text: Sarah is another one of my fellow dystopian lovers and I was so excited when Sarah asked if she could put student quotes in her guest post- what a great way to show the real impact of this genre!
  I didn’t know it at the time, but I was first exposed to
  dystopian literature when I read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley for
  my senior AP English class. I remember
  being confused as I read Huxley’s classic, but I tried my best to make sense of
  it so I could write my essay. I didn’t
  read another dystopian novel until I took Literature of Non-Western Cultures
  during my under-grad. The title escapes
  me, but my professor organized this class so we were reading and studying
  utopias, dystopias and ending with myopia.
  Thankfully my professor took more time to explain the differences which
  helped my understanding greatly.
  up my past experiences with dystopian literature because besides wishing that
  Y.A. had boomed when I was in high school, I wish titles like The Hunger Games, Memento Nora, and Unwind were around
  when I was reading those required high school and college titles. I think I would have had a better understanding
  of Brave New World if I had already
  been exposed to dystopian titles written for teens. Young adult authors and publishers have done
  a top-notch job making dystopian and post-apocalyptic stories more accessible
  and easy to understand for our teens.
  This is an intriguing, discussion-heavy genre that should be explored by
  teens, and now it’s easier and more fun than ever. I’ve read quite a few dystopian and
  post-apocalyptic titles, so I know that not all of them are “fun,” but my
  students love reading them regardless. I
  teach mostly freshmen and I’ve noticed that in general they aren’t very
  interested in the government. Once I
  started reading The Hunger Games aloud
  to my freshmen, more and more of my students started asking questions about the
  government and whether something like the Hunger Games could actually happen
  one day. These two genres in Y.A. are
  provoking thoughtful discussions.
  blog I focus quite a bit on my students because everything I read is with them
  in mind. Granted I get to enjoy some
  fabulous novels in the process, but the more important part is connecting my
  students with titles. I love exposing
  them to new authors, topics, genres, and more. With the recent popularity of dystopian and
  post-apocalyptic stories, I’ve been collecting a large variety of titles for my
  kids. I’m actually having a hard time
  keeping up with all of them, so I’ve asked some of my kids to be student
  reviewers for me. These students have
  formed a book club of sorts because they’re often swapping books once they’ve
  finished. One of my freshmen boys
  discovered that he likes dystopian novels, but after reading Enclave by Ann Aguirre, he’s found that he prefers
  post-apocalyptic novels. Since this
  discovery was made, I’ve been handing him all the titles I have and can find
  that fit this genre. I’ve really enjoyed
  listening to him recommend titles to his friends in class. Because my students are my focus, I’ve
  compiled a list of their favorite dystopian and post-apocalyptic titles.
  In no particular order, these are the dystopian and
  post-apocalyptic titles borrowed the most often:
  A couple student opinions:
  “I like The Maze
  Runner series the best because it has a mix of adventure and suspense,
  and it never goes as you think it will. It
  also has a mix of betrayal and love;
  it’s a mix of all human emotions into
  one.” - Christian, 9th grade
  “Enclave by Ann
  Aguirre—This book was very good. I
  didn’t want to put it down.
  drew me in to keep reading because I couldn’t figure out what would happen
  This book was also filled with
  weird, wild creatures and what the world looks like now.
  Also I like this book because it’s full of
  new ideas, but it’s not ridiculous.
  Ship Breaker is
  written by Paolo Bacigalupi. This book
  was also very good. I kept getting
  trouble for reading when I wasn’t supposed to.
  This book drew me in because it could really happen. Also, there were weird creatures like
  half-men. Ship Breaker was cool because it shows the
  fight for survival in a
  hard world destroyed by killing all of our resources.” -Anthony, 9th grade
  Sarah is a high school English teacher with a passion for both YA literature and connecting it with her students. She fell in love with YA lit the summer of 2006 when she took Young Adult Literature with Dr. Steffel at Central Michigan University. She read about 20 books in six weeks and hasn't stopped since! Sarah can be found on Twitter @yaloveblog or at her blog.