Looking for an unforgettable collection of apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA books? As an award-winning author and blogger, I love seeing characters with grit who struggle with epic conflicts in dark worlds where society has ended. Here are my top three recommendations:
Coywood Creek by Khristina Chess - A blend of post-apocalyptic dread with laugh-out-loud moments and emotional depth. If sarcasm were a survival skill, Zoey would be queen!
Z for Zachariah by Robert O’Brien - A resourceful and resilient teen who survived nuclear war in a protected valley lets her guard down to help a stranger—and this turns out to be a mistake.
Wilder Girls by Rory Power - an all-girl school is quarantined after a mysterious plague kills a significant portion of the student and faculty population.
You’ll find detailed reviews of these and many other favorites below.
Stories have power. Reading about characters that overcome impossible circumstances restore faith and hope in the human spirit.
So what are the best YA books about apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian worlds? Discover your next great read for National Reading Month in this roundup. Be prepared to stay up half the night reading. You won’t be able to put them down.
Coywood Creek by Khristina Chess
“With an unremarkable click, like a period at the end of a sentence, the world ended.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Coywood Creek
This hilariously smart YA novel will wreck you—in the best way possible!
For readers drawn to the slow unraveling of society in dystopian fiction, Coywood Creek delivers a comical journey through the eyes of a teenager with binge eating disorder.
At first, Zoey brushes off the blackout, the dead cell service, and the eerie northern lights. But as reality sets in, she knows one thing: she can’t stay in her parents’ condo alone with no power. So she packs her snacks and sets out for Coywood Creek, hoping to find safety with her uncle and grandmother. Instead, she finds something else entirely.
What makes this novel so engrossing is Zoey’s sharp, relatable, and often humorous response to navigating the collapse of civilization with her signature sarcasm (and a bag of OREO cookies). Her delicious banter with Kent made me laugh out loud, even as the novel’s deeper themes—resilience, uncertainty, and survival—kept me hooked.
But more than anything, Coywood Creek forces you to ask: How fragile are we without our technology?
I highly recommend this hilarious YA novel about the end of the world. If The Stand by Stephen King is one of your favorite books, Coywood Creek is worth the read. You have to meet the sassiest survivor since Katniss—and don’t forget to bring snacks.
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
“There's different ways of doing things wrong, Lynn, and not all of it is choosing to hurt others. Sometimes it's the things you don't do that make you feel the worst.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from Not a Drop to Drink
Set in an apocalyptic future where drinking water is scarce and people fight for survival in a wild frontier, Lynn is a young woman in rural Ohio defending a pond and her homestead. Her mother raised her to distrust, to fight, and to live, and that's what she intends to do.
I enjoyed watching Lynn's fierce character evolve into a person who was willing to allow others into her life, to trust and even love. Despite her hardness, she had a kind heart. There were some interesting scenes in interactions with other people, like the stranger on the road, that tested her humanity.
Not a Drop to Drink was also a fast, thrilling YA book about survival, and its sequel, In a Handful of Dust, follows Lynn and her adopted daughter Lucy into the unknown after a mysterious plague drives them away from their home and community and into the wilderness.
If you’re looking for engrossing apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA science fiction books, give these two a try.
The Razorland Trilogy: Enclave, Outpost, Horde by Ann Aguirre
The Razorland Trilogy were the first apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA science fiction books that I read, and from the very first pages, I was hooked! The novels are set in a dark future where the cities are ruined by plague, war, “tunnel monsters,” and ongoing skirmishes between the surviving gangs that roam in this world. In the first book, Enclave, we meet the heroine, a fifteen-year-old girl named Deuce who lives in the New York subway in a community called an enclave. Life is hard. It becomes even harder when she and another teenage Hunter are exiled from their enclave and must go to the surface to live.
The next two books, Outpost and Horde, follow Deuce in her new life above ground, and all three novels are fast-paced, engrossing reads that I couldn’t put down. Each book was as good as the last, very immersive, and Deuce is a well-drawn, fighting heroine that I rooted for every step of the way.
Check out these books. You will love them.
Z for Zachariah by Robert O’Brien
“I am afraid. Someone is coming.” ― Robert C O’Brien, quote from Z for Zachariah
I remember reading this book in our school library in high school, and it was chilling. Now an adult, decades later, I bought a copy of it to see if it was really as good as I remembered.
Yes, yes it is!
Young adult fiction wasn't even "a thing" when this book was written, and yet, it's a thrilling, roller-coaster true YA novel about a 15-year-old girl (who turns 16 during the events) who believes she's the last person alive after a nuclear war. She's resilient, resourceful, wary, hopeful, and that mix of both childlike and wise that you would expect from a teen in this situation.
When a stranger arrives in the valley, a man, she is cautious, but as events unfold and he becomes sick, she lets her guard down to help him. This turns out to be a mistake.
The Hollywood movie version gets this book wrong: the female is older, and there are two men. If you love dystopian YA novels and haven't picked this one up, I highly recommend it!
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
“You see, a conflict always begins with an issue - a difference of opinion, an argument. But by the time it turns into a war, the issue doesn't matter anymore, because now it's about one thing and one thing only: how much each side hates the other.” ― Neal Shusterman, quote from Unwind
Unwind is Book #1 in a 5-part dystopian YA series in which teens may be sent to "Harvest Camps" to be chopped up for parts if their parents sign the papers. No part is wasted.
Some, like Connor, are signed over because of behavior problems. Others, like Risa, are wards of the state who simply don't make the cut in terms of protegee status. Lev begins as a religious tithe, a willing victim, but after being kidnapped and freed by Connor, he also changes.
The concept of this series and the plotting are great, and I'm interested to see where the rest of the books go. There were moments, though, where I thought the book fell short of greatness. For example:
If a parent is able to bring all the parts of their child back together again, can they recover their child?
Where do the souls of these children go?
There are some attempts at these questions, but I wanted the book to go deeper. The fact that I keep thinking about the unwinding process means that something important is being covered here.
You definitely want to add Unwind to your TBR pile of apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA science fiction books.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
There’s a reason that The Hunger Games always appears at the top of lists for apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA science fiction books. This series has everything: a relatable and flawed heroine in Katniss, a love triangle, life-and-death adventure, good and evil, a stark world of intense poverty contrasted against ridiculous gluttony, and deeper themes about society at large.
This series is amazing. I could read it multiple times and still find new things to love. I have seen the movies multiple times, but there are things in the books that are just wonderful.
Don’t miss these lovely books.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Like The Hunger Games, there’s a reason that Veronica Roth’s Divergent series has become a classic series in the category of apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA science fiction books.
For me, I loved the heroine, Tris, who finds herself thrust into this whole new environment that tests her core character and everything she knew about herself. The book grabs you and takes off running! There’s adventure, moral ambiguity, love, and tons of conflict. What more do you need? It’s very well written and engrossing.
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
“…we’ve learned that all we can do is look after our own. Reese and Byatt, they’re mine and I’m theirs.” ― Rory Power, quote from Wilder Girls
I wanted to read Wilder Girls for many years on the basis of its cover alone. It’s one of my top-10 YA favorite covers of all time. It’s so beautiful and intriguing, without even knowing what the story is about.
An all-girls school on an island is quarantined because of a mysterious plague that has killed a significant portion of both the student and faculty population, as well as animals, and the remaining people are infected. This disease does terrible things to them. Now, they’re waiting for a cure. It’s been promised. They just have to stay alive until it comes.
The pacing is fast, and I was drawn into the relationships between the girls. They are gritty heroines. I couldn’t wait to discover what was truly going on and how this situation would ultimately be resolved.
If you’re looking for some apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA science fiction books and missed this one, give it a try. Wilder Girls definitely meets the criteria for this list.
Bonus Round: The Stand by Stephen King
“Love didn't grow very well in a place where there was only fear, just as plants didn't grow very well in a place where it was always dark.” ― Stephen King, quote from The Stand
In addition to these young adult apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian novels, one book stands above the crowd: Stephen King’s The Stand. It’s my all-time favorite book. I’ve read it at least 7 times. I read it first in high school, so while it may not be a YA book in the strict definition of the category, teen readers can handle it. Trust me. I wrote my senior thesis about the themes in this book.
In this sweeping apocalyptic novel, a man-made virus named Captain Tripps kills almost everyone on earth. There are a handful of remaining viewpoint characters who become the focal point for this epic story. Their storylines run concurrently. At first they seem disconnect, but slowly they begin moving and coming together. There are some truly terrifying scenes, and a supernatural element pops up because—remember—it’s Stephen King. At the end of the world, the heroes must make a final stand against evil.
If you never read this book, check it out. I bet you’ll add it to your list of favorite post-apocalyptic books, too!
Bonus Round #2: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
“You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.” ― Cormac McCarthy, quote from The Road
To qualify as a young adult novel, the book must be in the viewpoint of a teen, and part of The Road is in the viewpoint of the father. Don’t let that stop you. This dystopian, post-apocalyptic book is gripping from the very first page. A man and his son are on the road, and something truly awful has happened. What?
The story unfolds at a crawl. You can feel the agony and terror of their situation. There are a couple of scenes that are truly chilling. The horror of them has remained with me forever.
There’s a reason this novel won a Pulitzer Prize. Pick it up. You won’t regret it.
Bonus Round #3: Darkness Begins (After the EMP) by Harley Tate
My edition actually had the first 3 books together, but I didn't realize this until the transition to the second book.
Harley Tate gives an excellent story about a woman, daughter, and husband who are separated when the power goes out around the world. The daughter has 3 college friends with her. The viewpoint alternates between the mother, daughter, and father as they attempt to find one another in the immediate chaos.
The narrative is fast-paced, and the characters face many serious challenges in their journey. I became invested in the characters and their efforts to reunite, and then, I wanted them to achieve their goal of finding safety at the college roommate's parents' house in the mountains.
If you like The Stand, this is good book and new author to check out. She has a lot of others in her backlist too.
Other Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic, and Dystopian YA Science Fiction Books
If you are looking for some other apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and dystopian YA science fiction books, check out the YA Dystopian Books list on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books.
Khristina Chess is an award-winning author of a dozen young adult novels, including The Cutting Edge of Friendship, The Delinquent Hero, and Junior Missing. Hollow Beauty, her book about eating disorders, was named a finalist in the Next Generation India Book Awards. She tackles tough teen topics and writes binge-worthy books across multiple genres, including contemporary, thriller, mystery, and adventure.