Smart Dystopian YA

Try these books if you’re looking for:

     • Books similar to The Giver by Lois Lowry
     • Smart dystopian fiction
     • Young adult fiction

Among the Hidden
Margaret Peterson Haddix
YA F HADDIX Shadow #1
A government decree allows each family only two children. For Luke, a third child, this has meant a lifetime of hiding. But could a stray glimpse of a child hiding in the house across the way lead to freedom?

Legend 
Marie Lu
YA F LU Legend #1
In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

Uglies
Scott Westerfield
YA F WESTERFE Uglies #1
Just before their sixteenth birthdays, when they will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to have a great time, Tally's best friend runs away and Tally must find her and turn her in, or never become pretty at all.

Fantasy Adventure

Try these books if you’re looking for:

•    Adventure
•    Fantasy
•    A good story
•    Books that make you think

The Once and Future King
T.H. White
SCI-FI WHITE
Merlyn instructs Arthur and his brother Sir Kay in the ways of the world. One of them will need it-- the king has died leaving no heir, and a rightful one must be found by pulling a sword from an anvil resting on a stone. In the second and third parts ofthe novel, Arthur has become king and the kingdom is threatened from the north. In the final two books, the aging king faces his greatest challenge, when his own son threatens to overthrow him. In The Book of Merlyn, Arthur's tutor Merlyn reappears, and teaches him that, even in the face of apparent ruin, there is hope.

Dune
Frank Herbert
SCI-FI HERBERT Dune #1
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, this is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family, and bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.



Assassin’s Apprentice
Robin Hobb
SCI-FI HOBB Farseer #1
As Fitz, an outcast and the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, grows to manhood, a legacy of magical skill and other mysterious talents propels him into the role of protector of the kingdom, if his initial perilous mission does not destroy him first.



Across the Nightingale Floor
Lian Hearn
F HEARN Tales of #1
Takeo, brought up peacefully in a remote Japanese mountain village, learns that his father was a celebrated assassin, and that he, too, possesses extraordinary skills. To resolve split loyalties and his conflicted nature, Takeo embarks on a journey that will lead him to his destiny.

Naturalism, Travel and Adventure Nonfiction

Try these books if you’re looking for:

•    Travel
•    Adventure
•    Naturalism

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
Bill Bryson
917.404 BRY 2007
This book traces the author's adventurous trek along the Appalachian Trail past its natural pleasures, human eccentrics, and offbeat comforts.

H is for Hawk
Helen Macdonald
598.944 MAC 2015
Recounts how the author, an experienced falconer grieving the sudden death of her father, endeavored to train for the first time a dangerous goshawk predator as part of her personal recovery.

In Search of King Solomon’s Mines
Tahir Shah
916.304 SHA 2003
A bold elephant hunter journeys to an unknown land in search of fabled lost treasure. But terrible dangers threaten anyone who approaches the wonderful diamond mines of King Solomon. This great African adventure novel is an enduring favorite among those who love excitement and romance. It is filled with qualities close to the human heart: the spirit of adventure and discovery, the desire for immortality, primal terror, and the search for the primitive.

A Winter in Arabia
Freya Stark
953.35 STA 1987
Recounts the late author's 1937-1938 expedition through the land now called Yemen, during which she and two companions spent a winter in search of an ancient South Arabian city and examined local business and social conduct as well as life behind the veil for women.