Teens remain fascinated by post-apocalyptic fiction

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Teens remain fascinated by post-apocalyptic fiction
March 1, 2011
By Stefanie Graen
The Kitsap Sun

If you're a person who has brushed science fiction off as too "techie" for your tastes, now's the time to reconsider.

Sci-fi is such a diverse genre filled with so many options that it literally has something for everyone. In the last several years, one of science fiction's subgenres, called dystopian fiction, has exploded in young adult (YA) literature, capturing the attention of both teens and adults who don't normally consider themselves sci-fi lovers.

Dystopian novels take place in either the near or distant future, often in a post-apocalyptic society that is oppressively controlled. Poverty and other social problems are either rampant or carefully hidden from everyone. Many authors take existing societal problems and imagine what would happen if they were ignored or exacerbated.

Because of this, works of dystopian fiction can take on a cautionary tone.

Books such as Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" (1932) George Orwell's "1984" (1949), and Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" (1953) are classic examples of dystopian fiction. The influence of their ideas can be seen in the following YA dystopian fiction books that have been notable in the last few years.'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins (2008)While it wasn't the first YA dystopian novel to become a big hit, "The Hunger Games" has no doubt been the most talked-about. Katniss lives in Panem, a land that resides in the ruins of what was once North America. Panem is made up of 12 impoverished districts that are tightly controlled by the Capitol. To punish the citizens for a violent rebellion decades ago, the Capitol holds an annual event called the Hunger Games. The Games are a televised fight to the death which include two teenage participants from each district whose names are drawn in a lottery. When Katniss' beloved sister is called, Katniss volunteers to take her place in the arena although she knows the consequences.'The Knife of Never Letting Go' by Patrick Ness (2008)Years ago, people from Earth settled a new planet to find a better life. What they found was an alien "noise" that killed off all the women. Now the 150 men in Todd's settlement are all that remain on the planet, and since they have no way to leave, they are slowly dying off. But while Todd is out walking, he finds something strange hiding in the swamp — something he's never seen before except in old movie clips — a girl.'Maze Runner' by James Dashner (2009)Thomas wakes up in an elevator with no memories except for his name. When the elevator door opens, he is welcomed by 60 other boys who have been living in the Glade, a large open area imprisoned by a complicated maze. The boys have been working to find a way out of the maze, but each night the Glade is closed off and the Maze changes, dashing their hopes. They have become used to a new boy being delivered every 30 days, but are startled when the day after Thomas arrives, the elevator opens again, delivering a comatose girl carrying strange instructions.'Birthmarked' by Caragh O'Brien (2010)In the 2300s, Gaia lives north of where the Great Lakes used to be. Like her mother, Gaia is a midwife, which means she must give the first three babies she delivers every month to the leaders of the Enclave, an elite, mysterious group that lives in a walled-in part of the settlement. Gaia's family has always followed the Enclave without question; but when her parents are forcibly taken away by the Enclave for knowing too much, Gaia starts to question whether it deserves her blind loyalty.'Ship Breaker' by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)In a future Gulf Coast setting, teenaged Nailer makes his living scavenging copper wiring from grounded oil tankers. He is a ship breaker — a class of hard-working but hungry "beach rats" who have little hope for the future. When he finds a wrecked luxury clipper ship filled with riches and no survivors, he can hardly believe his luck. But then he realizes that one of the rich passengers, a teenage girl, is still alive. Now Nailer must decide if he should strip the ship or rescue the girl. Winner of the 2011 Printz award for young adult literature.'Matched' by Allyson Condie (2010)Cassia happily lives in a perfect Society in which diseases and conflict have been eradicated. So has the stress of making choices, as everything is determined by Society Officials using probability determined by statistical data. Cassia has been waiting her whole life for her Match banquet, when she will find out who has been chosen as her perfect Match and future partner. It comes as no surprise when she sees the face of Xander on the screen, her close friend since childhood. But when the face of another boy appears for a brief instant after Xander's, Cassia starts to question whether the Society really knows what it's doing, and if she should be following its predictions.'Across the Universe' by Beth Revis (2011)Earth has nearly become uninhabitable, so 100 of its most important scientists and their families, including Amy and her parents, are cyrogenically frozen and put aboard the spaceship Godspeed. They will be awakened in 300 years when their ship reaches the planet they will colonize. Things go awry when Amy is unfrozen 50 years too early, and the officials refuse to unfreeze her parents early. When Amy finds out that someone is intentionally thawing other settlers early so they will die, she teams up with Elder, the future leader of the ship. What begins as a search for a murderer draws them into the even bigger mystery that surrounds the true purpose of the ship.

While I've only included books published in the last three years, these titles helped set the stage for the current interest in this genre: "The Giver" by Lois Lowry (1993), "Feed" by M.T. Anderson (2002), "The Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld (2005), and "Unwind" by Neal Schusterman (2007).