Reel Reading: Dystopias

Do you enjoy a good binge-fest over books, tv series, or films? Join us to talk about all things binge-worthy in our new Reel Reading club for Teens. Come join us on Zoom on November 22nd at 7 p.m. for a discussion on dystopian books.

Reel Reading is a teen-specific book, film and TV club meeting virtually on the fourth Monday each month at 7 p.m. via Zoom. This club is for ages 13-18 and each month will have a genre or theme to explore. Register for our next session here.

Teen Street Team member Sana is our guest blogger for this month and talks about her favorite dystopian books.

Hey, fellow reader! Guess what time it is. That’s right, it’s Reel Reading time! It’s already November and I am thrilled to tell you about my favorite genre of books: dystopian. Dystopian books may be the most popular type of fiction books among book lovers, and for good reason. They stem from realistic worlds to ones that even imagination cannot capture, yet they all have something in common: there is something not right in the world created. Through this I can imagine myself in the shoes of the main characters, thinking about what choices I would make if I were in their place, and this aspect is one of my favorites, and I know I’m not alone. With dystopia books, you get submerged in a new world with your primary goal set to help fix it. Dystopian works take theoretical ideas of society as we know it, good or bad, and take off on it, allowing us to follow the imagination of the author into a new world of both our own.

My favorite series of all from the dystopian genre is the Arc of the Scythe trilogy. I remember back in seventh grade, my English teacher would put his top pick out of his books on a pedestal in the back of the classroom. One day, I went up to check out his pick and got intrigued by the cover. As I would typically read during class, I gave this book a try and I was absolutely blown away. This series in particular sticks out at me because it poses a question for what our society could become if we were to conquer death. Seems ideal, right? Now, this is where dystopian books stick out. In a dystopian book, the authors can take perfectly ideal scenarios and illustrate how what is on the surface might not be the case. If we were to conquer death, how would we curb the population, and who is to say those in power to take life won’t become corrupt. Who is to say anyone can stop them? These questions and more are answered in this series and words cannot describe how much I admire this trilogy. The questions that dystopian books pose are another reason I absolutely adore them. They make you think without you realizing it and help you in real life by creating the ability to question when things seem too perfect. 

Are you interested in diving in? Here are a few other book recommendations (dystopian works are not just limited to books, but these are a few of our favorites):

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – Print, eBook, Audiobook, eAudiobook
• The Giver by Lois Lowry – Print, Large Print, eBook, eAudiobook
• Legend by Marie Lu – Print, Large Print, eBook, eAudiobook
• The Selection by Kiera Cass – Print, eBook, Audiobook, eAudiobook
• Divergent by Veronica Roth – Print, Large Print, eBook, Audiobook, eAudiobook
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer – Print, Large Print, eBook, eAudiobook
• Heartless by Marissa Meyer – Print, eBook, Audiobook, eAudiobook
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner – Print, eBook, Audiobook, eAudiobook
• The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau – Print, eBook, eAudiobook

Come join us on November 22nd for our Reel Reading meeting to discuss your favorite dystopian books, movies, and TV shows!