Red Rising (not Magic, But Hunger Games Survival Meets School Setting With Some Fantasy Elements)

Books in this sub-genre focus almost entirely on magic, but Red Rising stands in stark contrast to that. Part dystopia, part sci-fi fantasy, Red Risingfocuses on the story of a relatively ordinary citizen who seeks to overthrow an evil regime. Living in a futuristic Mars colony, Darrow is a ‘Helldiver’, digging underneath the surface to try and make the planet hospitable. However, picked up by a resistance group, he quickly learns that he hasn’t been told the whole truth, and there’s only one way to get his voice heard. Thanks to genetic manipulation, Darrow finds a place in the Institute, a school that produces all the top members of society. Balancing the anxieties of being discovered with harsh, Hunger Games-like training, Brown creates an incredible page-turner with great emotional depth. The world presented is a dark one, filled with psychopaths and leaders who rule like gods. It’s brutal in every way, making you question how it gets categorized as young adult. Even so, it’s rendered in stunning detail, tying in political philosophies and class systems while also unfolding a satisfying revenge story.