The Dog Stars is coming out this summer and we have Sunrise on the Reaping in fall. From underground cities to constant surveillance, these books should satisfy anyone seeking can’t-miss heros in a dystopian world.

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Hig’s wife and friends are gone. His house is a small abandoned airplane hanger and his roommates are his dog, Jasper, and an intense hermit, Bangley. His life changes when a radio transmission randomly connects to his 1956 Cessna. This chance message gives Hig hope that there is a better life beyond the perimeter of their controlled world. Tempting fate, he flies beyond the point of no return, following the static radio trail and finds more than he could have ever expected. 

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The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

Returning after a work conference, Sara is whisked away by Risk Assessment Agents at LAX for the most peculiar reason. Using her dreams, they have deduced that she is at risk of committing a crime against her husband. For his safety, she is taken to a retention center for three weeks. There she finds other dreamers, all women, that are trying to prove their innocence. The rules are ever changing but trip up and their stays are extended. Months pass and Sara is no closer to going home. That is until a new dreamer arrives disrupting order and leading Sara to face who is holding her hostage. 

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We Lived on the Horizon by Erika Swyler

The city of Bulwark is protected and run by an AI system. The city elite, the Sainted, are those that descend from people that have tried to preserve mankind. Enita Malovis is one of the Sainted who followed in her grandfather’s footsteps as a bio-prosthetic specialist. Having no partner and no children, Enita creates a physical being called Nix to be her legacy, filling them with her knowledge of bio-prosthetics and her experiences. Things take a turn when another Sainted is brutally murdered and Bulwark’s AI erases the event from its data. Enita and Nix are pulled into the underground resistance that is trying to fight the class system and the programs that enforce order.  

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Seek the Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth

Elegy Ahn likes her life as a soldier, defending her country from Talusar, a strong nation that worships a deadly Fever, a mysterious illness that bestows mystical gifts. Elegy’s life is complicated when she is brought to hear a prophecy. Either Rava, one of Talusar’s relentless generals, or Elegy will bring their army to victory against the other but the prophecy does not detail which. Much of their fate rests upon the same man, a man that Elegy learns, she will fall in love with. When all is said is done only one of them will win and Elegy is determined to be the victor.

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Silver Elite by Dani Francis

Wren Darlington’s existence is a secret. On the continent, being Modified is illegal and punishable by death and Wren is one of the most powerful mods to ever exist. She has spent her life hiding, sharpening her psychic abilities, and helping the rebellion in little ways. A thoughtless mistake hands to the enemy where she must begin training in an elite program. This is devastating and an opportunity to sabotage their cause from the inside. Wren has to watch herself though because her secret, if found out, would mean immediate death. She has to prove herself but that becomes difficult with an unrelenting and irresistible commanding officer, Cross Redden. With an ongoing war between the Mods and those that want them eliminated, Wren has to determine how far she is willing to go to protect herself and if the Continent is worth saving.

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Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe

It is important to know that mercy doesn’t exist in New Found Haven and the Veyra are always watching from their glass atrium. The city is organized into rings of poverty and of privilege with the masked elite ruling. It is imperative to know that love outside of your ring is a death sentence. Publicly, Greyson Serel is the perfect heir to the presidency but behind closed doors, his secrets could topple the regime. To try and right his wrongs, Greyson is forced into a political marriage with a bride both unwilling and lethal. Shadera Kael was sent to kill Greyson Serel but when her attempt fails, she is shackled to him in marriage, a marriage that might very well mean her survival. Trapped in the dark city as both a prisoner and wife, Shadera is under constant surveillance. As secrets and betrayals are revealed, Greyson and Shadera must decide who the enemy is–each other or the corrupt city. 

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The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Lily wakes up to a remote compound where she and nineteen others are competing on a reality tv show. In order to win, you must be the one to stay in the compound the longest. In the meantime, everyone is competing in games and challenges for frivolous prizes like lipstick and champagne but also for group necessities like food and appliances. While the world outside is crumbling, Lily is having the time of her life. Things take a sharp turn when producers begin to force the contestants into disturbing and dangerous competitions. The bonds between contestants deepens but then strains as players are beginning to play for their lives. Winning would secure a life changing prize but is Lily willing to go all the way to get it?

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The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee 

Legendary swordsman Isako is ready to retire, ready to walk into the white, frozen landscape, and honor her family with her death. One more mission has her polishing her blade for the final time. At the center of her ultimate job is Martim, her last apprentice, who has made his way to the top. In her journey, Isako discovers a world of espionage and dark secrets that could change the world forever. 

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Beneath by Ariel Sullivan

Survivors of nuclear fallout have found a home in an underground city including twenty-three-year-old Sasha Cadell. She is pulled from her home by Commander Tristian Hayes in order to train for a secret mission to the surface. Sasha’s mission carries the burden of not only her own survival but the survival of humankind. In her training, Sasha finds friends and makes enemies while also developing feelings for Tristian. In an underground city, illness runs rampant but so do dark secrets that threaten the survival of humanity.

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