Dystopians

Some of my favorite things to read have always been dystopians. What's a dystopian? Well, precisly "Dystopian is the exact opposite — it describes an imaginary society that is as dehumanizing and as unpleasant as possible." (Courtesy of vocabulary.com). Basically it's a book/place that we would not want to live in. Examples that you've likely read are 1984 and Animal Farm (both by George Orwell). Something is always wrong and it isn't always easy to find, but it's also a big red dot so obvious to be seen.

Take for example The Giver (Lois Lowry). Things seem fine for Jonas and his family. It seems great, in fact, for everyone and the entire town. No one is hungry, no one is hot or cold, everyone has a home, and people to love them. Even the elderly have someone to care for them until the day they die. But on the flip-side, young Jonas soon realizes there are things entirely wrong. There's no color, no very old people, there are only a certain amount of children his age- of any age to be exact. You're given your job. Told what you can do and when you can do it. What to eat, and what to say. But things are nice, aren't they?  In contrast, look at 1984- we can tell almost instantly that things aren't going so well. And many can see it.  Some do things in secret, so Big Brother won't see them.

Often these books can help question our own places in society. Yes, it could be worse (could be better too) like the places in these stories. So to share my liking of the imperfect/perfect worlds, here's a list of the ones I'm aware of. I'm certain I've missed some, even ones that I've read and ones that I haven't.  If you know one that needs to be added, please email me, leave a comment somewhere on the site, do something, just please let me know!  

• The Giver; Lois Lowry 
• Messenger; Lois Lowry 
• Gathering Blue; Lois Lowry 
• Son; Lois Lowry
• Anthem; Ayn Rand
• Brave New World; Aldous Huxley
• Animal Farm; George Orwell
• 1984 (Nineteen Eighty-Four); George Orwell
• Farenheit 451; Ray Bradbury
• Atlas Shrugged; Ayn Rand
• Minority Report; Philip K Dick
• Lord of the Flies; William Golding
• A Clockwork Orange; Anthony Burgess
• Planet of the Apes; Pierre Boulle
• The Handmaid's Tale; Margaret Atwood
• The Children of Men; P. D James
• Fatherland; Robert Harris
• The City of Ember; Jeanne DuPrau
• The People of Sparks; Jeanne DuPrau
• Pretties; Scott Westerfeld
• Uglies; Scott Westerfeld
• Specials; Scott Westerfeld
• Extras; Scott Westerfeld
• The Maze Runner; James Dashner
• The Scorch Trials; James Dashner
• The Death Cure; James Dashner
• Divergent; Veronica Roth
• Insurgent; Veronica Roth
• Allegiant; Veronica Roth
• The Hunger Games; Suzanne Collins
• Catching Fire; Suzanne Collins
• Mockingjay; Suzanne Collins