Read-alikes
Books Like The Hunger Games
A rigged system, a deadly game and a girl who refuses to play by its rules.
Updated September 2026 · By Sawyer V.
The short version
Hunger Games readers loved the deadly competition, the rebellion or Katniss herself. The two prequels come first for most fans; after that, Scythe matches the deadly system, Divergent the heroine, Red Queen the rebellion, and The Giver is the short classic that set the pattern for young-adult dystopia.
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How we picked
Each pick names which element it matches: the game, the rebellion or the heroine. Most are young-adult novels, like The Hunger Games itself. We have not read all eight.
What we do on every list: read the publisher’s own description rather than a summary of it, check print length and first publication year against library catalog data (last refreshed September 11, 2026), confirm the book is still sold in the format we suggest, and write the match line before the blurb. What we do not do is claim to have read every book here cover to cover. The full method is published, and it is written so anyone can check it.
The short answer
Who each book is for, at a glance. Select a row for the full write-up.
| # | Book | Give this if | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sunrise on the ReapingSuzanne Collins · 400 pagesThe newest prequel | they are a fan who wants more of Panem | |
| 2 |  The Ballad of Songbirds and SnakesSuzanne Collins · 528 pagesThe villain's origin | they want to understand President Snow | |
| 3 |  ScytheNeal Shusterman · 449 pagesMatches the deadly system | they loved the moral horror of the Games | |
| 4 |  DivergentVeronica Roth · 487 pagesMatches the heroine | they want a brave girl in a divided society | |
| 5 |  Red QueenVictoria Aveyard · 428 pagesMatches the rebellion | they loved the uprising more than the Games | |
| 6 |  PowerlessLauren Roberts · 600 pagesMatches the trials, with romance | they want a romantasy version | |
| 7 |  UgliesScott Westerfeld · 432 pagesMatches the dystopian idea | they want a society with a disturbing secret | |
| 8 |  The GiverLois Lowry · 200 pagesThe classic | they want the short classic behind the genre |
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Eight, by which element they match
1. The newest prequel
Sunrise on the Reaping
Suzanne Collins
Give this ifthey are a fan who wants more of Panem
The 2025 prequel, set at the fiftieth Games, which Haymitch Abernathy won twenty-four years before Katniss's. Darker than the original trilogy, and essential for a devoted fan.
- Print length
- 400 pages
- First published
- 2025
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
2. The villain's origin
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Suzanne Collins
Give this ifthey want to understand President Snow
A young Coriolanus Snow, decades before he becomes president, is assigned to mentor a girl from District 12 in the tenth Hunger Games. A prequel about how a monster is made.
- Print length
- 528 pages
- First published
- 2020
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
3. Matches the deadly system
Scythe
Neal Shusterman
Give this ifthey loved the moral horror of the Games
In a future where humanity has conquered death, two teenagers are apprenticed to a Scythe, whose job is to kill people to control the population, and learn that only one of them will be chosen.
- Print length
- 449 pages
- First published
- 2016
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
4. Matches the heroine
Divergent
Veronica Roth
Give this ifthey want a brave girl in a divided society
In a future Chicago split into five factions, a sixteen-year-old chooses a new faction and discovers she does not fit any of them. More romance than The Hunger Games, and the start of a trilogy.
- Print length
- 487 pages
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
5. Matches the rebellion
Red Queen
Victoria Aveyard
Give this ifthey loved the uprising more than the Games
In a world divided by the color of people's blood, a common girl discovers she has a power only the ruling elite should have, and is placed in the royal court as a pawn.
- Print length
- 428 pages
- First published
- 2015
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
6. Matches the trials, with romance
Powerless
Lauren Roberts
Give this ifthey want a romantasy version
In a kingdom that exiles anyone born without powers, a powerless thief ends up competing in a deadly trial while hiding what she is, and falls for the prince.
- Print length
- 600 pages
- First published
- 2023
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
7. Matches the dystopian idea
Uglies
Scott Westerfeld
Give this ifthey want a society with a disturbing secret
In a future where everyone has surgery at sixteen to become beautiful, a girl about to turn pretty discovers what the operation really does.
- Print length
- 432 pages
- First published
- 2005
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
8. The classic
The Giver
Lois Lowry
Give this ifthey want the short classic behind the genre
In a seemingly perfect community without pain or choice, a twelve-year-old is chosen to hold its memories, and learns what has been taken away. Short enough for a younger reader, and powerful at any age.
- Print length
- 200 pages
- First published
- 1993
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
The game, the rebellion or Katniss
The Hunger Games is three books in one: a survival competition, a revolution and the story of a girl who never wanted to be a symbol.
- The game: Scythe or Powerless.
- The rebellion: Red Queen or Divergent.
- Panem itself: the two prequels, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping.
Where this fits
Dystopian science fiction covers the adult end of this shelf, books for teens and books for tweens sort gifts by age, and books like Harry Potter suits a younger reader. The Hunger Games books are also popular in audio, and the subscription panel on this page explains who that suits.
Two ways to read this list for less
If several books here appeal, a subscription usually beats buying them one at a time — but only for the right kind of reader. Here is who each one actually suits.
Audible Premium Plus
For anyone whose hands are busy
Driving, walking, cooking, cleaning. It converts hours that were never available for reading, which is a bigger effect than any discount. Books bought with a credit stay yours after you cancel — titles from the included catalog do not, and confusing the two is the most common complaint about the service.
See Audible plans and current pricingHow Audible actually works — credits, gifting and what happens when you cancel.
Kindle Unlimited
For fast readers who browse
It pays off from about three ebooks a month, in the genres the catalog covers well — romance, romantasy, cozy mystery, thriller, progression fantasy. It does not pay off if you are waiting on a specific new hardcover, because those are usually not included. Everything is borrowed, not owned.
See Kindle Unlimited terms and pricingIs Kindle Unlimited worth it? — the arithmetic, done on your own reading.
#ad — how we are funded. We print no subscription prices anywhere on this site, because they change and a stale figure sends you to a checkout expecting something that is not there. And if you read in silence in a chair, neither of these is for you — buy the book, or borrow it from your library.
What we would skip
Adult dystopian classics as the next step
1984 and Brave New World are the ancestors of this shelf, and it is tempting to give them to a teenager who loved The Hunger Games. Some will love them. Many find them slow and bleak by comparison, because they are ideas first and stories second. Give one of the novels on this list first, and the classics once the taste is established.
Questions people ask
What should I read after The Hunger Games?
The two prequels first if they have not read them, then Scythe for a deadly system or Red Queen for a rebellion.
What order should I read the Hunger Games books in?
Most readers start with the original trilogy, then read the two prequels in the order they were published.
Is Divergent like The Hunger Games?
It shares the young heroine and the divided future society, with more romance and less satire.
What is a good dystopian book for a teenager?
Scythe and Uglies both build a disturbing society around a single clever idea, and The Giver is a short classic.
Sources
- Open Library Search API — First publication year, median print length and cover art for every book on this page. Queried 8 September 2026.
- Audible Premium Plus membership page — The only authoritative source for current Audible plans, prices and terms.
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