Books like 'Messenger'
Readers who enjoyed Messenger by Lois Lowry also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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Age of Deception by T.A. White
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWar hero and daughter to two Houses, Kira is just beginning to learn how deep the rabbit hole goes. Agreeing to accompany her father’s people back to their homeworld, Kira Forrest prepares for the fight of her life. She’s agreed to undertake the Trial of the Broken, a rite of passage every member of her father’s House must pass... -
Light by Michael Grant
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsIt's been over a year since all the adults disappeared. Gone.In the time since every person over the age of fourteen disappeared from the town of Perdido Beach, California, countless battles have been fought: battles against hunger and lies and plague, and epic battles of good against evil...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia friendship high-school magic paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure -
Dervishes Don't Dance by Kim McDougall
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA Guardian is dead. Fae are missing. And someone has let a golem loose in town. Ride along with Kyra Greene, the only pest controller qualified to deal with the strange and wonderful creatures that come out the shadows when magic flares.Dervishes Don’t Dance is the second book in the Valkyrie Bestiary series... -
In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 54 ratingsRuby can't look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government's attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. With them is a prisoner: Clancy Gray, son of the president, and one of the few people Ruby has encountered with abilities like hers. Only Ruby has any power over him, and just one slip could lead to Clancy wreaking havoc on their minds...Categorized as:
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Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsRuby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster...Categorized as:
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Fire & Ash by Jonathan Maberry
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsIn the gripping conclusion to the action-packed standard bearer (Booklist) of zombie series, the threat of death is given new life.Benny Imura and his friends have found the jet and Sanctuary, but neither is what they expected. Instead of a refuge, Sanctuary is a hospice, and the soldiers who flew the plane seem to be little more than bureaucrats who have given up hope for humanity's future...Categorized as:
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The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsWhen Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp... -
Ruthless by Crystal Ash
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsWe're stronger together. But are we strong enough?The war is here, and it’s taking a toll on everyone I love. Now that my family is back together, we’re relying on each other more than ever. As a whole, we’re unstoppable. But Reaper and I continue to struggle. This war only adds stress to our already fragile relationship, and I’m not sure we’ll survive it...Categorized as:
apocalyptic drama dystopia friendship paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure adult -
Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsSix months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It’s also six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives...Categorized as:
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UnWholly by Neal Shusterman
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsAlternate cover for this ISBN can be found hereIt’s finally here. The long-awaited sequel to the bestselling Unwind, which Publishers Weekly called a “gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller.”Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa—and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp—people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding...Categorized as:
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The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWith her weak eyes and useless lungs that often leave her gasping for air, Nere feels more at home swimming with the dolphins her mother studies than she does hanging out with her classmates...Categorized as:
apocalyptic children coming-of-age dystopia paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure animals -
Horde by Ann Aguirre
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThe epic conclusion to the USA Today bestselling trilogy.The horde is coming.Salvation is surrounded, monsters at the gates, and this time, they're not going away. When Deuce, Fade, Stalker and Tegan set out, the odds are against them. But the odds have been stacked against Deuce from the moment she was born. She might not be a Huntress anymore, but she doesn't run...Categorized as:
apocalyptic coming-of-age dystopia friendship paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure alpha-mc -
Twisted Memories by Kate L. Mary
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwenty years ago Angus James woke to find himself in a sterile room. On the other side of the locked door, doctors worked to manipulate a virus, using him as their ultimate pin cushion. He was supposed to be dead - and there were moments over the next two decades when he wished he was - but despite his torturous existence, he remained a fighter...Categorized as:
apocalyptic drama dystopia paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure adult audiobook -
Flesh & Bone by Jonathan Maberry
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsReeling from the tragic events of Dust & Decay, Benny Imura and his friends plunge deep into the zombie-infested wastelands of the great Rot & Ruin. Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America, searching for the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists then humanity itself must have survived…somewhere... -
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Fear by Michael Grant
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsIt's been one year since all the adults disappeared. Gone.Despite the hunger and the lies, even despite the plague, the kids of Perdido Beach are determined to survive. Creeping into the tenuous new world they've built, though, is perhaps the worst incarnation yet of the enemy known as the Darkness: fear... -
Plague by Michael Grant
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsIt's been eight months since all the adults disappeared. GONE.They've survived hunger. They've survived lies. But the stakes keep rising, and the dystopian horror keeps building. Yet despite the simmering unrest left behind by so many battles, power struggles, and angry divides, there is a momentary calm in Perdido Beach...Categorized as:
apocalyptic children dystopia friendship high-school magic paranormal post-apocalyptic -
Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 59 ratingsJuliette Ferrars thought she'd won. She took over Sector 45, was named the new Supreme Commander, and now has Warner by her side. But she's still the girl with the ability to kill with a single touch—and now she's got the whole world in the palm of her hand...Categorized as:
apocalyptic coming-of-age drama dystopia friendship magic paranormal post-apocalyptic -
The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsMark's solo camping trip in the desert turns into a terrifying and thrilling odyssey when a mysterious beam of light transports him to another time on what appears to be another planet. As Mark searches for a pathway back to his own time on Earth, he must make a new life in a new world...Categorized as:
apocalyptic children classics coming-of-age dystopia high-school paranormal post-apocalyptic -
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 61 ratingsHere are stories of other worlds: of the rain-gutted forests of Venus and the deep canals of Mars; of the empty blackness of space and of planets that have no name. Here are stories, too, of Earth - new and unfamiliar in the glow of a wondrous future. And here- above all - is the story of The Illustrated man - tattooed by a witch with the most fantastic images ever seen on Earth..Categorized as:
classics drama dystopia high-school magical-realism paranormal 20th-century action-adventure -
Hope by S.J. West
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter finally reaching the Southern Kingdom, Skye soon realizes it isn’t the nirvana she always dreamt it would be. Through a series of events, Skye must face the Queen of the Eastern Kingdom once again and discover for herself what the true difference is between a harvester and a human...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure alternate-universe book fiction -
Unknown by Wendy Higgins
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn this first installment of NY Times bestselling author, Wendy Higgins's debut New Adult series, a frighteningly realistic apocalyptic America is brought to life, entwined with searing romantic tension that will leave you eager for more. *** Amber Tate believes the worst thing she'll suffer in life is dealing with the unrequited love she feels for her brother's best friend, Rylen Fite...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia family paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure aliens angst -
Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this apocalyptic sequel to Dark Inside four teens continue the struggle for survival as they face a world gone mad.Aries, Clementine, Mason and Michael have survived the first wave of the apocalypse that wiped out most of the world’s population, and turned many of the rest into murderous Baggers...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia friendship paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure alpha-mc book -
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsWinner of the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award for best vampire novel of the century: the genre-defining classic of horror sci-fi that inspired three films. The population of the entire world has been obliterated by a pandemic of vampire bacteria. Yet somehow, Robert Neville survived...Categorized as:
apocalyptic classics drama dystopia paranormal post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure -
Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsA year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness for their planet, and protect them from destruction. Some say Flynn’s a madman, others whisper about conspiracies. Nobody knows the truth... -
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Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSo my only protection is a kindergarten teacher and a ninety-eight-pound female minister....And they don't even believe I'm in danger. As Bethany approaches her thirteenth birthday, her parents begin acting more oddly than usual: Her mother cries constantly, and her father barely lets Bethany out of his sight... -
The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsCharlie Higson's The Enemy is the first in a jaw-dropping zombie horror series for teens. Everyone over the age of fourteen has succumbed to a deadly zombie virus and now the kids must keep themselves alive. When the sickness came, every parent, police officer, politician - every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry...Categorized as:
apocalyptic children coming-of-age dystopia paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure audiobook -
The Darkest Legacy by Alexandra Bracken
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsFive years after the destruction of the so-called rehabilitation camps that imprisoned her and countless other Psi kids, seventeen-year-old Suzume "Zu" Kimura has assumed the role of spokesperson for the interim government, fighting for the rights of Psi kids against a growing tide of misinformation and prejudice...Categorized as:
dystopia friendship magic paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure audiobook book -
Lies by Michael Grant
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 55 ratingsIt's been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone.It happens in one night. A girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach; and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead. Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness—or so they thought...Categorized as:
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Son by Lois Lowry
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsThey called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew... -
The Keeper: A Brilliant Darkness Story by A.G. Henley
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPeree knows what he’s doing as the new Keeper of the Water Bearer, Fennel. He knows Fennel’s Sightless. He knows that means the Scourge can’t hurt her when she gathers fresh water for her people. He knows how to wield his bow and arrow to kill piles of the revolting flesh-eaters as they swarm around her. He’ll motivate her, distract her, do anything he can to keep her working...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia high-school paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure audiobook book -
All the Dead Shall Weep by Charlaine Harris
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratings#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author returns with the fifth installment in the bestselling Gunnie Rose series as sisters Lizbeth Rose and Felicia as well as brother Eli and Peter, are reunited in Texoma only to break apart before the Wizard’s Ball held in San Diego, which will determine all their fates... -
The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratings“The perfect kind of high-pressure adventure.” —TeenVogue.comA New York Times bestseller!Red Queen meets The Hunger Games in this epic novel about what happens when a senator’s daughter is summoned to the galactic court as a hostage, but she’s really the galaxy’s most dangerous weapon in disguise.A Diabolic is ruthless. A Diabolic is powerful...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama dystopia friendship high-school action-adventure alpha-mc assassins -
Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsEver since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions...Categorized as:
dystopia family friendship magic paranormal action-adventure alternate-history alternate-universe -
The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThere are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters...Categorized as:
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Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAmy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience. But this new Earth isn't the paradise that Amy had been hoping for...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama dystopia family friendship high-school paranormal post-apocalyptic -
A Million Suns by Beth Revis
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsGodspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos. It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies...Categorized as:
drama dystopia high-school paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure aliens audiobook -
The Long Walk by Richard Bachman, Stephen King
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsOn the first day of May, 100 teenage boys meet for an event known throughout the country as The Long Walk. If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying. Reissue...Categorized as:
apocalyptic classics coming-of-age drama dystopia post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure -
Hunger by Michael Grant
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 64 ratingsIt's been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ.Three months since all the adults disappeared. GONE.Food ran out weeks ago. Everyone is starving, but no one wants to figure out a solution. And each day, more and more kids are evolving, developing supernatural abilities that set them apart from the kids without powers... -
Stung by Bethany Wiggins
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThere is no cure for being stung.Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she awakens, her world no longer exists. Her house is abandoned and broken. Her neighborhood is barren and dead. And there is a tattoo on her right hand. A tattoo Fiona doesn’t remember getting…but somehow she must conceal at any cost. Because humanity has been divided...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia family paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure audiobook book -
In the After by Demitria Lunetta
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn debut author Demitria Lunetta's thriller, one girl must fight for her survival in a world overrun by violent, deadly creatures.Amy Harris's life changed forever when They took over. Her parents—vanished. The government—obsolete. Societal structure—nonexistent. No one knows where They came from, but these vicious creatures have been rapidly devouring mankind since They appeared...Categorized as:
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Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWhat would you do to save someone you love?Time is slipping away. . . .Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to the middle of nowhere for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying--and she's helpless to change anything... -
Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFour months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia high-school magic paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure aliens -
The Scourge by A.G. Henley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Groundling, Fennel, is Sightless. She's never been able to see her lush forest home, but she knows its secrets. She knows how the shadows shift when she passes under a canopy of trees. She knows how to hide in the cool, damp caves when the Scourge comes. She knows how devious and arrogant the Groundlings' tree-dwelling neighbors, the Lofties, can be...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure audiobook book disability -
The Trap by Andrew Fukuda
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom author Andrew Fukuda comes The Trap, the explosive finale to The Hunt trilogy—perfect for fans of The Hunger Games!After barely escaping the Mission alive, Gene and Sissy face an impossible task: staying alive long enough to stop an entire world bent on their destruction... -
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Please Remain Calm by Courtney Summers
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIn this gripping sequel to THIS IS NOT A TEST, Rhys and Sloane are headed for a safe haven when they get separated along the way. Rhys is determined to reunite with Sloane until he discovers people who might need him more--people who offer him the closest he'll get to everything he's lost, if they can just hold on long enough...Categorized as:
apocalyptic drama dystopia friendship paranormal post-apocalyptic abuse action-adventure -
All These Monsters by Amy Tintera
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom New York Times best-selling author Amy Tintera, a high-stakes sci-fi adventure about a teen girl who will do anything to escape her troubled home—even if that means joining a dangerous monster-fighting squad. Perfect for fans of Warcross and Renegades. Seventeen-year-old Clara is ready to fight back...Categorized as:
apocalyptic coming-of-age dystopia family friendship paranormal abuse action-adventure -
The Prey by Andrew Fukuda
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsFor Gene and the remaining humans—or hepers—death is just a heartbeat away. On the run and hunted by society, they must find a way to survive in The Vast... and avoid the hungry predators tracking them in the dark. But they’re not the only things following Gene. He’s haunted by the girl he left behind and his burgeoning feelings for Sissy, the human girl at his side...Categorized as:
apocalyptic children dystopia family friendship paranormal post-apocalyptic action-adventure -
Timelock by David Klass
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn Timelock, the thrilling finale to the Caretaker Trilogy, the end of life as we know it has arrived, and history will be made -- or lost -- at the hands of one young hero.Jack Danielson has spent the last year saving the oceans and the Amazon, attempting to fulfill a prophecy that was written before his birth... -
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThirteen-year-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he's never thought it was any big deal. Then he and a new friend, Chip, who's also adopted, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you... -
City of the Dead by S.D. Perry, Timothy Stahl
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsLeon Kennedy, a rookie cop on a new assignment, and Claire Redfield, sister of the still-missing S.T.A.R.S. member Chris, arrive at Raccoon City to discover a necropolis. A botched attempt by the Umbrella Corporation to retrieve a devastating mutagenic weapon has resulted in a horrifying viral outbreak, transforming the city's population into the living dead. And all of them are hungry...Categorized as:
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