If there’s anything YA has taught me over the years, it’s that teenagers are the ones who have the guts to speak out against oppressors and fight back. They see the injustices in their worlds and know something must be done to change things. In these books for the Resistance, evil governments have all of the power, until a brave group of people dare to fight back.
7 Books for the Resistance
1. Ruse by Cindy Pon
In a near-future Taipei plagued by pollution, the rich wear special suits, protecting them from the pollution and viruses that plague the city, while those without suffer illness and early deaths. A group of teens must risk everything to save their city.
2. Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young
The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. But the girls’ carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears. As Mena and her friends uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations Academy will learn to fight back.
3. Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell
When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. A new life for a wealthy French family and their descendants. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing.
4. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. But the system is not perfect, and scythe apprentices Rowan and Citra find that they take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom.
5. This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada
Catarina Agatta is a hacker. She can cripple mainframes and crash through firewalls, but that’s not what makes her special. In Cat’s world, people are implanted with technology to recode their DNA, allowing them to change their bodies in any way they want. And Cat happens to be a gene-hacking genius. She must use her abilities to work against a shadowy organization called Cartaxus and save the human race.
6. The Program by Suzanne Young
In Sloane’s world, suicide now an international epidemic. One outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. She knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories. The teens must rise up against the program if they want to hold on to their memories.
7. The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid
Nemesis is a Diabolic, a humanoid teenager created to protect a galactic senator’s daughter, Sidonia. The two have grown up side by side, but are in no way sisters. Nemesis is expected to give her life for Sidonia, and she would do so gladly. As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns there is something more to her than just deadly force.
