# Having HUNGER GAMES withdrawal - any recommendations?



## K.C. Neal (Jan 5, 2011)

I finished the last book of the Hunger Games trilogy a few days ago. Whew, blew my mind. But now I'm having withdrawal.  

Any recommendations for YA reads of similar caliber? (I guess that's assuming that you liked The Hunger Games as much as I did.  )

Thanks for your suggestions....


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

I just downloaded a sample of The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher. Saw this was recommended for people who loved The Hunger Games books. I haven't started it yet, but the description looks interesting.


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## patrisha w. (Oct 28, 2008)

_The Knife of Never Letting Go_ by Patrick Ness which is the first book in the _Chaos Walking_trilogy. I am not sure if this is a YA book but since I can see myself reading to/with YA, I am assuming it is. {I was a teacher of reading and writing in a previous existence before retirement }

The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One (Hardcover)

This links to the hard-cover book because I couldn't sort out the link to the Kindle edition. But there is a Kindle edition of this book and the two others in the trilogy.


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## K.C. Neal (Jan 5, 2011)

Thanks, Patricia and patrisha (hee). I just took a quick look at the descriptions, and they both sound very good!

-Kate


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

Ah  yes...  I  think I  started  a similar  thread after reading them.  I found a  trilogy  by Scott Westerfeld - Uglies, Pretties, Specials -  which is about a future world  where  16 yrs olds all had an operation that made them pretty  along with a rebellious one.  I've read  two  of them  and  they are very good.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

My daughter loves The Sweet, Far Thing trilogy. She also dug Unwind my Neil Schusterman.


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## Kristan Hoffman (Aug 6, 2009)

bordercollielady said:


> Ah yes... I think I started a similar thread after reading them. I found a trilogy by Scott Westerfeld - Uglies, Pretties, Specials - which is about a future world where 16 yrs olds all had an operation that made them pretty along with a rebellious one. I've read two of them and they are very good.


I haven't read anything as good as HG, except maybe HP, but I agree that the UGLIES series is a pretty good read in a similar vein. Also, MATCHED by Ally Condie. It's the beginning of a new dystopian trilogy and I enjoyed it.

THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH is technically about zombies, but it feels much more dystopian than grr-argh-i-want-to-eat-your-brains. Again, this is the first in a trilogy.

And I haven't read it myself, but I keep hearing good things about THE MAZE RUNNER, so that sample is sitting in my Kindle queue.

Kristan


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## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

This is a brand new release 

It's a sci fi romance about a girl who is cyrogenically frozen with her parents for travel to a planet 300 years away. The description of the freezing process is particularly gothic and gruesome. She gets awakened 50 years too early aboard this huge space ship after someone attempts to "unplug" her, which could have killed her if she hadn't been rescued in time. It's a bit of a Sleeping Beauty in Space story--since Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite fairy tales, I enjoyed that part of it. I also enjoyed the description of the ship. A totalitarian regime has developed to control the people who run the ship and grow the food. Generations of people have lived and died on this ship since it took off, which I found especially creepy. I couldn't imagine living my whole life in a huge ship hurling through space and never able to get out.

The romance bit felt flat to me, but then again, the romance in _The Hunger Games _ felt flat to me too, so that could just be me. Also I wanted more depth of character development, particularly the two leading characters. However, I still enjoyed it, mostly for the unique premise.


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## Arthur Slade (Jan 20, 2011)

*The House of the Scorpion* by Nancy Farmer This is a futuristic novel that is similar in nature to Hunger Games, though not as much action, but horrific in its own way. 
I see *The Maze Runner* has already been mentioned. It's still on my TBR pile.

Of course there is always *Battle Royale* a manga graphic novel about teens in a televised game of death. It does put the g in graphic, though.


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## dpinmd (Dec 30, 2009)

This is totally not in the same "vein" as THG at all, but if you are just looking for YA books of the same "caliber" (as opposed to the same kind of story), I loved:


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## jlee745 (Jul 27, 2010)

My daughter enjoed the Uglies Quartet by Scott Westerfeld. I read the first book Uglies and I actually enjoyed it too and I am not a sci fi kind of person.


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## AJB (Jul 9, 2010)

You might enjoy Megan Whalen Turner's _Thief of Eddis_ series (my daughter's on her second read of them and I liked them very much, too). I've just finished _The Hunger Games_ myself and can see why these books have grabbed people's attention. Looking forward to reading the next two!

Amanda


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## WilliamM (Feb 10, 2009)

Battle Royale..not sure if its YA or not...but its the story Hunger Games pretty much copied


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## K.C. Neal (Jan 5, 2011)

Thanks, y'all, for chiming in! Some really interesting-sounding recs here!


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## AnnetteL (Jul 14, 2010)

Another vote for _The Maze Runner_.

Also for _The Forest of Hands and Teeth_. I never in a million years thought I'd enjoy a book about zombies, but I loved that one.

I haven't read it yet, but I hear great things about _Matched_, which is probably closer to the _Uglies _than _Hunger __Games_.

You might even enjoy Dan Wells's _I Am Not a Serial Killer_. It's classified under horror (one more genre I never thought I'd enjoy) but it's fascinating and creepy all at the same time. The sequel (_Mr. Monster_) was awesome too.


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## LRGiles (Apr 28, 2010)

You might try the GONE series by Michael Grant. Book 4 comes out in April.


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## sbaum4853 (May 3, 2010)

Agree with most all of what's been said already.  The Maze Runner might easily be classified as "Hunger Games for boys" and is kind of interesting (though not as well written as Hunger Games).

I propose you check out The Long Walk by Stephen King. Very similar in vein to the Hunger Games. I read this in a single sitting some twenty years ago. Totally intense.


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## patrisha w. (Oct 28, 2008)

AnnetteL said:


> Another vote for _The Maze Runner_.
> 
> Also for _The Forest of Hands and Teeth_. I never in a million years thought I'd enjoy a book about zombies, but I loved that one.
> 
> ...


I got the Forest of Hands and Teeth based largely on the title! Well, and the sample I downloaded too! I was astonished to discover I was enjoying a zombies book!


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy by Kristin Cashore is a good one, the last book, Bitterblue is due in April.
Graceling 
Fire

I also enjoyed the Study series by Maria V Snyder. 
Poison Study http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Study-e...WVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1295651957&sr=1-2
Fire Study
Study Series Bundle

These are on my TBR pile...
Spin off from the study series.....Glass Series by Maria V Snyder & the Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier.


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## Reena Jacobs (Jan 14, 2011)

I haven't read it, but several folks from twitter have recommended Enclave by Ann Aguirre. From what I've heard, it's very dystopia. I saw the trailer. Looks like it's a zombie book with a bit of romance in it. Release date is in the future though. April 2011.


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