The Hunger Games is officially the hottest book in the world right now. We get asked several times a day, every day, all day, if we have copies of the book. "Why, yes, yes, we do have 10 copies of the book. No. No, they are not here, sadly. They are all checked out! There are 820 holds on the book system wide. Would you like to wait for the book?" That's how it goes at the desk. BUT have no fear! Ms. Sarah has a read-alike list for you!
These are Ms. Sarah's favorite read-alikes for Hunger Games while you wait for your copy--or after you've read Mockingjay and can't believe it's over.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Mary lives in a zombie world. The "Unconsecrated" dominate everything. They form the "Forest of Hands and Teeth" surrounding her town. It is all she has ever known--the Forest and her little town.
But when the Sisterhood--the religious sect that leads her town--determine to marry her off to a boy she doesn't love, she starts asking questions... are the stories about something called an ocean true? Is there anything beyond the Forest of Hands and Teeth? Is there a way past the zombies...?
This is book one in a series, but the other books have different narrators. A great, creepy zombie book!
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Thomas wakes up in a box with no memory. A bunch of kids look down at him. He soon learns that he's trapped in the maze. If he tries to escape, rabid robotic monsters will chase him down and kill him.
An excellent, fast-paced adventure. Book one in a series!
Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Some time in the future, Saba lives in a place called Silverlake, a "dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant dust storms." Her story starts with a bunch of strangers kidnapping her twin brother, Lugh. When Saba sets out to find her twin, she herself ends up getting captured... and thrown into cage fights, where the crowd is hopped up on a drug called chaal and they go wild for blood. But Saba knows she must get out. She has to find Lugh--before it's too late.
Book one in a series! The action really picks up once she starts cage-fighting, and the narration is really intersting with the vernacular!
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Imagine being trapped in a prison that can think for itself. The prison will trick you, trap you, and try to kill you before it lets you out. That's Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own. And Finn is stuck inside.
Meanwhile, to free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden, decides to help Finn escape because she thinks Finn is more than just an ordinary prisoner.
Book one in a series! A nicely crafted dual narration. You'll be wondering exactly who Finn is and what exactly Claudia will do to help him escape.
Lockdown by Alexander Smith
When fourteen-year-old Alex is framed for murder, he becomes an inmate in the Furnace Penitentiary, where brutal inmates and sadistic guards reign, boys who disappear in the middle of the night sometimes return weirdly altered, and escape might just be possible.
Book one in a series! Absolutely thrilling to read; I couldn't put it down!
You can see the full list of potential Hunger Games read-alikes here. May the odds be ever in your favor that you'll get a hold of The Hunger Games sooner rather than later because it truly is one of the best books ever--but if not, there're plenty of great books just waiting for you to find them.
--Ms. Sarah, Youth Services Librarian
