24 Books to Dive Into After ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ Left You Feeling Empty

      March 21, 2025

      

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      I’m not sure how you feel, but after I read The Hunger Games at age 12, I felt like I could never read another book again (I might have been a bit dramatic, to say the least). However, I eventually moved on and explored more books in the dystopian-science fiction-star-crossed lovers genre. Still, there are moments today when I wish to escape into stories like The Hunger Games that rekindle the emotions I experienced while reading about the Girl on Fire. Fortunately, Suzanne Collins continues to bless us fans of The Hunger Games by releasing more books set in that iconic universe. Her latest offering, Sunrise on the Reaping, was just released on March 18, and as a devoted follower, I've already devoured it. Now, I’m seeking a comparable read to follow it up. If you’re in the same predicament, look no further. Below is a list of books that fulfill the same cravings that The Hunger Games does. Dystopian worlds uncannily resembling our own, fantastical realms beyond our imagination, fierce heroines, and much more await your addition to your personal library.

      If you’re inspired to revisit the original Hunger Games trilogy, you can find the entire series along with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in one collection. Panem features a gleaming Capitol surrounded by twelve districts. The Capitol enforces control over the districts by mandating that each sends one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games—a televised fight to the death where the odds are against all contenders.

      Inesa resides with her brother in a nearly submerged town, unknowingly burdened by their mother's massive debt. This debt qualifies one of her children to participate in Caerus’s livestreamed assassination spectacle: the Lamb’s Gauntlet. Melinoë, a Caerus assassin trained to track and eliminate the sacrificial Lambs, pursues Inesa across the wasteland. As they navigate their perilous journey, both girls start questioning everything and wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love.

      In 2059, Paige Mahoney is a 19-year-old clairvoyant embedded in the criminal underbelly of Scion London. After being kidnapped and taken to a secret city in Oxford, she finds herself imprisoned, leading to a transformation in her life. Readers of The Hunger Games will be absorbed as Paige rises as an unexpected hero for her people.

      Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker star in the Chain-Gang All-Stars, a part of the Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly popular profit-generating program in America’s private prison system. The inmates compete for the ultimate reward: their freedom. As Thurwar prepares for her release, she contemplates ways to preserve the humanity of the other inmates in defiance of these so-called games, even as CAPE’s corporate owners are determined to maintain their status quo.

      Klara, an Artificial Friend with exceptional observational abilities, closely monitors the conduct of customers in a store and passersby on the street. She holds on to hope that a customer will soon select her. After finishing Klara and the Sun (which you’ll likely read in one sitting due to its compelling nature), you’ll be left pondering profound questions about humanity, existence, and the true meaning of love.

      Post-glaciers melting, Nonie, her family, and their research peers establish a settlement on the rooftop of the American Museum of Natural History in an almost desolate New York City. Their mission is to protect the collections of human history and science. When a superstorm breaches the city’s flood defenses, Nonie and her family embark on an escape north along the Hudson. They discover communities that have adapted in diverse and sometimes alarming ways to the new reality. Nevertheless, they are determined to create a new world that honors all they have preserved.

      On the romantic and thrilling side, this novel unfolds in a society that pairs people with their “perfect soulmate” through DNA testing and a simple mouth swab. But what occurs when your soulmate isn’t what you expected? This psychological thriller dives into secrets and the darker aspects of "perfection," making it impossible to put down.

      Strikers are fiercely loyal and possess unparalleled fighting skills, willing to do anything—including giving their lives—to protect Mara, the last free nation on Earth. However, to the very people she defends, Talin is regarded first as an outcast and second as a Striker. Undeterred by others’ opinions, Talin focuses on keeping the malicious Federation at bay until a mysterious prisoner arrives, disrupting her entire world. Time is of