You might think of dystopia as the purvey of YA (young adult), but there are a lot of excellent dystopian books for middle grade readers too. This bookmark, featuring six middle grade dystopian books, is one of the most popular in my classroom library! You can download a full page of bookmarks here.
You can see the whole set of bookmark blog posts here: Book Recommendation Bookmarks. If you want recommendations from my fifth graders themselves, check out #iLoveMG for individual books and Best Book Lists for their end-of-year favorites.
Favorite Dystopian Middle Grade Stories
Alone (series) by Megan E. Freeman. When a sleepover goes awry, Maddie finds herself alone in a town that has been entirely evacuated. She must learn to survive on her own when all the trappings of modern society have stopped working. This fast-paced novel-in-verse is gripping and thrilling. (When I read this aloud to my fifth graders, they begged for just one more poem every time.) Book two, Away, presents an alternate perspective on the same events, and my students are eagerly awaiting book three!
Cleo Porter and the Body Electric by Jake Burt. A pandemic has forced everyone to survive in their own separate, compartmentalized units. But when Cleo mistakenly receives a stranger's package, she knows the recipients life might be in danger. What she does not know is what challenges she will face in her efforts to return the package... and perhaps uncover the secrets behind their enforced isolation.
Outside by Jennifer L. Holm (Newbery winning author). Razzi and her friends have lived their entire lives inside the Refuge, fearful of the Outside that recently resulted in the death of her friend Ollie. But an encounter with a stray dog has Razzi questioning things she never has before. Can she handle the answers she uncovers?
Dark Life by Kat Falls. [Student review by Owen.] The water level is rising and there is only one square mile of land left so some people are living in the sea. There is a guy named Ty, and he meets and girl named Gemma from the land. Outlaws attack their home underwater, and they have to catch the outlaws. It was a good book. I thought there was a good mix between violence and mystery. So if you like dystopian books then you should read this book I rate it a 4 out of 5 stars.
Among the Hidden (series) by Margaret Peterson Haddix. [Student review by Jack.] Margret Peterson Haddix has outdone herself with this series. Among the Hidden is about a boy who has to stay hidden since he is a third child, if he doesn’t the population police will come after him. One day he sees a girl’s face in the window of a house where two children already live, Now he has found another shadow child like himself. The other shadow child, Jen, has a plan to make the third children free, but it is very dangerous and possibly deadly.
Personally, I think this is a great book since it slowly starts to get more exciting, and then Wham! There's the surprise ending. If you don’t mind a or like a very sad ending, with quite a plot twist, and if you like series, then this is the book for you! I would give this book five out of five stars because of all these things! Now go read this über exciting book!
The City of Ember (series) by Jeanne DuPrau. [Student review by Louis] The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, is a dystopian or post-apocalyptic fiction book. The book is centered around two main characters, Lina and Doon. It is about a city where the sky is pitch black, and the only thing stopping all light in the city from vanishing forever is a river and a machine that generates electricity from the flow of the river. But during the events of the book the lights are starting to flicker.
I think that this design of the post-apocalyptic world is an extremely creative idea. One of the ongoing themes of this book and others in this series is how they managed to make suspense and excitement with a completely non-violent story.
This book is not like very many other books I have read, as it has an original theme and setting, but if you like books with lots of suspense and several twists and turns along the way, the City of Ember is one of my favorites in the category. In conclusion this is one of my favorite books that I have read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a mystery-ish story with a great plot and lots of suspense.
What other dystopian middle grade books would you include? Share in the comments below!
Looking for more middle grade? Check out #iLoveMG for all my 5th graders' book reviews or Best Book Lists for their end-of-year favorites.
