Dystopian films and fiction are very popular with the general population, and especially with teenagers. One of the reasons for this is they help us think through the problems in our own societies, and extrapolate them to extremes. Another reason is that most dystopian films and fiction have strong characters resisting the regime they live in: a trait that lots of us find admirable.
There’s a great mix of reading here, for your summer break; Johnny and Kamola have written dystopian fiction, as have Andy and Seajin, who collaborated to write the opening chapter of a dystopian novel. Julia and David, with help from fellow Year 7 students, have produced the start of a graphic novel. Austin and Isabela have written journalistic pieces on the theme and Jade and Eliza have some valuable advice for you on how to survive a Zombie Apocalypse.
Johnny has also written a great film guide, so you can catch up on watching some classic dystopian films over the summer break.
And finally, because you can’t beat great holiday reading, here are my Top 5 dystopian novel recommendations for teenagers:
• The Hunger Games by Susan Collins – Obviously. The books offer so much more than the films.
• Divergent by Veronica Roth – Which faction would YOU be in? Again, you’ll get so much more from the book, even if you’ve already been to see the film.
• Delirium by Lauren Oliver – Love is a disease and you need an operation for the ‘Cure’
• Angelfall by Susan Ee – Angels of eth Apocalypse have destroyed the human world, leaving only small pockets of survivors
• Gone by Michael Grant - In the blink of an eye all the adults disappear in a small town in southern California and no one knows why.
Happy Summer Holidays to you all!
- Ruth Greener