From The Hunger Games to Powerless

15 thrilling series that came after Suzanne Collins's blockbuster franchise

When Suzanne Collins debuted The Hunger Games seventeen years ago, it was a smash hit, sparking a major trend in YA fiction. The newest addition to the series came out to much fanfare last week. A prequel to the original trilogy, Sunrise on the Reaping centers on a young Haymitch Abernathy on the dawn of his own reaping. For the uninitiated, Haymitch was mentor to hero Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.

The newest installment to this blockbuster franchise, which now comprises five novels and five movies, has already made a splash with both readers and critics. The film adaptation is slated for release in 2026. Read on for fifteen more thrilling YA fantasies carrying on the legacy of this groundbreaking franchise.

15 series following in the footsteps of The Hunger Games

These seventeen series published in the wake of The Hunger Games echo the same potent themes of authoritarianism, rebellion, and resilience. Many of them also draw from ancient folklore and mythology like The Hunger Games.

Matched by Ally Condie (2010)
In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die. As this series begins, Cassia has always trusted the Society's choices. But a mishap during her Match leaves her with an impossible choice between the only life she's ever known and a path no one has dared to follow.

Divergent by Veronica Roth (2011)
Set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian Chicago, this series centers on Beatrice Prior (Tris), a young woman who, like Katniss, challenges her totalitarian government. As Tris struggles to find her place in a segmented society, she lives with the danger of being killed if her true nature is discovered.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (2011)
No one knows why Juliette has such incredible power. To her, it feels like a curse. But The Reestablishment sees it as a gift, sees her as a deadly weapon they can use for power. The protagonist in this series is forced to fight for her freedom and survival in a dystopian world.

Legend by Marie Lu (2011)
Born into an elite family, June is headed for the Republic's highest military circles, while Day, born in the slums, is the country's most wanted criminal. This series explores a dystopian world where two fifteen-year-olds from opposing sides of a conflict come together to challenge the status quo.

Wool by Hugh Howey (2012)
This sci-fi series is set in a dystopian future where a community exists in a giant underground silo hundreds of stories deep. A restrictive set of regulations controls life within this society and residents are told that the toxic world outside will kill them in minutes. But some begin to wonder if this is the truth.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (2012)
In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his Throne of Glass, but she has not come to kill him. She has come to win her freedom in a cutthroat competition. But her fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (2013)
Book one in this thrilling sci-fi series follows Cassie, a young girl battling to survive an alien invasion and rescue her brother. Cassie believes that to stay alone is to stay alive. But after meeting the mysterious and beguiling Evan, Cassie must choose between trust and despair.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (2015)
Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free under the Martial Empire where defiance is met with death. Yet somehow they form an alliance that will awaken old magic and change the history of the world. The brutal society in this series is inspired by ancient Rome.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (2015)
The world in this series is divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Then Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (2018)
Once the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. But one night, under the orders of a ruthless king, everything changed. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. This West African-inspired series conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger.

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia (2019)
At the Medio School for Girls, pedigreed young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society: run a husband's household or raise his children. Dani is the school's top student, but she's hiding a dangerous secret. This compelling series mirrors real world issues of immigration and equality.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna (2020)
Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. This is book one in the Deathless series.

The Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (2021)
This dynamic series blends Chinese history and mecha science fiction. As a concubine-pilot of the alien-battling Chrysalises, 18-year-old Zetian plans to assassinate the ace male pilot who caused her sister's death, even as she dies in the process. But it turns out that Zetian possesses a rare power.

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (2022)
In this Mexican-inspired duology, ten young semidioses are selected to compete in once-a-decade Sunbearer Trials. Seventeen-year-old Teo has never worried that he would be picked since he is a Jade semidiós, but for the first time in over a century, Sol chooses a semidiós who isn’t a Gold. In fact, he chooses two.

Powerless by Lauren Roberts (2023)
This sizzling trilogy is set in a world where the lack of power has become a crime. Paedyn poses as a Psychic to avoid banishment. When she unsuspectingly saves a prince, she finds herself thrown into the Purging Trials, the brutal competition designed to showcase the very power Paedyn lacks.

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Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon