7 YA Heroines Who Will Fill the Katniss Everdeen-Shaped Void in Your Life
Copyright © ©Lions Gate/courtesy Everett Collecti / Everett Collection1/9With the latest installment of the Hunger Games series set to hit the big screen this month, our hearts are feeling a little heavy thinking about saying goodbye to Katniss Everdeen (cue mockingjay whistle). We're also bummed about watching Jennifer Lawrence’s final performance as the revolution-leading archeress. J.Law will continue to keep us all entertained with her antics and inspiring us with some serious #squadgoals for years to come, but it might be time to welcome some new fictional leading ladies into your life. Although they’re lacking badass bow skills and impressive braiding abilities, these seven characters from dystopian worlds will remind you that even though Katniss is gone, the odds are still ever in your favor:
2/9Lena Haloway, from the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver
Magdalena “Lena” Haloway’s story takes place in Portland, Maine. We meet our young heroine in an alternate reality, in which the government has lost its marbles and declared a war on love. Feelings of the heart are considered an infection; the medical term for love being “amor deliria nervosa.” Instead of experiencing the most joyful of human emotions, Lena’s society chooses to vaccinate all members of the community against love when they turn 18. But when Lena meets a handsome young stranger in the woods, she begins to question her government, her family, and even her heart. If you tore through the Hunger Games trilogy, you won’t be able to resist the Delirium series.
3/9Cassia Reyes, from the Matched series by Ally Condie
Reminiscent of The Giver, Matched tells the tale of a society looking to achieve perfection. From their matching algorithm that decides everything from a person’s spouse to job placement, it seems that young Cassia Reyes should be living life blissfully. At her matching banquet, and coincidentally her 17th birthday, Cassia is matched with her best friend Xander. Unenthused but not unhappy, she begins to picture her life by Xander’s side, that is, until another face pierces through the monitor. Equipped with the love triangle we’ve come to expect from dystopian young adult novels, the Matched series goes deeper than its counterparts by examining what it means to be perfect and how much the world is willing to pay to be perceived as such.
4/9June Iparis, from Legend by Marie Lu
In the future, after the United States has fallen in ruin, a new country called The Republic is formed. (Sounds like Hunger Games and Divergent? We thought so.) Enter June Iparis, a 15-year-old prodigy who lands a perfect score on the Republic’s trials, which sets her on track to become a military elite. But life has other plans for her when June’s older brother Metias is brutally murdered. As June pursues the possible killer and seeks to avenge her family, she’ll learn that not everything in The Republic is as it seems.
5/9Deuce, from Enclave, book 1 of the Razorland series by Ann Aguirre
Deteriorating climate conditions and eminent violence has caused most of New York City to move underground. At the center of the action is Deuce, and her community’s underground enclave is soon put at risk by fast-approaching intruders. When the adults around Deuce fail to heed her warnings, she chooses to take matters into her own hands with her hunting partner, Fade. Armed with razor sharp daggers and wits, Deuce heads above ground in an attempt to save her people and learn about the world that once was.
6/9Lady Katsa, from Graceling by Kristin Cashore
A beautiful tomboy with a special skill braves the odds and challenges authority? No, it's not the Hunger Games, we're talking about Graceling. Lady Katsa may have some things in common with Katniss (including the first three letters of her name) but their journeys are vastly different. While Ms. Everdeen used her powers for good, Katsa uses her skills to…murder. Gracelings are a rarity in the seven kingdoms, as they are people who are born with an exceptional skill, or “grace.” Katsa’s grace happens to be killing. For more than 10 years she’s been working as a trained assassin for a king, but everything will change when she questions if her abilities go beyond agility and force. With the help of a new friend and potential love interest, Katsa sets off to avenge a kidnapping and restore order in the land. But what other graces await her?
7/9Georgia Mason, from Feed by Mira Grant
Years have past since the Rising, but the infection that started the zombie apocalypse still looms large. Georgia "George" Mason is a news reporter assigned to cover the upcoming presidential election. As Georgia and her brother Shaun travel around 2040 America in pursuit of covering the nomination of a Republican candidate, all hell breaks loose. Prepare yourself for rabid zombie attacks, an innovative take on American politics, and a headstrong brother-sister duo that will have you texting your siblings to tell them you love them as soon as you finish the book.
8/9Pressia Belze, from the Pure series by Julianna Baggott
The Dome, a super-structure built to withstand atomic bombs, was created to protect certain members of society; those unlucky enough to be trapped outside experienced hell on earth when the bombs detonated. The outsiders are now scarred and known by society as “Wretches,” while those who were protected inside the Dome are referred to as “Pures.”
Pressia Belze lives in this unnamed post-apocalyptic world where Wretcheds are forced to live amongst rubble and ash, scrounging for shelter and food. Although Pressia has no recollection of life before the bombings, she knows living behind an abandoned barbershop with her grandfather isn’t exactly normal. And as her 16th birthday approaches, the age at which Wretches are charged with serving for the O.S.R. (a terroristic militia), she flees and strikes up an unlikely friendship with Partridge, a Dome-dwelling Pure—who also finds himself on the run, but for much different reasons.
Fearless, forthright, yet fallible, Pressia seeks a better life, and answers as to what happened to her family. Through alternating chapters told from Pressia and Partridge’s points of view, readers will become captivated by the deeply twisted world Julianna Baggott has created that gives even Mad Max a run for its money.
You will never regret choosing kindness. Be nicer to people, including yourself. What’s your go-to karaoke song?
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