Books similar to 'The Hunger Games': Devour these 10 dystopian novels next

“The Hunger Games.” “Divergent.” “The Maze Runner.” 

The dystopian craze of the 2010s prompted a wave of on-screen adaptations and new book releases. Suddenly, all across the page and silver screen, teenagers were fighting for their lives in apocalyptic settings. 

“Hunger Games” mania is making a comeback decades later with the release of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” movie and "Sunrise on the Reaping," Haymitch's story set 24 years before the plot of “The Hunger Games.”

Books like ‘The Hunger Games’ 

If you’ve finished “The Hunger Games," you've got four more books in the series – “Catching Fire,” “Mockingjay” and prequels “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and "Sunrise on the Reaping."

But if you’ve already devoured the whole series and can’t wait for Haymitch’s story to hit the big screen, try one of these similarly dystopian novels. 

‘Chain-Gang All-Stars’ by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

In this chilling, satirical, dystopian work, two incarcerated women gladiators and their peers must fight to the death for their freedom. Thurwar and Staxx, the program’s top fighters, are both lovers and teammates in a system that commodifies the killing of Black prisoners as “hard-action sports.” With interwoven points of view, near-future technology and moving prose, “Chain-Gang All-Stars” is a haunting look at a broken justice system.

‘The Grace Year’ by Kim Liggett

In this young adult dystopian novel, when girls turn 16, they're banished to the woods for a year. They’ve been told their whole lives that they’re dangerous to men and that their bodies inherently inspire lust and jealousy. Only a year in the woods will purify them for adulthood and marriage. What’s lying beneath the surfaces is even more brutal – poachers in the woods, men waiting to sell women on the black market. Not all of them will survive.

‘Battle Royale’ by Koushun Takami

“Battle Royale” is like a more graphic “Hunger Games” combined with “Lord of the Flies.” This 1999 Japanese dystopian cult classic follows a class of junior high school students who are dropped off on a deserted island, given weapons and told they must kill each other until only one student remains. Director Quentin Tarantino famously once suggested “The Hunger Games” “ripped it off.” 

‘I Who Have Never Known Men’ by Jacqueline Harper

“I Who Have Never Known Men” has the dystopian and mystery elements of both “The Hunger Games” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In this enigmatic world, 39 women and one young girl are kept in an underground room guarded by armed men. The young girl cannot remember her name or past. The older women have equally foggy memories of how and why they ended up in this place, where intimacy is prohibited and time has no purpose. But one day, when everything changes, the women must reinvent themselves as they confront the unknown. 

‘The Blood Trials’ by N.E. Davenport 

In this young adult, fantasy sci-fi novel, a young Black woman must survive the deadly, racist and misogynistic Praetorian Trials to become an elite warrior. After her grandfather is murdered, young Ikenna realizes the only way to figure out which Praetorian Guard ordered his killing is to get behind enemy lines – fighting to become a Praetorian herself. But only a quarter of those who enter the trial will survive. 

‘Trial of the Sun Queen’ by Nisha J. Tuli

“Trial of the Sun Queen” follows protagonist Lor, who must compete against nine other women to be the Sun King’s queen. After she is released from twelve brutal years of torment under the rival Aurora King, becoming the Sun King's wife will earn her freedom and revenge. But unlike her competitors, she isn’t a citizen of the Sun King’s court, which puts a target on her back. If Lor doesn't win the Sun Queen Trials, she may face death or a return to the evil Aurora King.

‘The New Wilderness’ by Diane Cook

“The New Wilderness” is set in a world plagued by climate change and overpopulation, where all of humanity has condensed into cities. The story follows Bea and her five-year-old daughter, Agnes, whose lungs are suffering from pollution. Desperate to save her daughter, Bea enters into a volunteer study to live as a hunter-gatherer in the Wilderness State. The mother-daughter duo must begin again in this dangerous and wild territory governed by strict Rangers.

‘Hell Followed With Us’ by Andrew Joseph White

In this young adult, dystopian fantasy, Benji, a trans teenager, has escaped from a fundamentalist cult that raised him and decimated the world’s population. He’s rescued by a group of teens from a local LGBTQ+ center which offers him both shelter and community. But he’s hiding a dark secret from his newfound family – he’s slowly being mutated into a bioweapon designed to wipe humanity from the earth for good. 

‘The Atlas Six’ by Olivie Blake

Six talented magicians must fight to survive a deadly initiation process for the prestigious Alexandrian Society. This secret society houses caretakers of lost knowledge and comes with wealth, power and notoriety. But not all are powerful enough to enter. Only five of the six candidates will qualify in the end.

‘Red Rising’ by Pierce Brown

The first of a saga, this young adult, dystopian fantasy centers on a society with a color-coded caste society. Darrow and the other members of the lowest caste, the Reds, work all day to make Mars' surface livable for generations to come. But when a shocking discovery reveals that humanity already reached the surface generations ago, the Reds realize their work has been in vain. They work only to be kept under the thumb of the ruling class. Hell-bent on seeking justice for his peers, Darrow will sacrifice everything to infiltrate the Gold caste, competing for his life to bring down his enemies. 

Clare Mulroy is Paste BN’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com.