What is Dystopian Fiction?

DYSTOPIAN FICTION. Being that it is the 'it' genre in YA fiction at the moment, I am quite often asked what it actually means, either at my job in the bookstore or when I talk to someone about the type of books I review. And even though I know what it is, it seems that I never really seem to have a good way of describing it. Or when I try, I just end up confusing the person who has asked me.
So, here are a couple of definitions for you.

From Wikipedia:

"A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian."


"Dystopian societies feature different kinds of repressive social control systems, various forms of active and passive coercion. Ideas and works about dystopian societies often explore the concept of humans abusing technology and humans individually and collectively coping, or not being able to properly cope with technology that has progressed far more rapidly than humanity's spiritual evolution. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the citizens.


"As fictional dystopias are often set in a future projected virtual time and/or space involving technological innovations not accessible in actual present reality, dystopian fiction is often classified generically as science fiction"

I hope this helps next time someone asks you what dystopian fiction is!

Here are a few YA dystopian novels...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Days Like This by Alison Stewart
Matched by Ally Condie
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Divergent by Veronica Roth
All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin