(lol I think I'm funny)
I know this list is totally biased, because most of the dystopians I've read take place in the US as it is. I'd love to do a list of ones not in the US in the future, but I think I need some more time to read and and find some more I can add to that list.
I excluded Divergent from this list because I'm assuming anyone interested in YA or dystopians has probably read it already. (If not, you're probably missing out.) The books below are ones I think deserve a little more attention.
Insignia is set around my home turf of DC (the Pentagon, more specifically), as well as the middle of space.
I don't remember how I found this series, but man did I enjoy it. I'm not really one for big sci-fi stuff but I hit it off well with the Insignia series. It's a little bit like Ender's Game. (I think I liked Insignia better because I was reading it of my own free will and not because of a school curriculum.)
Legend takes place in Los Angeles, and the other books feature other locations in the country.
I think I found Legend at my high school's library. It's got a higher level of immediate danger than the Insignia series does, because June and Day don't have robots they can use to fight for them. I liked Lu's speculations about the future of the country and the planet as a whole and how things would change. (It's also pretty depressing.) I'm also in love with how the series was designed and how Day's chapters were always in a different color.
The Selection trilogy takes place primarily in Los Angeles (if I remember correctly).
I haven't had a very good history with this series, but I can see why it's been popular and why people like it. It's not as doom-and-gloom as the other two series I recommended, but it still does touch on topics like oppression and social class issues. It's also got prime shipping material if that's something you look for. Nothing like a little romance to spice up your country falling apart, right?
This takes place in New Orleans (go figure).
Orleans was actually a pretty depressing read -- death and destruction are huge themes throughout the book. It's also a pretty high-stakes book, though it's not quite the "immediate danger from the government" like Legend. This is also a standalone book, which is great if you don't want to commit to a trilogy.
This takes place in an alternate-history Chicago.
I've found a lot of writing prompts similar to the premise of Plus One, so I was really intrigued in how Fama would handle it. I think it was an interesting way to examine social divisions and how artificially-imposed most of ours are. This is also a standalone (with a companion short story prequel, which I haven't read). This is also a good romance-y book if you want something on top of the "defying societal norms and most laws" thing.
This takes place in Portland, Maine according to Goodreads.
I've only read the first book out of the series, but I felt like I should include it in this list. The premise was definitely interesting, but I wasn't intrigued enough to continue past Delirium. I don't think I'll pick up the series again (since it's been four years) but I think it's worth a try for someone else.
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