I've Got My Own Dystopia, Thanks

     Back in 2009 I picked up a copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for a class I was taking, and I think it only took me two days to read it. This was the first book of a trilogy set in a dystopian, futuristic society, and it was a riveting page-turner. Most people probably know that this book - and subsequently the entire trilogy - became a major sensation.  And, just like the Harry Potter and Twilight books, The Hunger Games trilogy has spawned movie versions.

     Since reading The Hunger Games trilogy, I've read many other dystopian novels, including Ally Condie's Matched, Lauren Oliver's Delirium, and Veronica Roth's Divergent. I've noticed that these titles have a good deal in common:

1. The protagonist is always a young female, usually small for her age and underestimated as a result.

2. The protagonist has a love interest and often becomes involved in a love triangle.

3. The dystopian story is told in a trilogy.

4. The society in which the protagonist lives is oppressive, causing her to aid in the fight for freedom.

5. The protagonist loses at least one family member and/or a close friend.

     But I've decided that it is time for me to put the dystopia aside for a while. The similarities I see in these books have made me grow tired of the genre. I feel as if I am reading the same story over and over again. Additionally, I have been disappointed in the two trilogies I have read. The Hunger Games was great and the sequel, Catching Fire, was quite good, but I struggled to get through the last one, Mockingjay. Similarly, while Matched was quite good, the second book in the series, Crossed, was a stinker. I still read Reached, the third book, because I hoped that the trilogy would at least end strongly, but that one was pretty lousy too. I have not read the sequels to Delirium or Divergent because I am nervous that the other books in the trilogy will be disappointing, and I am not sure I want to devote that much time reading mediocre books.

     So that's it! I'm done with dystopia. The current society in which we live has enough malfunction and heartache anyway!