Leonie meant to imply that at the end of the video 😊 (around 44:16)

[@jasmin3589]

@@evischaefi yes I watched till the end but she wasnt sure so I added my idea for the context💃

[@spntageous5249]

thank you for that addition, because I am not American and was too young to understand foreign politics so it didn't came up to me immediately when she said that

[@TheBookLeo]

Some of you rightfully pointed out that YA has been a thing for a lot longer in other countries, so i wanted to make some corrections: In this video I take John green’s books and Twilight as the start of the YA boom, but it turns out that this is only particularily true for the Dutch publishing industry. The term Young Adult has existed since the 1960’s and was coined by the Young Adult Library Services Association in the US. One book that didn’t make the final cut of this video is 1967’s The Outsiders, which is considered one of the first american Young Adult novels. In the US, the first ‘golden age’ of young adult fiction actually happened in the 1970, followed by a second golden age in the 2010. The phenomenon of Young adult fiction didn’t reach The netherlands until the 2010’s, and I’m sure the timelines are different in other countries as well.

[@callukcraft]

interesting , I wonder how much this varies between different nations.

[@SerendibiteStudios]

I may be wrong, but I’m pretty sure The Outsiders is not dystopian. It’s a realistic fiction written in the ‘60s and set in the ‘60s.

[@leowa399]

Very similar case in Germany I'd say - especially with the distinction of having female protagonists

[@xqueenfrostine]

I’m an American born in the early 80s and I promise you we had tons of YA fiction in my childhood. They didn’t seize the larger cultural zeitgeist the way the ones from the ‘00s did (though some of the most important book series from my youth eventually made it to TV, like The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle on the CW or Fear Street and the Midnight Club on Netflix), but as a book nerd who read almost nothing but YA novels for girls in the late 80s and 90s, I never lacked for reading material. Honestly, I don’t think the YA boom is the ‘00s could have happened if that wasn’t the case. Series like Twilight, The Hunger Games, etc. we’re not just smash successes because all the teen girls were reading them, but because they sold really well with adult readers. And I think they were able to do that because of there were tons of adult women who were already primed to love these types of books.

[@mariafotog]

In Greece where I'm from, the timeline is basically the same as The Netherlands!! Maybe it's a Europe thing?

[@CarolinaGothic35]

The uglies series literally shaped my life. It had me researching GMOs, monoculture, propaganda, fascism, attention economies, magnetic lift systems, green alternative energy, all when I was middle schooler in like 2007-2009. I re-read it over and over. Still enjoy the audiobooks too this day.

[@niko-jg5uc]

personally i thought the concept was fantastic (a society where teenagers are literally forced to conform to beauty standards by any means necessary) but the execution slowly got worse as the series went on

[@jelliunicorn4355]

I agree! I actually consider The Uglies to be the dystopian spark, for me it’s the Core. Nothing against hunger games but I’ve never revisited. I was even in a Tumblr petition for an Uglies movie (kind of glad that didn’t happen 😅)

[@milla5454]

For me it was the Darren Shawn’s books, the one with vampires and demonata for some reason. I was 10 reading about demons killing people, very strange

[@junova4938]

I use “making” as suffix to this day. My favorite is sadmaking and anxietymaking. I literally use anxietymaking daily.

[@gabciafangirl7691]

but for real I've recently reread Hunger Games as a 20 year-old, and in comparison with my 13 year-old self I was able to pick up on so many more things, like yeah it was a great book for a teenager, but it is still great after some growing up, and you can certainly pinpoint changes that you've gone through as a human, like for example acquiring the ability to recognize manipulation

[@rivendells_shona]

These all were published in my late 20’s/early 30’s and I will say, my perspective as an adult/young mother was very different than the target audience. For example: what jumped out about Matched was the elimination of art and literature; the control of free thought by destroying all but 100 each poems, artworks, novels, folk stories, etc. classical poetry that encouraged strong emotion or critical thought was contraband. What jumped out about Legend was her focus on the fatal flaws of every government system taken to its extreme (one half the US was socialist; one half was a democracy; Antarctica used a social points system). Schusterman in Unwind explored what happens when people are so polarized that they become mirror images of each other and then are so horrified by the destruction of their hate that they’ll make devastating compromises just to end the fight. The Hunger Games impressed me with its candid exploration of PTSD. Which was admittedly jarring for a book targeted to 12-18yo’s.

[@scottsmith3804]

Yeah I didn’t get to read hunger games when they were out (even tho I was the target age group) and then kinda forgot about them until about 2 years ago. Reading them around 25 hit me like a freight truck. I read and read them over again because I got to watch a traumatized teenager get traumatized more and have to deal with it like I did at the same age. It made me feel seen in a way I didn’t know I needed.

[@cadneemountai2791]

I started hunger games around 20 or so and enjoyed it first read, my 50 or so at the time father did as well

[@Isabelle-mp8rk]

​@@rivendells_shonain that legend comment can you explain what you mean with half socialist, half democracy as my understanding is that socialism presupposes democracy. Can't really have worker democracy without also having political democracy.

[@rivendells_shona]

@@Isabelle-mp8rk - sorry, I can’t remember what time of day I was responding but rereading my comment I realized my words were gummed up. I meant to say one half was socialist and the other half was capitalist; my apologies. In Wu’s universe, the western half of the US was under a socialist/communist regime. Yes, I realize socialism is more of an economic system whereas democracy is more political… and communism is a bit of both. But all three can intersect. The west coast in her world taxed citizens heavily and redistributed wealth according to what the government deemed most advantageous to their agendas. The eastern half of the US was pure capitalism with no checks and balances; even though I do recall it has some system of government and supposedly the people had more freedoms (though it struck me as anarchist in application). So again, my apologies for using the wrong word before.

[@lenakataeva7525]

I miss the trends when they last. Now they're so quickly changing

[@randomfroglol5159]

That's an effect of tiktok, everything is faster now. The positive side is that if u dont like a trend or a specific kind of book, you can still find other that are great and that match your tastes !

[@mercury9765]

Is it just me or are trends not even really a thing anymore? I feel like it’s just a bunch of people reading a bunch of different things now. Like I read high fantasy, have a friend who reads mostly low, one of my friend reads memoirs, another who reads historical fiction, and I have another friend who likes contemporary. While me and the other fantasy friend also like contemporary romance sometimes. It just seems like not everyone is following a pattern anymore.

[@ImaginaryAlchemist]

Yeah, thanks to the internet and things like TikTok trends don't really stick around very long. I don't know how today's teens keep up with all of it.

[@futurestoryteller]

@@mercury9765 Trends were possibly always less important than they're given credit for. I feel like a long time ago I accurately predicted the death of the "movie star" because a bit _part_ of the excuse was "I've never seen a bad movie with Tom Hanks, I'm going to go see the Tom Hanks movie." Now the internet can instantly tell you if Tom Hanks even made a bad _Tom Hanks movie, according to Tom Hanks' fans_ - sure enough, most people who are thought of as genuine superstar actors are middle-aged men, at least pushing fifty. Honestly I'm surprised other trends didn't fall quicker under this same system. If AI becomes dominant this gray soup of content is going to get even muddier

[@Hello-hello-hello456]

You can read whatever you want, it’s fine not to keep up with the trends

[@olliveen]

the comparison of the divergent factions to tiktok aesthetic niches is so real actually you're so right. divergent really excapsulates the teenage "all or nothing" need to fit in. life truly does imitate art *chefs kiss*. excellent video!

[@sirensblood4177]

Living in Iran, i could bever bring myself to read dystopian novels because they hit too close to home, but now that im older i wanna try reading the hunger games, since i liked the movies so much

[@thecomentingcat6280]

The books are very good

[@spudsbuchlaw]

I hope youre in a better place

[@noirekuroraigami2270]

read real dystopian books like Huxleys "A Brave New World", there is difference between YA dystopian and real books meant for the educated

[@veda5105]

I need the ya dystopian era to resurface

[@chrysoula5226]

Agh samee

[@ChemicalPenguinn]

It kind of has, with booktok. Loads of the books recommended on there are ya dystopians, although they do all seem to be from 2012

[@SuspirosdaBea]

yes please

[@randomfroglol5159]

@@ChemicalPenguinn do u have some that did not get mentionned in the video ?? Im deseperately looking for some ya dystopian to reaaad

[@rankushrenada]

Give it a few years and it will be either environmental dystopias or propaganda ones :'D

[@sitara1250]

Leonie: I definitely see that there is one thing that all of these books lack that the Hunger games does have, that Twilight also has, and that a lot of YA dystopians after this also have... Me: A love triangle! Leonie: A first person female POV Me: Oh, right, that too

[@localabsurdist6661]

The other books also have Love triangles…

[@TheB0sss]

The love triangle in the Hunger Games is like the worst part.of the books lol

[@Diana-hf4qv]

Can we talk about the role book covers play? Some of the book covers on this list are ICONIC, and i recognize covers to books i haven't even read. I first picked up Twilight as a kid because the cover stood out to me so much. I have noticed book covers themselves follow trends and evolve over time.

[@ethnolushx_thishouseisacircus]

RIGHT? i've never read The 5th Wave and i am unsure whether i've actually read Delirium, but even these covers (not to mention Hunger Games, Tle Selection, Blood Red Road, Uglies...!) are printed in my memory. i vividly remember seeing them again and again in my local library

[@lariel19]

Just seeing the two different types of the Shatter Me covers, show how important it is to make a cover stand out from the other books you see in a bookstore. The one I saw was the cover series with the eye on it and I got so curious what the book was about, so I bought it and fell in love with the series and it’s characters. If I saw the book cover that is pinpointed, I wouldn’t be as interested because it didn’t seem special at all. So yes the designs of a book cover play a huge role.

[@benamisai-kham5892]

I never read the matched series but the COVER was so memorable. I still, to this day, could pick it's covers out from a line up yards away. I remember seeing the book *everywhere* and couldn't get it ordered at the library cause it was checked out for so long.

[@Tink2k]

I read the Uglies series at the time my daughter was reading them as a teen. Hers had the cover used here. When we went to get the 4th book - Extras - the covers had been changed to show the more clinical / surgical aspect - and no faces! I'm sure the cover with the face and foliage is why my daughter noticed the book and she wouldn't have picked up the book with the new cover. (I called another book store to see if they had the old cover for Extras and we left to go buy it there! I didn't want the mismatched book.)

[@annaboettcher4353]

Susanne Collins has actually written another series which everyone is sleeping on. Is is called Gregor the Overlander, released in 2003, definitely geared towards younger ages rather than YA, but it is amazing and my favorite books. I try to tell everyone I know about these because they deserve to be known and loved as much as the hunger games.

[@solrodriguezcosta5495]

omg, yes!!! i'm chilean and i had to read it for school and it was amazing. For me, it's ever better than THG

[@ven4693]

Thank you I couldn't agree more 🙏 this series is INSANELY good, I was hoping more people would learn of it since its the same author of the hunger games

[@Eclispe97]

At least once a month I think of it and I really need to just give in to getting the series again so I can reread it.

[@arthurr.r.lucasspublicdoma5621]

I read both series in middle school. TUC is so underrated.

[@specialknees6798]

Man I adored those books as a kid. I distinctly remember staying up late and finishing the last book and then just bawling until I fell asleep.

[@moonlight_moth]

fun fact the author of Twilight Stephenie Meyer wrote a dystopian/sci-fi/post apocalyptic book called The Host in 2010 I think it was supposed to be a series but she only wrote and published the first book. It was also adapted into a movie.

[@CynicalDuchess]

starring saoirse Ronan!

[@ajmalaika1287]

All I remember is friends who had read it dragging the movie and similarities to the fifth wave

[@louaneriga3222]

Loved it sooooo much more than twilight

[@Willowswispss]

I own it and I remember loving it way more then twilight. I was excited and waiting for the movie, too bad it didn’t do the book justice. Don’t take my word for it since I read it when I was 13 but it was a pretty good book, ya’ll should read it! Plus that movie is what introduced saoirse ronan to me.

[@julia-here]

I’ve revisited The Host a few times since it came out and I really love it… as a 35 year old adult 😅 - I will still drag the movie though.

[@livmachado]

BOOKS MENTIONED: PRE-TWILIGHT The Giver - Lois Lowry Battle Royale - Koushun Takami The City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau POST-TWILIGHT Uglies - Scott Westerfeld Unwind - Neal Shusterman The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness *Huger Games - Suzanne Collins* SUPERNATURAL ROMANCE PEAK Fallen - Lauren Kate Beautilful Creatures - Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl Hush, Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater Evermore - Alyson Noël Obsidian - Jennifer L. Armentrout DYSTOPIA BEGINS Maze Runner - James Dashner Matched - Ally Condie YA DYSTOPIA PEAK Divergent - Veronica Roth Delirium - Lauren Oliver Wither - Lauren DeStefano Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi Under the Never Sky - Veronica Rossi Legend - Marie Lu POST-APOCALYPS Blood Red Road - Moira Young Angel Fall - Susan Ee (Leonie's favorite) JUST SCI-FI Across The Universe - Beth Revis Cinder - Marissa Meyer The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey The 100 - Kass Morgan The Testing - Joelle Charbonneau Fire & Flood - Victoria Scott JUST FOLLOWING THE TREND The Selection - Kiera Cass CLASSIC DYSTOPIA 1984 - George Orwell Brave New World - Aldous Huxley Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

[@hellaradusername]

With the post apocalypse there was also The Forest of Teeth and Hands, where a teenage girl who's extremely good at archery grows up in a medieval style walled village after the zombie apocalypse and rebels against their rules. There were 3 books, only read the first

[@Arawn2020]

And yes, Prof. Leonie said this will be on the test

[@rumeysakocabas4110]

i was hoping red rising😖😖😖

[@jennychasteen]

Thank you, I was hoping there would be a book list somewhere! I love that The Hunger Games is in bold. 😂As it should be, of course.

[@gavinsmith9871]

I feel like Red Rising should be a part of this conversation. If only to talk about how it broke the mould in its sequels.

[@connection7165]

My love for dystopian books came back to life since Netflix is allegedly releasing their adaptation of Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, The Hunger Games prequel and Taylor Swift re releasing Safe & Sound and Eyes Open. I love this genre more than I love myself and I need it to be everywhere again, both in books, movies and series, I just think it's sooo good.

[@lfocoap4950ajf8]

I remember reading uglies in middle school. I hated it lol

[@andrear4954]

They're making an adaptation of Uglies? What good timing, I started re-reading that book last night I really think it has the potential to make people reflect on societal beauty standards and calm down on wanting to meet them so badly, if Netflix does it right

[@mikayla5949]

Listen, I knew YA dystopian books were my jam back in the day, but I didn’t realize how many of them I had read 😭

[@benamisai-kham5892]

My English teachers pushed so many on me because I was reading the class assigned ones too fast 😭 My 11th grade teacher actually *personally* ordered me some books so she had someone to talk about them with since she didn't plan to cover them in our class. She'd get excited to see how I felt about each books' progression.

[@arielalbuquerque1177]

I truthfully feel sorry for teenagers nowadays that won't get to experience the surge in YA novels, and specifically the Twilight/Percy Jackson/Hunger Games craze, cause mas was that a time to be alive. I feel like I'm still chasing that same high even now lol Hopefully with the new TBSAS movie adaptation, we'll get some good dystopian books again? And also, can we talk about the downfall of book to movie adaptations? I honestly feel like the hunger games were the last truly good ones, before Game of Thrones happened and TV shows became the norm. I find that's truly sad, cause it was such an experience going to the movies with a bunch of other fans to finally see these stories on screen.

[@julia-here]

Omg this totally should be it’s own video! What a time 🥹

[@loztheartist]

Goshhh I feel this about books to movie adaptations too. I was a teenager in high school when Twilight started to come out. I still remember the wild excitement of going with my friends to the movies and queueing up with tons of other fans 😂

[@krishaashah6219]

I’m a teenager and I’ve read all three

[@krishaashah6219]

Except twilight

[@nevenapeeva8283]

Happy to inform you that right now I have an 12yo piano student who is just as obsessed with the Percy Jackson series as I was at her age. Some things don't change😄

[@Cesly-mo3uf]

I'm so glad Jennifer Lawrence invented this for us.

[@874.5km]

I'm experiencing pure nostalgia. also, the Divergent saga altered my 14-year-old little brain. when I finished reading Allegiant I cried my eyes out for three days. it was freaking dope

[@doopersfr]

SO glad you mentioned Cinder/The Lunar Chronicles because oh my lord, that series has forever changed the chemistry in my brain. it definitely rode the YA dystopian train but in my opinion, it was so distinct among the straight white girl-led novels around the time. not only was there a series of fairy tale retellings and a heavy and interesting inclusion of sci-fi elements, but it often strayed away from many tropes. the main character is not-white and actually has a personality and some sense to her, the romance (though important) often took a backseat to the much more important issues she faces, the romance was actually SO GOOD AND WELL DESERVED, the side characters and POV characters later in the series are just as well developed and interesting, the villain is actually a threat and just super cool (which isn't super uncommon in the good dystopian novels), and many of the themes were super interesting despite unfortunately being a little limited due to the constraints of it being marketed to teenagers. Cinder consistently takes hold of the story instead of just letting things happen to her and that has always been my least favorite aspect of dystopian books at that time. it was so refreshing and a little life changing as a middle schooler reading about this girl who learns to accept herself as she is, overcome survivor's guilt, and take hold of her own story no matter how scared she might be. I desperately need a Lunar Chronicles resurgence if it hasn't already happened because I was and always will be obsessed with that series no matter how mature my reading taste has grown over the years.

[@claudiawilkie7342]

YES!!! I think this series is super underrated!! It’s so interesting and honestly just so much fun

[@FaithMurri]

16:34 Suzanne Collins wasn't a debut at the time tho. She wrote a middle grade series called Gregor the Overlander (or The Underland Chronicles, something like that) about a boy who discovers a society of giant rats or something before The Hunger Games

[@noemieslife]

That shit was brutal for a kids series haha I remember being absolutely traumatized

[@azulunatic]

I was about to comment this lmao

[@Bagley2014]

So glad someone mentioned this! As a huge fan of Gregor the Overlander, I hated seeing "author of the Hunger Games" get printed on Gregor the Overlander books! I picked up the Hunger Games because Suzanne Collins was the author of Gregor the Overlander.

[@selectivelysocial7117]

I honestly loved these books

[@xiao-yuhobbs4166]

​@@Bagley2014 don't get why you'd hate that, from what I've heard, they both seem like great series. If reading one leads to you picking up the other, it can only be positive.

[@ordinary_olive]

I feel like one of the main trends going on right now is Greek myth retellings, I feel like they weren't as big of a thing a few years ago but now it feels like every month there is a new retelling

[@nisc2001]

i feel like Rick Riordan is either a catalyst for that or just....the main part of that. Sorry i haven't kept up with any of the novel scene since around 2019

[@johanna6648]

@@nisc2001 I think Rick Riordan started it, but it didn't explode until Song of Achilles. The new retellings are much more in line with that one when it comes to tonality than the Percy Jackson books.

[@ohlove0]

I think we already had Greek myth retellings, I vividly remember in 2010s reading multiple YA novels about it

[@ordinary_olive]

@@ohlove0 ​books like circe, elektra, ithaca, Ariadne, lore, a thousand ships just to name a few like those all came out in recent years (as in 2018 earliest), so I'm pretty sure we havent had it already

[@kayakat1869]

City of Ember was my jam. It was for younger readers, but I think the world building was so fascinating to me.

[@RadiantSaff]

I suspect that maybe another reason we are returning to our old faves is because of a combination of the 20 year cycle and the fact that things are pretty unstable right now. When 2020 hit so many of us got reinvested in things we were interested in when we were kid. I know I longed for a time that was a little less chaotic. Plus now as many of us are adults with more experience in the world, im sure its fun to reread some of these books with a new lens and appreciation

[@mauratyson9580]

As a 20 year old who still loves dystopian fiction, I’m so tired of reading about 16 year old girls going through traumatic, life altering events and acting like they’re at least 25. But it’s better than all the unnecessary smut that’s in adult fiction so I guess I’ll deal with it for now

[@thatpitter]

So true

[@jocey1364]

Sameeee

[@zachanikwano]

That’s literally my main reason for reading YA novels as an mid 20s adult. I don’t like pointless smut and gore. And at least the YA authors have to rely on something else besides that because of their target audience. Unless I’ve been sorely mistaken and have just been avoiding the bad books

[@sachi8745]

No character will ever compare to Peeta Mellark for me. WHAT A MAN!!!!

[@simplesimply3753]

I so agree.

[@cooliostarstache5474]

Michael Afton

[@derekeastman7771]

I don’t know. Kinda seemed simpy/incel to me. “I gave you bread once, love me!”

[@andrikfelix6507]

​@@derekeastman7771He wasn't like that? The one that was like that was Gale. Peeta never expected something from Katniss. He was heartbroken when he found out that Katniss didn't love him in the first book but he understood and never treated her badly. Gale on the other hand...

[@frenchfreye]

​@@derekeastman7771tell me you didn't read the book without telling me you didn't read the book

[@celesteblack1803]

I remember for Christmas in 2009 my mom gave me Hunger Games and Catching Fire. I hadn’t heard of them, but she told me that they’re supposed to be pretty good books. That night I casually opened up Hunger Games and stayed up for 5 hours reading it. I finished it the following evening, and then I read Catching Fire in less than a day. I told my mom and sisters they HAVE to read this amazing book! And they were like, “yeah yeah, eventually.” They all became hooked too and my sister ended up loaning out my books to lots of her friends as the book soon became super popular in my area. I never did get my books back hahaha.

[@tessaarmstrong4770]

2005 Uglies is what started my love for dystopian as a youth. My mom actually gave me Hunger Games to read when she was working on her masters.

[@pendragon2012]

I love how methodical and scientific you are at breaking down literature! 🙂

[@randomfroglol5159]

Its amazing !!

[@takewhisks8193]

Same! I appreciate the research projecty-ness of it. Like you knew there was a trend, there was something about this book you can't put your finger on . . .then you get distracted and don't think on it. Leonie helps us focus and think on it AND makes you consider reading a few more books just for fun 😀

[@futurestoryteller]

I'm not even really a reader anymore, but this is pretty bare bones. One of the things I mentioned in my standalone comment was Lord of the Flies. Which is usually required reading in the United States somewhere between middle and high school. It's especially relevant because of its influence on the genre. Suzanne Collins has mentioned it as an influence on Hunger Games, supposedly Maze Runner was written in part because the author thought the kids in Lord of the Flies wouldn't have turned on each other, an opinion that some literary critics have mocked. I mean she said Battle Royale invented the concept of a battle royale...

[@KMort]

I was actually way more into the adaptations of all the books at the time cause every movie was an EVENT and non-readers were into them too. This was also the only period of my life when I didn't read much. I DID read most of them though and remember none of it😂 Red Queen did actually get me back into reading which is a shame on my name cause I hate those books with a visceral hatred now💀

[@randomfroglol5159]

At least you got back to reading !!

[@Thenoobestgirl]

Lol say that again to Harry Potter fans at that time!

[@Tamomi13]

I remember my sophomore year of high school, my English teacher read to us a scene from Unwind of a kid being unwound. I was so upset and was crying to my mom on the way home because my sister would have qualified to be unwound in that world. I'm 28, and it still upsets me. I wish I had never heard about that book.

[@aed2069]

Just want to add, as an Australian, the Tomorrow When the War Began series. Definitely sparked my love of dystopian YA and powerful female protagonists. Published in 1993 and pretty loved here!

[@mirandaanderson6973]

I was 12 when The Giver came out and I can assure you that YA novels were indeed a thing in the 90s. The Point Horror imprint, Fear Street, Christopher Pike (I read mostly horror) were all HUGE. Twilight definitely didn't invent the YA genre.

[@snood4743]

There were books targeted at teens even back as far as sci-fi juveniles in the 1960s. I think Twilight was just when YA became a popular term and large enough genre to get its own sections in book stores and libraries rather than just being lumped in with children’s literature.

[@stefaniemika7765]

@@snood4743 YA definitely had it's own section at libraries and bookstores before twilight. Leonie is a bit younger than I am so it makes sense that for her she connects YA becoming (more) popular with twilight, but I was in high school 2003-2007 and was in the YA section long before twilight came out. I do credit twilight with causing barnes and borders/waldenbooks to create the paranormal romance section.

[@jmsl_910]

@Indigo Rodent i'm in america and ya was a thing in the 70's

[@kaileelissjohnson8890]

To give her a little credit I do think she meant that while ya was popular back then it didn't reach the heights the way twilight made ya popular. because I know how popular the outsiders and the giver were when they came out but I do also know those books were rejected a lot by publishers cause they saw no money in them. While I think twilight and the hunger games were so widely dominating that a lot of people outside the ya genre read them and it kind of skyrocketed the ya genre to what it's known as now. Like fear street and twilight are both ya but I do think they are very different in notoriety. Plus there definitely is some bias because Leo grew up with that heyday but I do think it's fair to say ya wasn't the same in popularity as ya is today. I could be wrong though and totally feel free to disagree

[@eliza.the.earthling]

Yes, I was thinking about The Vampire Diaries and Night World books by L J Smith 🧛‍♀️

[@majkavecerova1327]

Oh gosh when you mentioned being excited to be 16 as like your time to be the main protagonist/chosen one, i remember a conversation i had with my friend not so long ago about how a lot of those characters are now actually younger than us (we both are 16) and how it feels interesting because once we have looked up to them as like you are so grown up and now its like ... oh how sweet... (i think this was especially prevalent with Confessions of Georgia Nicholson i though she was waay older than she actually was when i was like 10)

[@evilemuempire9550]

100%, it’s so weird to reread a series you read a long time ago where the protagonists where older than you. I just reread a series from my childhood where I remember the protagonists feeling really grown up, they where 10.

[@lenaheitmann4500]

The selection should have been a vampire book! Like fighting for immortality and that hole schtick, I’d be much more interested in that😂

[@TheCherrykye]

I remember when all us girls were reading this in high school we new the hunger games wasn’t about food but the way the author described the food made us all hungry especially looking at it through the starvation eyes of Katniss so i always made sure I had a feed and a snack with me while reading it.

[@jenniferm.2142]

I’ve been reading the Cinder series and it’s still great. Somehow I never finished it back then.

[@angelikahelmer1470]

I just reread it recently too! It was a lot of fun

[@wormdoodles]

I'm so glad Unwind was mentioned, if only briefly. That was one of my favorite series as a teenager- it was also one of the few ya dystopians imo that actually brought in real world social issues and encouraged free-thinking. Looking back, a lot of things I really like in books (grey morality, subtle messages that encourage one to come to their own conclusions, body horror) can be traced back to that series, or at least, the first book.

[@meem3538]

Yes! I had a similar experience with it and my reading taste is still informed by that series too

[@jelliefishr2336]

yeah, i feel like a lot of later dystopias dont actually address real social issues (which is, to me, kind of the point of a dystopia), but Unwind does NOT pull its punches when talking about bodily autonomy, abortion, and the medical system in the US

[@rkgrkg]

Yes! While I didn't care for the rest of the series so much, that first one was excellent. That One Scene still haunts me. Shusterman has some other great novels as well.

[@ryanjstannard]

I’d say the current trend in YA is Faerie romance books. But with how massive the YA market has become, I wouldn’t say Faerie romances are as all encompassing as the Dystopian or Vampire trends.

[@derekwall5570]

There was also the Gone book series, and I think what's worth pointing out I'd how YA Dystopian books are full of romance stories and are kinda like Dystopian Romance novels.

[@RaisSmile1]

I went into the comments looking for the Gone book series!!! I read it for the first time at the age of 23 and absolutely loved it

[@jzmc7562]

Gone is a different beast compared to these tho

[@kaywho6477]

PLEASE do a video like this for YA paranormal romance!! That era of YA was my awakening

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

Fairies were *definitely* a thing, even before Sarah J. Maas. They just hadn't quite broken out of being contained all in their own little separate niche/genre or whatever yet-kinda like vampire fiction was, before Twilight. There were things like Holly Black's _Modern Faerie Tales_ series and Julie Kagawa's _Iron Fey_ series, for example. But it also kinda depends on whether or not you're looking at specifically Romance genre books, versus books of other genres that may or may-not have also featured a romance plotline. Lol

[@lehnigmc8051]

I read a lot of these, but only Unwind is the one that truly stuck with me. Just the idea of being fully conscious while they take you apart is just... 😖

[@redpepper74]

Yeah. That was definitely the series that disturbed me the most in my dystopian phase

[@jellyrcw12]

7:02, omg the Giver is incredible! Highly underrated. The movie did not do the book justice at all.

[@R3FL3CTI0NS.]

The Giver is my favourite out of all the dystopian novels I've read so far! Too many people sleeping on it rn frfr

[@owenbridgers]

The Giver traumatized me when I was in school lol

[@nancyd4250]

I lived for dystopian books as a teenager in the 2000s. You missed out on what I call the “mother of teen dystopian books,” Margaret Peterson Haddix! She wrote Running out of Time, all the Shadow Children series. They were awesome!

[@alexcochranwrites]

Running Out of Time is one of my favs and I think about it ALL the time!

[@shawna337]

I was also thinking that the Shadow Children series deserved a shoutout as an early dystopia. I don't remember a lot of specifics about that series, but the vague memories I have of it haunt me lol

[@ImaginaryAlchemist]

I remember reading a couple of her books and thinking they were pretty cool! I know there was one about a girl who learns she's a clone and another about elderly people who do a reverse aging experiment. I don't remember the titles sadly

[@notliketoast8074]

yesssss omg !! what a nostalgia trip

[@KnottyGinger_AbiD]

Ooh yes!! MPH was one of my faves when I was a kid/young teen.

[@LunaWho47]

As a woman who was about to graduate university when The Hunger Games first came out, I was never the target demographic for any of these series, but given that I worked as a librarian for over half of the 2010s decade, I did read almost all of these series in full. (I wasn't specifically a children's librarian or a young adult librarian, but I did feel it was important to read books that I knew people would be asking about so that I could give honest recommendations.) As a person who has read a lot of them, thank you for defending the trend as a whole and for defending Divergent specifically because I have always felt that a lot of the criticisms aimed at that trilogy were for ideas that Roth never intended to be her focus. And, I know I'll get a lot of flack for saying it, despite the fact that the world building in Divergent is minimal, I would argue that the decisions of main character Tris Prior are expanded on by her personality and inner world a lot more than Katniss Everdeen's. There is never a moment in Divergent where I couldn't understand exactly why Tris was or wasn't doing something. And, sadly, I'd have to argue against your comment about The Selection Series and Kiera Cass's usage of dystopia being because it was trendy. Her most recent novel came out in 2022 (and I've read all her works because she's a Virginia writer and that's my home state and I always support my VA writers) and she still uses dystopia. The main reason is that she's hyperfocused on the romance and dystopian problems are a visible but easily dealt with reason why her two main leads can't be together. Even all these years and multiple books later, world building conflicts are not her forte as an author. But if you're reading her books for the romance (as she's obviously hoping her readers will), then you get a decent story (though it's doubtless a story you've read and seen a million times elsewhere.)

[@ohnoits]

The Arc of the Scythe series was probably the last great YA sci-fi dystopian to come out, not enough people talk about it!

[@paperbacksgalore]

Honestly I feel blessed to have been in middle school/high school for this era

[@luluramirez5278]

Oh to be a teenager in 2012-2015 when booktube was in their dystopian/ya peak. It truly hit so different and I will forever be nostalgic for that time.

[@jenniferclark677]

THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING UGLIES AND UNWIND! Uglies was the only one I read when it came out and loved it! Unwind was an interesting series.

[@ImaginaryAlchemist]

I'm so happy to see so much love for Uglies! It was one of my favorites

[@jenniferclark677]

@@ImaginaryAlchemist Yes! I don't know what it was about it, but it was so good!

[@sheiladelarosa_]

Thank you for mentioning Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. The book was huge and honestly I consider it pretty much one of the pioneers of contemporary YA dystopian books as we knew them in the first decade of the 21st Century. His other saga, Midnighters also falls very close into the supernatural teenage fiction.

[@marlonmoncrieffe0728]

Wasn't 'Uglies' inspired by 'Number Twelve Look Just Like You' from the OG 'The Twilight Zone'? Because I like that episode and I am intrigued by the premise.

[@amesstarline5482]

It's funny to think Susanne Collins used to be a writer for the Clifford the Big Red Dog prequel-spinoff, and then she caused the YA Dystopia boom. I guess that means technically, I've seen some of her writing.

[@PerpetualPrograstinator]

I think Uglies is one of the most underrated series tbh.

[@lucikka3674]

true uglies was SO GOOD

[@ImaginaryAlchemist]

Agreed! I adored those books as a teen

[@kendra_kat]

Those books were my absolute favorite in middle school

[@toriholmes1923]

Yes I think that series and the hunger games series are the only good dystopian series.

[@elan893q75]

Yeah, Uglies are very cool, and I also love Deirium - like, it's my favourite among those Other dystopias

[@daydream1066]

To comment on your last comment, in the US there was a massive recession in 2008/2009 so perhaps that may have had an impact on teens feeling like they did not have a future. For me, my family lost our home, nearly became homeless, I had to move from my school, and our finances were just not good at all and I know other families faced similar issues. I was only nine/ten at the time, but if I were a teen I would have 100% felt like my world was falling apart since I would have grasped the dire issues far more than I did as a child.

[@sivolia1317]

Honestly, I kind of miss this time when these were the book I was reading. They don't hit the same now. But when I was younger, these books meant so much to me

[@ellainaboucino5005]

I would argue there are predecessors for the YA faerie peak such as Tithe by Holly Black in 2002 and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr in 2007. I am so happy to see you mention Uglies, I remember reading it and comparing the later YA dystopian books I read to it!

[@meganfox7820]

The knife of never letting go is so slept on, i adored the series when i was a teenager

[@jacindaellison3363]

They made a movie called Chaos Walking, which is to serve as a standalone fill for the books. Have you seen it?

[@wilhelminewilhelmine]

the best part of this was leonie flashing donna tartt on the screen for "years to write a manuscript" because, yes she drops a new banger every decade 😭😭😭

[@alannas3134]

You make such a good point about divergent and why the dystopian genre is so popular with teenagers, truly the world feels like it is ending every single day when you are 16

[@rope9568]

this was absolutely my phase and I am really loving the new hype for the hunger games. thank you so much for this video. this captures my whole book journey in my teenager years. i love it

[@Charlotte-kc1ec]

I'm submitting my postgrad diss on YA dystopias in two weeks and you literally mentioned all important points of my thesis!! Great research!!!

[@_page250]

The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and The Lunar Chronicles are my some of my top favorite books/series ever. Whenever I see anyone hating on maze runner I genuinely get mad, because I love it so much(other people can have their own opinion i know but this is personally mine) maze runner was the first book that made me a reader (technically it was hunger games/divergent but maze runner was just a different feeling and I literally cannot explain to you that feeling) I literally re-read all the books in the TMR series like 4 or 5 times before reading any other books. And TLC definitely needs more recognition, it’s literally the best

[@sprklmuffin4526]

I personally liked “Matched” back when I first read it and it made me SUPER happy to see it getting some acknowledgment. Great video!

[@lynnx4345]

One time in my school, our class had this "genere" lesson about dystopia novels and each group all had to read a 2000s dystopia novel. I feel so bad for the group that got divergent. 😅

[@abigaileaker6074]

I felt so called out in this video. Half of these titles I have, and some I have in eye ball distance. I did the side look of shame and sunk deeper into my reading nest.

[@gianellaruiz]

Idc what anyone says, Legend has been my #1 since day one. I reread it every couple years and I’m never disappointed 😭

[@Kerastalise]

Is that from Marie Lu?

[@oh_for_gods_sake_niall]

Bro what 😭😭I'm so frustrated because they act like 24 yo already

[@derlis_whatever7033]

I read all three books and I have never understood the way it was considered one of the best lmao. The only thing I liked and something that was there for 1 chapter was the way people on Antarctica lived lmao

[@thatpitter]

I love the exploration between Capitalism and Socialism taken to the extremes. Getting the two main characters to delve into recognizing their biases was something I really appreciated. Also the audio book performers for the series do such an amazing job of bringing the emotion and discussions the characters end up having to have

[@Abby-kz3iz]

I just absolutely love the way you have a fresh and unique opinion in every trendy stereotypes/impressions, and being able to state it calmly and bravely and the most importantly, approachable. I felt like I learned something every time I finished watching this series ❤

[@Mibbyyy]

Great video! I loved seeing the Knife of Never Letting Go on your timeline, that was one of my favorite series as a teen!

[@cyarain]

Can we just, take a moment, and appreciate leonie's ear rings

[@stefaniemika7765]

Glad to see Uglies on here. My sister and I devoured the series when it came out. Maze Runner and Hunger Games remain 2 of my favorite series.

[@awstenproperty]

I read unwind for my English class and I finished it within three days, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought i would. Really wish I would’ve gotten the rest of the series, but I do have just the first Edit: when I saw that you included cinder (my favorite series of all time) I just got so happy because I’ve never seen book reviewers that are popular even know about it, although you didn’t talk about it much, I highly recommend it for anyone

[@heyitsmarta00]

Your essay type videos are always so interesting, you should definitely consider making a podcast!

[@saram5659]

I've always find it funny that there are trends in mythical / fantasy creatures. Everything was aliens late nineties (they're even in the Spice Girls movie!) Then vampires EVERYWHERE, later zombies came back. Unicorns of course. Not sure what the current one is tbh, but these trends stay for years and years. I don't understand, haha, why? (And not just in books, in images, clothes, language, sociological studies)

[@SamSlamJam]

I think the current trend is "dark" sexy fae haha

[@fantasyfangirl7620]

😂most definitely fae at the moment, there's some killer mermaids sprinkled in there too

[@wormdoodles]

@@fantasyfangirl7620 mermaids were definitely big in like 2017-2019 imo (whenever when the surface breaks and that one mira grant came out) but i have noticed they're making a bit of a comeback lmao.

[@lynettemiller6519]

Are werewolves still in? Or greek gods?I can't keep up.

[@lisasstitchingandsuch]

I loved this walk down memory lane! I was a generation ahead, an "old millenial", so the hype that came with the later Harry Potter books and the Twilight movies was a surprise at the time. Speaking of Harry Potter I always linked the ageing Harry Potter readership to the explosion of YA books. I think Meyer's Twilight books were a coincidence and lucky that she had a female protagonist but the Harry Potter generation was something the publishers were aware of and wanting to take advantage of. I also think it helps that Harry Potter was UK based and Twilight was US based - it had the population and publishing houses to support the trend. In Australia and New Zealand in the 90's/early 2000's we had a book series called "Tomorrow When the War Began". My (small) school library would buy 10 copies of each one and there would be a wait list of like 30 kids for each one, and we would all have conversations "which one have you read" etc AND it was about a group of teenagers, resisting authority figures, taking charge/control, WITH a female protagonist.

[@_raineswife_327]

I’m currently reading The Knife of Never Letting Go OMG ITS SUCH A GOOD BOOK 📕

[@ohlove0]

I remember teenage me reading shatter me and how juliette story resonated with me, her journey from being a depressed anxious child to become a confident bad ass woman, I was in love with the book

[@toft287]

the knife of never letting go is amazing - it’s a shame it never got too popular and the movie was so bad 😅

[@jacindaellison3363]

Yikes, that movie was awful!

[@loudfunstrawberry4127]

Angelfall is one of the good ones that got lost in the mediocrity that followed divergent

[@lauralynkoch3777]

I think your entire conclusion about YA dystopians mirroring current teenage struggle is absolutely brilliant. I love reading, majored in English and all that jazz, and I never thought about it from that perspective. You present your thoughts so clearly. This was my first video of yours and I'm immediately going to look for more.

[@sleepylil]

as someone who was Prime age for being swept up in this whole era, I feel v comforted by this video lmao reminding me of all my old book friends 💓

[@jannekewade-dejong2773]

Thanks Leonie for showing us the history and timeline of YA dystopian books! I appreciate the time and effort you put into your videos. This brought back so many memories from my teenage years

[@randomfroglol5159]

Yes ! She's really methodic, and it feels passionate at the same time ^^

[@arielalbuquerque1177]

Angelfall is sooo good!! I read it two or three years ago and it still holds up fantastically. Penryn remains one of my favorite main characters ever, she's a perfect example of 'not chosen one' protagonist that still gets you to root for her.

[@randomfroglol5159]

Im planning on reading it and you're definitely motiving me !

[@RTbookworm]

@@randomfroglol5159 do it!

[@yacrupni]

I love your take on why teen dystopias operate differently from the classics! It's so well-articulated and so interesting to think about. And the connection between divergent factions and tiktok aesthetics is just gold

[@wishpaw2201]

I love your videos so much! This was so great to watch! You had great points and the whole timeline wall made it nice and easy to follow

[@BookishBlackwell]

Oh my gosh I enjoyed this video so much! Ya dystopian was my ERA! I think something that also really separates Ya dystopian from adult dystopian is that Ya books tend to end with a more hopeful, uplifting ending where the young characters overthrow governments and enact drastic change. Where as with adult books the endings are much more bleak and read as more cautionary tales. I’m not saying either one is better, but I do think it’s more important for young people to leave a story feeling powerful and like they can make a difference! On a personal note it was really interesting to see that most of my favorites from that era actually came out before The Hunger Games. Uglies, Unwind and of course The Hunger Games itself being my top three 😅

[@mysticmelody]

We read “the giver” in 3rd grade so like, 1998 for me and I genuinely loved the book.

[@karlastelabento5635]

About faeries in the 2009... There was a series called Wings by Aprilynne Pike and it had an interesting take on the mythology, more on the legend of King Arthur side. I read it around that time and I remember enjoying it a lot. I also remember watching The Hunger Games when it came out and then binging reading all the books and finding the ending of the both series similar for some reason, even with very different stories.

[@annasavio2595]

The selection does have a love triangle between the “prince you’re supposed to romance” and the “cool guy you met back at home who doesn’t wanna let go of you”

[@becauseyes8505]

I HIGHLY recommend reading The Knife of Never Letting Go/Chaos Walking trilogy. It’s truly unlike anything I’ve ever read. Honestly at first I wasn’t sure about it. I even thought it was gonna be a bit.. on the sexist side.. but really, it proved to be the opposite. And the writing style (which I wasn’t crazy about at first) quickly became one of my favorite things about the series.

[@TheRedHaze3]

Genuine question: what made you think it was going to be a bit sexist?

[@becauseyes8505]

@@TheRedHaze3 Somewhere in the beginning it briefly talks about how the men in the town fantasize over women (this is a world where all thoughts are both seen and heard), and in this town all the women have been killed off shortly after the main character was born. So the only thing he knows about women up to this point really is what he can see through the men’s thoughts. That’s kind of it really, it’s nothing major. I thought it might go on to lean into those kinds of opinions on women, but instead it goes the other way by giving MC the proper development to separate men’s fantasies/opinions from reality. It’s a bit hard to explain without context, but I did my best lmao.. Honestly I don’t think it was even worth bringing up in the first place, but since I did, that was a great question. Just wish I could answer it in a more clear way

[@TheRedHaze3]

@@becauseyes8505 No worries, your answer makes sense. Thanks for replying.

[@aliaab123]

My personal favorite dystopian series.

[@Sara-gx9ie]

Loving all your video essays and this was no exception. This is golden!

[@randomfroglol5159]

I have to write an essay about the Hunger Games for school, and you helped me SO MUCH with this video for the whole dystopian timeline, thanks !

[@vy_persona]

I love how so many YA series from our teenage years are having a renaissance. I literally reread all the series in the pjo franchise this yr