Dystopia is defined as “a work of fiction describing an imaginary place or state in which life is extremely bad due to deprivation, oppression or terror.” So basically, the opposite of Utopian—a once-popular theme for some of the best fantasy novels of all time.
There are a lot of theories behind the reasons why readers of young adult novels crave such dark stories. While many attribute the trend to internet-age marketing, others believe that it’s a form of escapism—if we really lived under a cloud of such a dark future, would readers be so enamored by these post apocalyptic books?
Another theory focuses on teen feelings of oppression, which can breed an urge to rebel. Young adult fiction books give these readers a chance to visit a world where they are not subject to dress codes, school bells, or constantly under surveillance. While it seems that good fantasy romance novels or paranormal romance books would provide that escape, the market may have been oversaturated with stories of wizards and vampires.
It’s very interesting that only a year ago, young adult fantasy novels were all the rage. Every small publishing company, including Sand Dollar Press, was overwhelmed with submissions of paranormal romance books. Everyone was looking for supernatural powers to accent the protagonist’s appeal.
Since the demographic is not at all limited to teens, perhaps this genre’s popularity among YA fiction is because readers want to relate their feelings of hopelessness in terms of the immense powers that be, the government and everything bureaucratic, to the feelings of a dystopian protagonist who gives us hope for mankind.
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