If you haven’t heard, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins comes out this month and I couldn’t be more excited. Diving back into the Capitol and her infamous arena, Collins follows Coriolanus Snow and his mentorship of a doomed girl from District 12. Although set 64 years before our beloved Hunger Games series, I have full faith that Collins will deliver once again. For those of you who can’t wait, here’s a list of ten great books to pick up to calm that raging anticipation for the prequel to Hunger Games. And as always, may the odds be ever in your favor.
#1: Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Katsa is a girl with a special gift – the ability to kill a man with her bare hands. As the king’s appointed assassin, Katsa is tasked with enforcing the king’s law. She never thought she’d lead a full rebellion, fight for her life, or fall in love.
#2: Red Rising by Pierce Brown
A sci-fi take on a Roman hierarchy 700 years in the future, Red Rising follows sixteen-year old Darrow and his goal to take down the entire system. For Feyble’s rave review of the Red Rising series, click here.
#3: Legend by Marie Lu
June Iparis is a prodigy – a perfect strategist with the physical prowess to ensure her attacks don’t fail. When her brother is killed, she is tasked with bringing in his alleged murderer, a well-known rebel named Day. As she begins to unravel the mystery of her brother’s death, June will question everything she thought she knew about her government and her relationship with Day.
#4: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
When an alien race is attempting to invade Earth, Ender Wiggin, a six-year old boy, will be tasked with the impossible – saving the human race.
#5: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Feyre has very little left but she can still provide for her family, even if that means hunting in the woods alone at night. When she hunts the wrong beast and is taken to a magical fey kingdom, Feyre must fight for her life and that of her friends to win against an evil queen and break a never-ending curse.
#6: The Maze Runner by James Dasher
Thomas, a young teenager, wakes up surrounded by strangers with no memories and no idea how he got there. The boys are all stuck in The Glade, a maze with ever-changing four-mile high walls. It’s up to him to figure out a way out of the Maze and to discover why Tessa, the only female in the Glade, has suddenly shown up.
#7: Angelfall by Susan Ee
Penryn’s younger sister is abducted by angels and she’ll do anything to get her back, including siding with the enemy. Penryn and Raffe will travel through the darkest parts of this dystopian world to rescue Penryn’s sister and grow ever closer to the end of the world as they know it.
#8: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Laia is a slave, Elias is a soldier, and neither are free. In this book inspired by ancient Rome, Laia’s brother is arrested for treason and she will fight whoever she needs to in order to rescue him from certain execution. Elias has always done what he was told but when he’s given the chance to escape tyranny, Elias will do everything in his power to stay away from the government he was forced to fight for. Together, they will either take down a corrupt government or die trying.
#9: Under Different Stars by Amy A. Bartol
Kricket has always tried to blend in, especially as she tries to dodge the foster care system and evade caseworkers. When she meets Trey and learns she’s from another planet, they travel back to her true home where she will have to stand out to fix what’s broken on her home planet.
#10: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Juliette’s touch is fatal and no one knows why. She’s thrown into a cell and left to rot after accidentally touching and killing someone. But now the Reestablishment is being attacked and Juliette can be used as a very powerful weapon. When the Reestablishment attempts to force her compliance, Juliette escapes but will she be the warrior the rebellion needs? For an in-depth review, click here.
Alyssa Flores
Alyssa reads hundreds of books a year and is on a never-ending quest to find the perfect book.
