Thrilling YA Dystopian Series to Read After The Hunger Games

I love the heart-pounding suspense and brave characters in books like The Hunger Games, and I have a list of series that gave me that same can’t-put-it-down feeling. These stories hooked me with their imaginative worlds and emotional depth.

In this article, I will share my personal favorites that echo the rebellion and adventure you enjoyed. Below are a few series to spark your curiosity.

• The Selection by Kiera Cass
• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
• Legend by Marie Lu

Find Your Next Favorite Dystopian Series: A Reader’s Guide

I remember the first time I picked up one of those books. The adrenaline of the arena, the tension of a collapsing society-it was a specific thrill. If you’re chasing that feeling again, you’ve come to the right place. This guide is built for you.

Instead of just listing titles, I’ve sorted recommendations by the specific elements that made you love the classics. Are you here for the survival action? The romance? The full-scale rebellion? We’ll find your next obsession. If you haven’t named any favorites yet, I’ll still tailor suggestions by mood and theme. No need to list genres—these picks connect by vibe, from survival grit to romance to rebellion. This list focuses on YA, but I’ve included a few adult options for older fans seeking that same tense, page-turning vibe.

If You Loved the Survival Action and Deadly Games

This is for the readers who turned pages fastest during the Hunger Games and the Glade trials. The heart of this category is a simple, terrifying rule: win or die. You’ll find high-stakes physical competitions, brutal arenas, and desperate escape scenarios here.

I’ve picked series where the action is relentless and the rules of the game are a matter of life and death. These are the books you pick up when you want your pulse to race from the first chapter. If you’re curious about other great chronicles similar to the most popular titles I’ve already read, I’ll highlight those matches in the next steps. These suggestions will help you find even more series that push you to the edge.

Top Picks for Non-Stop Thrills

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Aliens are systematically wiping out humanity in calculated waves. The first wave was an electromagnetic pulse. The second, a giant flood. By the fifth wave, you can’t trust that anyone is even human. It’s a story of pure, paranoid survival.

• Vibe Check: Gritty and military-focused. The pacing is relentless and the enemy is invisible, making every interaction tense. Romance takes a backseat to sheer survival.
• Media Pairing: A stark, black iced tea. It’s bracing, unsweetened, and keeps you on high alert.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Society is split by blood: the elite, silver-blooded Silvers with superpowers, and the common, red-blooded Reds who serve them. When a Red girl discovers she possesses a deadly Silver ability, she’s thrust into the Silver world to hide in plain sight.

• Vibe Check: Glittery court politics smashed together with brutal arena combat. It’s perfect if you want the fancy dresses and deception of the Capitol alongside life-or-death fights.
• Media Pairing: A pop album with heavy, thrumming beats and soaring, defiant vocals.

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

A disease has killed most American children. The survivors develop dangerous psychic abilities and are imprisoned in brutal “rehabilitation” camps. The story follows a group of these teens as they escape and search for a mythical safe haven.

• Vibe Check: A tense road-trip story mixed with the constant fear of being captured. The bonds between the characters are the emotional core amidst the chaos.
• Media Pairing: A playlist of indie rock songs perfect for a long, wistful drive with your friends.

If You Were Hooked by the Rebellion Against the System

Maybe for you, the best part wasn’t the Games themselves, but the spark of revolution they ignited. This section is for fans of the growing resistance, the secret plans, and the final stand against a corrupt power. These are some of the best book series like Hunger Games for their focus on dismantling a cruel world from within, continuing the tradition of dystopian fiction from 1984 to the Hunger Games.

These series often start with a single defiant act that snowballs into a war. A note: some first books build a bit slower as they establish the oppressive world, but the payoff in the sequels is immense.

Series Built for Revolutionaries

Legend by Marie Lu

Told from two alternating views: June, a military prodigy hunting the country’s most wanted criminal, and Day, the charming rebel believed to be responsible for murdering June’s brother. Their paths collide in a cat-and-mouse game that exposes the Republic’s darkest secrets.

• Vibe Check: High-tech, sleek, and full of chase sequences. The dual perspective makes the plot fly, and the writing is crisp and highly accessible.
• Media Pairing: The feeling of a late-night drive through a futuristic city, with neon lights reflecting on wet pavement.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Juliette’s touch is lethal. Locked away for a crime she didn’t mean to commit, she is suddenly “rescued” by the ruthless leader of The Reestablishment, who sees her not as a person, but as a weapon. The prose itself is a character, full of strikethroughs and raw emotion.

• Vibe Check: Intensely poetic and emotional, with moments of explosive action. The romantic tension is a major engine of the plot, making it ideal for readers who want their rebellion with a heavy side of passion.
• Media Pairing: Something decadent and dark, like a single, perfect piece of rich chocolate cake.

If You Craved the Romance Amidst the Chaos

Sometimes, the heart of the story isn’t just the crumbling government, it’s the connection that forms in the ruins. If you found yourself turning the pages for Katniss and Peeta’s moments as much as for the Games themselves, this list is for you. I’m zeroing in on series where the romantic relationship is a central, driving engine of the plot, not just a side note. This is perfect for readers searching for true action romance books like Divergent, where the fight for love is as intense as the fight for freedom.

Be honest with yourself about what you want. Some of these are romance-forward stories set in a dystopian world. Others have a stronger balance, where the romance fuels the rebellion. I’ll help you spot the difference so you can choose the best enemies-to-lovers romance and thriller books where the romantic tension fuels the dangerous plot.

For Readers Who Ship the Characters as Hard as They Root for the Revolution

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Imagine a world that has diagnosed love as a deadly disease. The cure is a procedure everyone receives at age eighteen, ensuring a safe, predictable, and emotionless life. Lena Halpern is counting down the days until her cure. Then, with just months to go, she meets Alex, and everything changes. This series is about the most intimate rebellion possible choosing to feel love in a world that calls it madness.

• Vibe Check: Yearning, poetic, and focused on the intimate rebellion of two people. There’s less large-scale physical action than in The Hunger Games, but the emotional stakes couldn’t be higher. Every glance and secret meeting feels like a triumph.
• Perfect Pairing: A dreamy, indie folk playlist full of acoustic guitars and wistful vocals.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Think of this as a dystopian twist on a royal reality TV show, and you’ve got the premise. In a future society divided by castes, thirty-five girls are chosen to compete for the heart of the prince and a life of glittering luxury. For America Singer, it’s a chance to save her family from poverty, not to fall for Prince Maxon. If you’re curious about other books like The Selection—featuring royal competitions, love triangles, and dystopian societies—you’ll find a few near-perfect matches. These titles pair romance with political intrigue in high-stakes worlds.

• Vibe Check: Much lighter on physical battles, heavier on gorgeous dresses, palace intrigue, and relationship drama. It’s a fantastic gateway dystopian with a huge, satisfying romantic payoff across the series.
• Perfect Pairing: A fancy cup of floral tea in your most delicate china cup.

Best Recent and Upcoming YA Dystopian Books (2022-2024)

I get a lot of questions from readers asking, “What’s new?” They want books from 2022, 2024, and titles published since 2017. The good news is the genre is alive and evolving. New voices are blending dystopian elements with fantasy, horror, and deep personal narratives, creating stories that feel both fresh and familiar. The core themes of survival, rebellion, and identity remain, but the worlds are wonderfully unexpected—offering even more variety than the typical apocalyptic and post-collapse fiction.

Fresh Takes on a Classic Genre

Book & Author	Genre Blend	Why You Might Like It
City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer	Dystopian Fantasy / Horror	If the grotesque Grievers from the Maze haunted you, you’ll love this. In a city where your nightmares can physically transform you into monsters, a cowardly girl gets tangled in a conspiracy. It’s a witty, dark, and brilliantly unique take on fear itself.
All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown	Post-Apocalyptic / LGBTQ+ Romance	This captures the survival bond of Katniss and Peeta in a pandemic-ravaged world. Two boys, Andrew and Jamie, meet while scavenging and must rely on each other to stay alive. It’s a heartfelt, action-packed story where romance grows slowly and organically amidst genuine peril.
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett	Feminist Dystopian Thriller	For fans of the harsh, rule-bound societies in Divergent and Panem. In this isolated community, girls are banished at sixteen to release their dangerous “magic” so they can return as purified wives. It’s a visceral, standalone story about female rage, survival, and the brutal cost of conformity.

Great “Adult Books Like” Your YA Favorites

Maybe you’ve reread your favorite YA dystopian series a few times. You love the fast pace and the thrilling plots, but now you’re curious about stories with more complex worlds and older characters. I get it. I looked for those exact things. The search for “adult books like The Hunger Games” or “adult books like Divergent” is a natural next step. The books I’m suggesting share that DNA-propulsive plots, fierce heroes, and societies that feel broken-but they explore their worlds with the nuance and maturity of an adult novel. Are the best young adult dystopian romance series similar to The Hunger Games, Divergent, or The Selection? We’ll explore that overlap in the next steps.

This list is for you when you’re ready for stories that don’t hold back on moral complexity, language, or the grim realities of power. Think of it as graduating to a new shelf, not leaving your old favorites behind.

When You’re Ready for a Grittier, More Complex World

These series ask bigger, harder questions. The heroes face impossible choices, and the victories are often bittersweet. The writing itself might demand a bit more from you, but the payoff is immense. Here are two perfect places to start.

The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

If the systemic oppression and world-altering stakes of The Hunger Games gripped you, this trilogy is your logical next read. It’s a masterpiece of epic fantasy that centers on a mother trying to save her daughter in a world that violently hates people like her. The land itself is constantly shaking apart, a dystopia written into the geography. It’s one of the best young adult dystopian rebellion books for fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.

This series is for readers who loved the scale of their YA books but want prose that is richer, denser, and unforgettably powerful. Jemisin builds a caste system based on innate power that will feel hauntingly familiar, yet entirely new.

A quick note before you start: the themes here are profoundly heavy. The story deals directly with racism, oppression, loss, and motherhood in a raw, unflinching way. The second-person narration in parts can be challenging, but it pulls you into the character’s mind in a way few other books can. For readers curious about other works exploring escape, identity, and survival under oppressive systems, The Underground Railroad is a touchstone. Shows like Orphan Black offer a parallel look at identity and power across different forms.

My pairing for it: a cup of strong, smoky lapsang souchong tea. It’s an intense, acquired taste that lingers long after you’re done, just like this story.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

I often describe this as “The Hunger Games in space, but with the ruthless political intrigue of Game of Thrones.” The first book follows Darrow, a lowly miner from the Red caste, as he infiltrates the elite Gold ruling class by competing in a brutal, high-stakes academy. The pace is breakneck, and the hero is brilliantly cunning.

This series takes the “chosen one infiltrates the elite” premise and expands it into a solar system-wide revolution of staggering scope and brutality. The first book has a very familiar YA tournament structure, but then the story explodes into something much larger, more political, and more devastating.

Be ready for an unrelenting ride. It is operatic, brutal, and full of shocking betrayals. The violence is graphic, and the characters are morally gray in ways that will make you question every alliance.

My vibe check: a classic heavy metal album. It’s loud, angry, orchestral in its fury, and somehow finds moments of stunning beauty amidst the chaos.

Find Your Next Dystopian Adventure

The best part of this genre is finding a new world that feels both thrillingly different and hauntingly familiar. If you loved The Wheel of Time for its world-building and character arcs, you might wonder which epic fantasies truly measure up. Look for series that balance high-stakes action with characters you want to follow, and you will find yourself with a brand-new favorite.

Written by Chrestos Plácida. Chrestos is an avid book reader and enthusiast. He reads and reviews countless books every year and has started multiple book clubs around his community where he helps the readers decide on which book to read next based on his personal reading experience. He also has a degree in literature and an interest in the classics and history and has written many books reviews for online blogs and review sites.