Books Like The Hunger Games: The Best Dystopian and Survival Stories for Teens
Updated September 2026
Books Like The Hunger Games: The Short Answer
The best books like The Hunger Games are Divergent, Red Queen, The Maze Runner, Legend, Scythe and The Giver, with The City of Ember for younger readers. They share Panem's unfair societies, deadly contests and teenagers who fight back. Before looking elsewhere, though, check that your reader has all five of Suzanne Collins's Panem books.
The Hunger Games trilogy now has two prequels: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020) and Sunrise on the Reaping (March 2025), Haymitch's story, with a film due November 20, 2026. Our Hunger Games books in order guide explains where they fit.
After that, these are the picks we recommend most, sorted by what the reader loved:
- The arena and the competition: Red Queen (2015), Lore (2021), Ender's Game (1985).
- The unfair society and the rebellion: Divergent (2011), Legend (2011), Scythe (2016), The Giver (1993), Uglies (2005).
- Pure survival: The Maze Runner (2009), The 5th Wave (2013), Hatchet (1987).
- For younger readers: The City of Ember (2003), Among the Hidden (1998).
The details are below, including a violence and content note for each one, since these books range from gentle to genuinely brutal.
In this guide:
- If They Loved the Arena
- If They Loved the Rebellion Against an Unjust System
- If They Loved the Survival
- For Younger Readers Not Ready for Panem
- Where Panem Came From: The Classics
- Choosing a Dystopian Read by Violence Level
- Shop Used Dystopian Fiction
- Frequently Asked Questions
If They Loved the Arena
The Games themselves are what hooked most readers: a public contest, rules made by the powerful, and a hero who survives by being cleverer than the system.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Start with: Red Queen (2015). In Mare Barrow's world, people are divided by the color of their blood. Silvers have powers and rule, and Reds serve. Then Mare, a Red, shows a power of her own in front of the whole court. There are palace intrigue, a rebellion and a love triangle. The main series is four books, and the first won the Goodreads Choice Award for debut author.
Ages: 13 and up. Content note: violence and executions, betrayal, some kissing.
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
Start with: Lore (2021). Every seven years in modern New York, the Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, and the descendants of ancient bloodlines hunt them to take their power. It's the Hunger Games formula with mythology, and it's a good pick for a teen who grew up on Percy Jackson.
Ages: 15 and up. Content note: graphic violence, profanity and some mature themes. This is upper YA, so read the reviews first.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Start with: Ender's Game (1985). Earth takes gifted children to an orbiting Battle School and trains them for war through zero-gravity combat games. Six-year-old Ender is the best of them, and the adults are using him. It won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, and it's a classic that teens still pick up on their own.
Ages: 12 and up. Content note: child-on-child violence, including two deaths, and some crude language between the kids.
If They Loved the Rebellion Against an Unjust System
Panem is really a story about power: who has it, what they do to keep it, and what it costs to fight back. These dystopias ask the same questions, and our longer list of dystopian books for teens has more.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Start with: Divergent (2011). In a future Chicago, everyone is sorted into one of five factions at sixteen. Tris chooses the daring Dauntless faction and hides that she fits more than one. It's the closest match to The Hunger Games in pace and feel. See our Divergent reading order.
Ages: 13 and up. Content note: violence, a suicide, an attempted assault, romance.
Legend by Marie Lu
Start with: Legend (2011). In a militarized future Los Angeles, the Republic's most wanted criminal, fifteen-year-old Day, crosses paths with June, the prodigy sent to hunt him down. The chapters alternate between the two of them, and the plot is fast. The trilogy later got a fourth book, Rebel.
Ages: 12 and up. Content note: violence and a plague storyline; romance stays clean.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Start with: Scythe (2016). In a future where nobody dies naturally, Scythes are appointed to "glean" people to control the population. Two teenagers are chosen as apprentices, and only one will be allowed to become a Scythe. It's the most thought-provoking book here and great for discussion. It's the first of the Arc of a Scythe trilogy.
Ages: 14 and up. Content note: many killings, some mass killings; thoughtful rather than gory, but constant.
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Start with: The Giver (1993). Jonas's community has no pain, no color and no choice. When he's chosen to receive its memories, he finds out what that peace has cost. It won the 1994 Newbery Medal, and it's the thoughtful, shorter dystopia most homeschool families read first. It's the first of four loosely connected books.
Ages: 11 and up. Content note: one disturbing scene involving an infant; no gore.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Start with: Uglies (2005). At sixteen, everyone gets surgery to become "Pretty," and Tally can't wait. Then her friend runs away and Tally has to follow. The book is about beauty, conformity and control, and it's a good conversation starter for teens. Netflix released a film in 2024, and the book is better.
Ages: 12 and up. Content note: mild violence, body-image themes.
If They Loved the Survival
Katniss hunting in the woods, finding water and treating wounds. For some readers that was the best part.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Start with: The Maze Runner (2009). Thomas wakes up in a lift with no memory and arrives in the Glade, a clearing of boys surrounded by a maze that changes every night. It's fast and full of mystery, and many reluctant teen readers finish it. Our Maze Runner reading guide lists the prequels.
Ages: 12 and up. Content note: violence and character deaths; made-up slang in place of swearing.
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Start with: The 5th Wave (2013). An alien invasion has come in waves: the power went out, the coasts flooded, a plague spread, and then came the Silencers. Cassie trusts no one as she tries to reach her little brother. It's tense, and there's a love interest she isn't sure about. It's a trilogy.
Ages: 14 and up. Content note: heavy violence, including against children, and some profanity.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Start with: Hatchet (1987). Thirteen-year-old Brian is the only survivor of a small plane crash in the Canadian wilderness, and all he has is a hatchet. There's no dystopia at all, just survival told very well. It was a Newbery Honor book and is the first of five books about Brian.
Ages: 10 and up. Content note: the pilot's death, and Brian's knowledge of his mother's affair.
For Younger Readers Not Ready for Panem
A lot of ten- and eleven-year-olds want to read The Hunger Games because everyone else is. These two give them the same big ideas without children killing children.
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Start with: The City of Ember (2003). The underground city's lights are failing, and Lina and Doon find part of an old message that might be the way out. It's a mystery-dystopia with no romance and very little violence. There are four books, including a prequel.
Ages: 9–12. Content note: mild peril.
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Start with: Among the Hidden (1998). Families are allowed only two children. Luke is a third, and he has spent his whole life hidden in the attic, until he sees another hidden child in a house nearby. It's the first of the Shadow Children series, short and gripping.
Ages: 9–13. Content note: a character is killed offstage.
Where Panem Came From: The Classics
Older teens who liked the ideas in The Hunger Games are ready for the books that invented the genre. George Orwell's 1984 and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 are the two to start with. Our guides to George Orwell's books in order and Ray Bradbury's books in order explain what to read and when. They also make excellent high school literature units.
Choosing a Dystopian Read by Violence Level
| Intensity | Books | Typical ages |
|---|---|---|
| Gentle | The City of Ember, Among the Hidden | 9–12 |
| Moderate | The Giver, Hatchet, Uglies, Legend | 11–13 |
| Similar to The Hunger Games | Divergent, The Maze Runner, Red Queen, Ender's Game | 12–14 |
| More intense | Scythe, The 5th Wave, Lore | 14–16+ |
A word of caution about a few titles that come up on other "books like The Hunger Games" lists: Battle Royale and Red Rising are adult novels with graphic violence well beyond anything in Panem. They're not books for middle schoolers, whatever the internet says.
Shop Used Dystopian Fiction
Dystopian series come in threes and fours, and buying them used keeps a whole trilogy affordable. Browse our young adult and science fiction shelves, or use the search links above to see what's in stock. Every copy is a single used copy, so availability changes daily. Orders over $15 ship free.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most similar book to The Hunger Games?
Divergent by Veronica Roth is the closest in pace, setting and heroine. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is the closest if your reader loved the spectacle and the unfair class system.
How many Hunger Games books are there?
Five. The original trilogy plus two prequels: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020) and Sunrise on the Reaping (2025), which follows Haymitch's Games.
When is the Sunrise on the Reaping movie coming out?
Lionsgate has scheduled the film for November 20, 2026, with Francis Lawrence directing.
What are good books like The Hunger Games for 11-year-olds?
The City of Ember, Among the Hidden and The Giver give younger readers the same questions about fairness and control without the violence of the arena. Hatchet is a good survival pick.
Are there books like The Hunger Games for adults?
Ender's Game and Scythe both work well for adults. Adult readers can also go to the classics behind the genre, 1984 and Fahrenheit 451.
What age is appropriate for The Hunger Games?
Most families wait until about 12 or 13. The books show children killing children, although not in graphic detail, so reading the first one alongside your teen gives you a chance to talk it through.
