House of Sky and Breath is the second book in the Crescent City series and is definitely a downgrade from the first one. The story follows Bryce, Hunt and their friends after surviving the attack of Hel, a demon realm, in the first book. Bryce takes risks in her relationship with both Hunt and the rebel rebellion that is fighting against the unjust rule of the Asteri. Secrets are exposed and new enemies are revealed as Bryce and Hunt explore their future.
Uglies by Scott Westerfield is a dystopian that follows a girl named Tally Youngblood in a world that revolves around beauty and peer pressure. In Uglyville, everyone undergoes a procedure upon their sixteenth birthday to become “pretty”, which is essentially a cosmetic surgery that imbues traits of conventional attractiveness into the teenagers.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a dystopian book that takes place in a country known as Panem, where the Capitol has oppressive control over the twelve other districts. Katniss Everdeen, a teenager from District 12, volunteers to take her sister's place in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are a fight to the death involving teenagers from each district. The story follows Katniss as she experiences the Hunger Games.
Uglies is a dystopian novel set in a society where everyone gets a mandatory cosmetic surgery at 16 to become a “Pretty.” The story follows Tally Youngblood, a 15-year-old girl eagerly waiting her transformation. However, she starts doubting the system when she meets Shay, a rebellious girl who resists the operation and introduces Tally to the Smoke, a hidden city of people who reject societal beauty standards.
Katniss and Peeta have just won the 74th Hunger Games with the help of their mentor Haymitch and want to live peacefully. However, they have become targets of the Capital due to their suicide attempt during the games that sparked rebellion in some of the Districts. Despite their efforts, more and more uprisings occur. President Snow decides to have the next Hunger Game tributes be chosen from the current ring of victors. Now Peeta and Katniss are up against their fiercest competitors yet with so much more on the line.
1984 by George Orwell is great and shows the dangers of surveillance. The book is set in a creepy dystopian future where the government has total control over everything and always watches society's every move. The main character, Winston, is a rebel who starts to question the government's authority.
It’s 1989 and Christian Florescu lives in Romania under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu. After the secret police blackmails Christian to be an informer and spy on Americans. In a society built by fear and mistrust, Christian wants to save his grandfather and wants to stay out of trouble so he agrees. Christian uses his connections with the Americans to spread the truth about Ceaușescu and shed light on Romanians living under his harsh rule. When the time to fight comes, Christian is one of the firsts to stand up.
