On September 14, 2008, the YA publishing industry discovered an endlessly addictive and easily replicable formula for an only slightly less endless cash cow. But where did the dystopi-mania go? And why did we feel the need to move on?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was far from the first of its kind. Dystopian novels had found prior popularity and great literary acclaim in stories like The Giver by Louis Lowry, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (and many of his shorter stories), Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and unforgettably, 1984 by George Orwell.

The Hunger Games certainly wasn’t the first with a teenage female protagonist—like the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield—and it’s not the first story to feature teens playing a deadly game. That would be its predecessor and part inspiration, Battle Royale, a Japanese movie directed by Kinji Fukasaku. These factors contributed to the series’ relatability and entertainment factor, but clearly, they did not define its success. So why, then, did The Hunger Games resonate so soundly with its audience?

And that is the exact question that publishers sought to answer. Over a hundred million copies of The Hunger Games have been sold over the years. Though the book has found its place at the box office, in people’s hearts, homes, schools, and childhoods, it has also found its place in countless writers’ rooms as a tool, as an inspiration—and as a code that needed to be cracked.

Following Hunger Games came The Maze Runner, a series that had been written and proposed several times prior to the Hunger Games but only accepted and published in 2009 once teen dystopia was in new demand. Then came Divergent (2011), Shatter Me (2011), Legend (2011), The 5th Wave (2013), and on and on and on. Some similar novels came closer to sci-fi or fantasy, like Cinder (2011) or Ready Player One (2011), and others still strayed towards romance, such as Matched (2010) and The Selection (2012).

A Formula for Success

Each book in the dystopian genre, for all their differences, promised at least one through-line similar to The Hunger Games—young teens under a fascist, fantastical, and technologically advanced regime would discover the dark underbelly of their world and eventually, inevitably, revolt. 

The premise is catchy, fun, and undeniably satisfying. It’s fun to fantasize about being part of something as important as a revolution. It’s fun to imagine uncovering dark truths behind the government (in these stories, typically a uniform, minimalist, oppressive, oddly science-y threat), and having the ability to do something about it, having loyal friends by your side willing to follow your word. It feels good to imagine winning.

It also feels undeniably powerful to believe that your youth is a tool for change and improvement rather than a burden with an ominous ticking clock. With adulthood will come freedom and choice, but also responsibility and obligation. Dystopian teen fiction neatly sidesteps these fears by emphasizing the freedom that will be gained by overthrowing the powers that be.

And it certainly doesn’t hurt that dystopian fiction easily mirrors the real-life experience of a teenager. A structured life defined by the school and inexplicable rules, a burgeoning inner world coming into a new conflict with an old, unrefined self-identity, a desire to rebel and/or prove your worth to a group of other, probably cooler teenagers, etcetera etcetera. Really, it’s surprising that teen dystopian fiction hadn’t rooted itself in the public conscience earlier. 

Cracks in the System

But contrary to many teen and tween opinions of these novels (myself included), critics had some bigger-picture complaints about some common structures of the newly blossoming genre. The Divergent series’ movies in particular, based on Veronica Roth’s three books (plus a short alternate perspective novel) received some perceptive criticisms.

“While there were many more issues I had with the society, the main one was this: it wasn’t believable,” says Meredith from the Artsy Arrow about Divergent. “(The Hunger Games) changed my outlook on our society in many ways because the story was so believable. It’s not hard to imagine a future government controlling every little thing, and using fear to keep people in line…  However, in Divergent, the society wasn’t nearly as eye-opening… I couldn’t picture our society evolving into a system of factions, tests, and simulations.”

Kelechi Ehenulo on Confessions From a Geek Mind complains about the same thing, stating “Truth be told, this world that Tris lives in doesn’t make sense… What was this war and why did it take place?... Divergents – what were they? Ok, they were people who didn’t conform to a pre-destined faction. They had free will… was there anything else about them that made them special?”

Even critics who did enjoy the book had similar criticisms of the plot and structure. “The characters are stronger than the plot. There’s a definite plot here, but it didn’t need a book this long to tell the story of this version of Chicago. That’s frustrating,” says Adelina Pelletier on Trove 42.

Though reviews were not entirely negative, praising the series’ creativity, compelling characters, and bold spirit, the positivity of fans gradually shifted to the collective’s skepticism. Divergent did not end up making a third movie, and the show that was meant to complete the series is currently on indefinite hiatus. 

I honestly think that Divergent highlights some of the greatest problems in this sort of niche genre fiction: oversaturation, repetitiveness, and empty plots in empty worlds. Despite the books being written and released only a short while after The Hunger Games, they entered a market that was already rapidly condensing, and that point was long past by the time the movies hit theaters. The easy-to-use formula of the genre also worked to the story’s detriment, because on some level, it insulted the genre’s main reader base. It’s as if authors assumed that because the dystopia plot was so well known, it would be accepted uncritically by readers/viewers without serious effort put into the development of the setting—and Divergent proves this was not the case.

Divergent lacked critical explanatory worldbuilding elements, as pointed out by the reviewers above. It lacked the looming shadows over the bread and circuses present in The Hunger Games, it lacked the insight of 1984, it lacked the thoughtfulness of A Handmaid’s Tale, it lacked the punch of Brave New World, and it had none of the novelty within a year of its release. Divergent was dead in the water right after it had begun, with little of the staying power of its predecessors and none of the pop that had once tempered and emboldened the flavor of the classic.

Final Thoughts

Teen dystopia is a fun, exploratory, feel-good and feel-bad genre, and it carries an important narrative of critical thinking in the midst of an identity crisis, but ultimately, it’s a very formulaic structure that can backslide into a grab-and-go, fast food kind of media. Don’t get me wrong—I love dystopia, even now. But these days, I spend more time picking my stories apart, and YA dystopia just doesn’t always make the cut.

How have your opinions changed on this genre? Consider rereading your old favorites and tearing them apart with all the love you can muster. Even if they come out a little less fun than they were before, you’ll get to learn how you’ve changed over the years, and it might really make you think!

(By the way: The Hunger Games still wins. Every time.)