10 Books To Read If You Loved The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games is a powerful trilogy of books that captivated readers when they were published and still captivates them today. They were made into movies that earned the series even more fans, and if you love the series as much as I do, you’ll love reading these other books that are as thrilling as the Hunger Games! These books offer dystopian settings, romance, adventure, rebellion, and compelling characters that are hard not to grow attached to. Just like the Hunger Games series, these books deliver when it comes to page-turning action and you may just find what you’ve been searching for forever since finishing the Hunger Games!
1. Enclave By Ann Aguirre
This book is the first in the Razorland trilogy and is packed full of action, adventure, and compelling settings. It takes place in a decimated New York City that has been destroyed by war and plague. As a result, almost all of civilization has retreated underground, but the life expectancy there is no more than the early 20’s.
Main character Deuce takes on the role of Huntress (very similar to our beloved Katniss!) when she turns 15 and is paired up with partner Fade. Together they discover secrets, encounter the monsters that live in the underground tunnels, and must face seemingly insurmountable odds to survive.
2. Divergent By Veronica Roth
This exciting and enthralling book is the first in the Divergent Trilogy and follows Beatrice (Tris) Prior as she navigates life in a dystopian Chicago world where society has been divided into five different factions based on different virtues: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. At the age of 16, Tris must select the faction to which she will devote herself forever. She makes a surprising choice that has resounding consequences not only for herself but for her loved ones as well.
There is a dangerous and grueling initiation into the faction following the ceremony on Tris’ 16th birthday and she must struggle to survive alongside her fellow initiates. As she makes friends and enemies within her new faction, Tris holds on tightly to a secret that could end the unrest and conflict growing within society, or it could make it so much worse.
3. Legend By Marie Lu
Legend is the first book in the Legend trilogy and takes place in the dystopian United States, where what used to be the west is now known as the Republic, a nation that is forever at war with its neighbors. The story follows the main characters June who was born into one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, and Day, who was born poor and is the country’s most wanted criminal.
The two should naturally never cross paths being from such different worlds, but when June’s brother is murdered and Day becomes the number one suspect, June vows vengeance and seeks to hunt him down. However, when the two finally meet, things are not as they seem and the two quickly learn just how far the country will go to protect its darkest secrets.
4. The Maze Runner By James Dashner
This is the first book in the Maze Runner series that fans of the Hunger Games will eat right up. It’s engaging, dystopian, fast-paced, and packed with twists you’d never see coming. The story follows the main character Thomas who wakes up on the lift one day with no memory other than his name. He is joined by a group of other boys just like him, with no memories other than their names.
They are brought to the Glade, which is surrounded by towering walls. Outside the Glade is an ever-changing and endless maze, which is also the only way out of the Glade. No one has ever made it through alive. One day, a girl arrives in the Glade. She’s the first girl ever, and she brings with her a terrifying message that sets in motion an exciting and thrilling story of survival.
5. Life As We Knew It By Susan Beth Pfeffer
This book is the first in the Last Survivors series and fans of the Hunger Games will love the suspense and thrilling survival aspect of this book. A meteor hits the moon, knocking it closer to Earth and throwing everything completely off balance creating a chain of natural disasters and unnatural events.
Main character Miranda fears for her life and the life of her younger brothers and mother as they try and plan for a future filled with terror and disaster. They prepare for what should be summer but is now an Arctic winter that threatens to take all their lives. Limited resources and little shelter are all Miranda has to keep her family safe in this new and unfamiliar world.
6. Under The Neversky By Veronica Rossi
This book is the first in the Under The Neversky trilogy and is another great story about survival in a dystopian world that any fan of the Hunger Games will find enthralling. The story follows Aria, a girl who has lived her entire life under the protective dome of Reverie. It’s all she’s known, so she’s never thought to dream of what lies outside the dome.
When her mother goes missing, Aria’s world comes crashing down, and she knows her chances of surviving outside Reverie long enough to find her mother and bring her back are virtually nonexistent. When she meets Perry, a savage and wild outsider who lives outside of Reviere, she knows he’s her only chance at survival outside of the dome. Together, they are each other’s best chance at finding the answers they each seek.
7. The Moon Dwellers By David Estes
This book is the first in the Moon Dwellers saga and follows two main characters with different backgrounds, Adele and Tristan, as they navigate life underground. Previously, to avoid destruction, humans were forced underground where they created a new society called the Tri-Realms. This book features thrilling dystopian settings, suspense, action, and a fast-paced story that’ll have fans of the Hunger Games struggling to put it down!
Adele and Tristan have different motives and vastly different backgrounds, but when war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, the two become connected in strange ways as Tristan follows Adele on her journey to find her family. Actions have consequences in this world, and no matter how small the crime, someone must die.
8. Starters By Lissa Price
The first book in the Starters trilogy, this story follows Callie, a teenage girl who lost her parents when the Spore Wars killed everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She takes her younger brother on the run and they live as squatters with their friend Michael, fighting off rouge renegades who would kill them for fun. Callie’s only hope is Prime Destinations, a creepy and disturbing place run by a mysterious figure called the Old Man.
The Old Man hires teens to rent out their bodies to the elderly who want nothing more than to be young again. She’s desperate for money, so Callie signs up to be a donor. But when there is a malfunction and Callie wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion and enjoying her riches, it seems almost like a fairy tale. That is until Callie discovers the truth behind Prime Destinations’ evil intentions.
9. The Host By Stephanie Meyer
This book by famous Twilight author Stephanie Meyer has everything a Hunger Games fan could want, from romance to rebellion to the overwhelming need to survive. In this dystopian world, the Earth has been invaded by a different kind of species that takes over the minds of humans. The humans then serve as hosts for these invaders, who take over their minds and claim the human body as their own.
Melanie Stryder refuses to be claimed by one of these invaders, and she fights back, struggling against the invading soul named Wanderer who has been given Melanie’s body. Melanie has no control of her physical body, but she fights Wanderer for control of her mind. With suspense and action, this story is a great fit for any fan who is looking for their next adventure after THe Hunger Games.
10. Red Queen By Victoria Aveyard
In this book, the story takes place in a world that is divided by blood. There are those with red blood, and those with silver. Reds are commoners and are ruled by the Silver elite who possess god-like superpowers. To Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl, the Silvers are the worst. She despises them, and to her, it seems like life will never change, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. It is here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, that Mare discovers she possesses a deadly power of her own.
With this power, Mare threatens to destroy the balance of power forever, resulting in the Silvers hide her in plain sight among the Silvers, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess. Mare knows that one misstep may mean her death, but she works quietly for the Red Guard, a militant resistance group. Fans of the Hunger Games will love the rebellion and shifting of power in this book as Mare leads the Reds in resistance.
