My child has a summer reading bingo card and we are in need of a dystopian novel. Are there any light hearted dystopian books out there? Or is that a silly thing to ask? She’s very tender hearted and I want her to enjoy the read. I definitely want a book that ends with the good guy winning or some sort of triumph.
by TXFloretFarm
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Light-hearted? No. It wouldn’t be dystopia if it was light-hearted.
But, *The Giver* is written for that age group, so it would be perfect!
Edit to say that the ending is sort of a cliff-hanger/ambiguous. It is not a glorious victory.
Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix might work! It’s not “light hearted” but it’s also not as scary and depressing as your average YA dystopian about teenagers.
The girl in the book, Jessie, lives in Indiana in 1840 – or so she thinks. When her village is struck by a diptheria epidemic, she finds out that their town is actually a tourist attraction that modern day people watch through hidden cameras and windows. The company in charge of the town is refusing to provide modern medicine to the inhabitants, so Jesse’s mom explains everything to her and Jessie has to escape to the modern world – a huge challenge as she’s never experienced modern technology. No spoilers, but there is triumph at the end. There’s plenty of suspense throughout but it’s age appropriate and not all gloom and doom.