YAy for Dystopian
Once upon time when writers wrote about the world going wrong and trying to make a go of it in the aftermath the novels usually found its way on the college reading list. Ruined landscapes, fragmented governments, odd creatures mucking about, abundance of shortages and the like just wasn’t fit for kiddos. Think about the titles: Brave New World, 1984, Time Machine, Fahrenheit 451, A Clockwork Orange. Right. Yes. Some of them do end up on high school lists, but not when they first came out. There is a reason for that.
Lately, the shelves are full of dystopian novels and those shelves are usually in the YA section. There is a reason for that too.
Back in the once upon a time, the world wasn’t that scary, even with the Cold War, we still had a pretty good idea of feeling on top of the world, so we could poke a bit around the edges of the “what ifs.” Then the world did get scary. AIDS, a couple of wars in a few out-of-the-way places, recession, terrorists, weather disasters, recalls–dystopian became popular among YA because the future is not looking so bright anymore. I’m just saying.
In fact, the adults are now reading the YA list (even though some don’t admit it): The Giver, Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent are some names that pop to the surface.
Is Dystopian bad for teens? I don’t think so. I didn’t get ruined from reading Brave New World in college, although 1984 and Clockwork Orange had me thinking hard at times.
What do you think? Is there a difference between YA dystopian fiction and adult dystopian? Or is a bad world after the fact good reading for both adults and teens?
Pam Webb 
I enjoyed the YA Dystopian novels I read lately. I don’t think they are bad for teenagers, I think teenagers are more aware these days of the gloom and doom that can happen then they were years ago.
Thanks for sharing.
I have a contest going on over at my blog, feel free to enter for a great giveaway.
Maribeth:)
Dystopian is fascinating to everyone, especially kids…who doesn’t love a book/film/game where all the rules are changed and danger abounds…it’s as ghoulish as loving horror films but we all do to a certain extent.
I think children are to used to it these days with all the media focus on such things and also the adults who were inspired by the great dystopian novels. I will always be in favour of more but that is because I like a bit of grim in my mind.
I’m reviewing another dystopian novel and after that read I best move onto something a bit cheerier. Grim needs to become grin for me especially during these gray winter days.
Something with a lot of primary colours will be a nice treat!
I saw your site and thought I could suggest a dystopian fiction ebook I just finished co-authoring. It’s called The OBSTACLE, and is available on Amazon Kindle and Kobo.com. Paperback will follow soon. Be sure to read the sample (longer excerpt is on Amazon – 17,000+ words).
I hope you enjoy it! Thanks!
– Chris
http://www.amazon.com/OBSTACLE-Frank-Casso-ebook/dp/B00IMUAJR4/ref=la_B00IO65E1M_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393955885&sr=1-1
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-obstacle-1
Thanks for the suggestion👍