The Short Version
If you finished The Hunger Games and you need something just as gripping, this one’s for you. Six books to read next, no spoilers.
I picked them for three things Suzanne Collins does brilliantly: a deadly contest, a cruel system, and a hero who refuses to play by its rules.
Battle Royale
Number one: Battle Royale, by Koushun Takami, first published in Japan in nineteen ninety nine. A class of junior high students is taken to an island by the government and forced to kill each other until one is left.
It’s darker and more violent than The Hunger Games, and it’s for adults. If you want the purest version of the premise, start here.
The Long Walk
Number two: The Long Walk, by Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, from nineteen seventy nine. A hundred teenage boys enter a walking contest. If you slow down too many times, you’re shot.
It’s bleak, simple and relentless. Pick it for pure endurance horror.
Divergent
Number three: Divergent, by Veronica Roth, from twenty eleven. In a future Chicago, everyone is sorted into one of five factions at sixteen. Tris doesn’t fit any of them, and that’s dangerous.
It’s the closest match in tone, with training, rivals and romance. If you only pick one, pick this.
The Maze Runner
Number four: The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, from two thousand nine. Thomas wakes up in a glade surrounded by a giant maze, with no memory and a group of boys who’ve been trapped there for years.
It’s a fast mystery with monsters. Pick it for the puzzle.
Legend
Number five: Legend, by Marie Lu, from twenty eleven. In a future Los Angeles, a prodigy soldier, June, hunts the country’s most wanted criminal, a boy called Day.
It alternates between their two points of view. Pick it for a cat and mouse chase.
Red Queen
Number six: Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard, from twenty fifteen. Society is split by blood: silver bloods have powers, red bloods serve them. Then Mare, a red, discovers she has a power too.
It’s dystopia with royal intrigue and fantasy. Pick it if you want more magic.
How To Choose
So, how to choose. For the purest version, Battle Royale. For endurance horror, The Long Walk. For the closest match, Divergent.
For a mystery, The Maze Runner. For a chase, Legend. And for magic and royalty, Red Queen.
Your Turn
Which one are you reading first? Tell me in the comments. My review and the series guide are linked below.
