I missed the boat on The Hunger Games and other popular dystopians, coming late to the party with mostly Christian-themed dystopian novels. Here are those that I’ve highly enjoyed!
I’ve listed my review for the first book in each respective series.
The best in Christian dystopian series. Share on XI Am Margaret Series by Corinna Turner
I Am Margaret by Corinna Turner
This was my first foray into a dystopian world – one with a Catholic underground, a brave and reckless hero, and a strong and virtuous heroine. Well-drawn characters and enough tension and action to keep you turning pages long after you should have set the book down. I don’t believe my heart has ever thumped like that during a novel’s climax. Can’t wait for book two!
Liberty Series by Theresa Linden
Chasing Liberty by Theresa Linden
Under the rule of the Regimen in futuristic Aldonia, life and love are separated. God and family are eradicated. Freedom and privacy are non-existent. Or are they?
While the Regimen Custodia Terra has preserved Mother Earth, saving it from the pox of humanity, it has rationed life and personal freedom, creating a morally-bankrupt but compliant society. For Liberty, born of a breeder and raised in age-appropriate governmental facilities, even that cannot extinguish the spark of life within her. By preserving her innocence, privacy, and creativity to the extent allowed, she is able to hear the still, small voice in her heart—the voice she recognizes as her Friend.
The truths that are written on her heart lead her to trust a mysterious stranger who saves her from both physical danger and a life of utilitarian drudgery. For all the effort of the Unity Troops, the Regimen cannot completely quell love and the sacrifices it demands.
Liberty takes the reader on a wild ride through her escape, her first experiences of sacrificial love, God, and community, and her risky return to Aldonia, where recapture means re-education.
Theresa Linden delivers a strong, determined heroine guided by convictions and a virtuous hero, who can treat Liberty with gentleness and compassion in one moment and kick some Regimen butt in the next.
The author creates a realistic vision of a future in which politically-correct, secular, and environmental ideals are taken to the extreme. She paints a physical world so real the reader feels with Liberty her yearning to live free in the natural beauty that has always been kept out of reach.
The ending all but begs for a sequel – one I look forward to reading!
The Gifting Series by K. E. Ganshert
The Gifting by K.E. Ganshert
The Gifting has a little bit of everything – mystery, suspense, romance, action, and a full-out battle between good and evil. In fact, what struck me most about the series, beginning with The Gifting, was the acknowledgement of evil. As a demonic entity tells Tessa, “You see, people have a hard time fighting against something they don’t believe. Their denial makes our job easier.”
The dystopian setting allows the reality of good and evil to penetrate without inducing nightmares. The Gifting hits its mark in making the reader consider unseen realities without fear-mongering.
The sense of immediacy, urgency, and ever-present danger are enhanced by the first person present point-of-view. Seen through Tessa’s eyes, The Gifting will keep you guessing about both her sanity and the loyalty of charismatic, good-looking Luka.
K.E. Ganshert effectively taps into real fears: both those endemic to high school life (being different, ignored by the opposite sex, and misunderstood by parents) and larger, lifelong fears (evil, death, isolation, being unloved, societal collapse). She does an outstanding job of showing the dangers of dabbling in the occult and of deeming certain persons unworthy of life. These threats are such an organic part of the story that the truth shines through without any author interjections or hokey, proselytizing dialogue. Very well done.
The teen romance with all its starts and stops is realistic and clean. Short chapters keep you moving ahead, leading me TWICE to do something I’d never done – click “buy” on my Kindle within seconds of finishing a book because I just couldn’t wait to read more.
The Memoirs of Jane E, Friendless Orphan by Erin McCole Cupp
Unclaimed by Erin McCole Cupp
If you needed proof that Jane Eyre by Chariotte Bronte is a timeless classic, Unclaimed: The Memoirs of Jane E, Friendless Orphan—Book 1 is it.
Erin McCole Cupp expertly re-imagines Jane as among America’s least wanted in the near future: an unclaimed embryo brought to life but unloved then laboring anonymously half a world away from home.
Interestingly, Jane’s hidden existence in a quasi school/sweatshop extends beyond merely weaving textiles, but hidden messages as well. Her only solace is the companionship of the ill Aidann, whose backstory is also modernized, and the compassion of her instructor Bhenji Nealingson.
Unclaimed takes the dear reader to Jane’s first encounter with her absentee employer Mr. Thorne in his fortress beneath the American desert.
Jane Eyre has long been a favorite of mine, and I enjoyed the first part of this retelling immensely. While appealing to the modern reader’s ear, it remains faithful to the truth of the original, even retaining the charm and tone of Bronte’s voice.
You do not, however, have to have read Jane Eyre to enjoy Jane_E. Much like the character herself, chin lifted high, it can stand on its own.
The Uncloaked Trilogy by J. Rhodes
I tore through The Uncloaked [renamed The Resistance] in about a day, so I can say it was a smooth read and, particularly in the second half, a real page turner.
The reader witnesses the rapid relegation of religion through the eyes of teen and pastor’s kid Braxton Martin Luther, who fails to recognize the ramifications of the seismic political shift before it’s too late. He’s a flawed but sympathetic character whose devotion to his best friend Eliza is endearing.
Braxton is the most well-developed character, which is to be expected since we are seeing the world through his point of view. I longed for more depth in Eliza, whose strength of conviction is admirable. While I was sympathetic to her circumstances, I would’ve liked to seen more of her personality, particularly her flaws. Braxton chides her stubbornness, but he views her as barely less than perfect in every way.
We get an inkling at the (cliffhanger) end that perhaps there is more resistance to the Party than Braxton or Eliza have known. That detail intrigued me since I wondered at the absence of any organized rebellion in spite of the widespread apathy that ushered in the new regime. It seemed as if a handful of diminishing nondenominational churches were all that stood in opposition to the nationwide demise of religious freedom.
I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. Set in the near future, there’s certainly a lot of food for though for teens about principles, conviction, and responsibility for our country’s political future, particularly in regard to the religious freedom we cherish.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
I did not review this highly popular series, but I very much enjoyed it! Influenced both by classic fairy tales and Star Wars, it is filled with adventure along with humor and romance.
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I am honored to have my trilogy on your list! I also love the I Am Margaret series and The Memoirs of Jane E. I love the messages and themes that dystopians can bring to life.
I will have to check out the other titles you suggested too. So many books. So little time!
Yes, and always more books being written! Can’t keep up!