https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1 A list of books to support my Ted Talk on Dystopian Fictions' support of identity and diversity. This list ranges in difficulty levels, from sixth grade to twelfth grade and focuses on novels a teacher could base a unit around, as well as some small supporting short stories that could be easily used in a curriculum with less freedom of book choice. I have read each of these books and have a deep love for them, as dystopian fiction is my favorite genre. Each of these books contain quotes and messages about the importance of diversity to a society. Each also places importance on individualism and a means to supporting the whole of the world. They serve as mirrors through the characters, their struggles, and their inner monologue; they serves as windows to worlds that do not exist--and those that do but are different from our own; and finally, they serve as sliding glass doors which allows us to step into someone else's shoes, walk their path, and learn from their lessons and experiences. en-us 2021-06-07 01:52:02 UTC 2025-11-17 19:25:32 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f31e.png mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591005366 2021-06-07 20:02:35 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591005366 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591005813 2021-06-07 20:02:52 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591005813 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591007443 2021-06-07 20:03:50 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591007443 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591010814 2021-06-07 20:05:47 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591010814 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591012748 2021-06-07 20:06:47 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591012748 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591014687 2021-06-07 20:07:50 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591014687 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591017970 2021-06-07 20:09:35 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591017970 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591020272 2021-06-07 20:10:48 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591020272 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591024126 2021-06-07 20:12:49 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591024126 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591024438 2021-06-07 20:13:00 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591024438 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591025792 2021-06-07 20:13:38 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591025792 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591027492 2021-06-07 20:14:39 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591027492 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591029027 2021-06-07 20:15:31 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591029027 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591029885 2021-06-07 20:16:01 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591029885 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591030717 2021-06-07 20:16:23 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591030717 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591031808 2021-06-07 20:17:00 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591031808 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591035391 2021-06-07 20:19:07 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591035391 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591035517 2021-06-07 20:19:12 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591035517 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591044126 Katniss is a 16 year old girl who lives in the Seam, the most impoverished part of the most impoverished district, District 12. She is being raised by a single mother after her father dies working in unstable mines, where he was forced into labor by their government city, The Capitol. Their nation of Panem is run by a dictator, President Snow, and to ensure all districts forever comply with their unjust laws they have an annual Hunger Games where one child victor must kill 23 others in order to live in fame, glory, and riches. Katniss takes the place of her younger sister, but she is more defiant than the Capitol desires. Her actions only lead to further unrest and eventually, Civil War.]]> 2021-06-07 20:23:59 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591044126 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591049584 Uglies is a dystopian tale in a world unknown, but what can be assumed was once North America, and our female protagonist, Tally Youngblood, lives in what was probably once Seattle, Washington. Tally is awaiting her 16th birthday when she will finally receive the surgery to make her "pretty." All 16 year olds get it in order to make them the desired level of attractiveness according to "science." Their skin is smoothed out, bones shaved down, eye shapes and sizes and colors corrected, and more in order to fit a designated mold. When her friend, Shay, runs away rather than getting the surgery, Tally must find her, bring her back, and ensure they are both made pretty before it is too late.]]> 2021-06-07 20:27:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591049584 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591055934 Our female protagonist, Tris, is a quiet girl who keeps to herself and serves others as a part of her faction. She is not allowed to look into mirrors in fear of becoming conceded, as her faction is known for its humility and service to others. In fact, all of humanity is divided into what matters most to them: intelligence, honesty, selflessness, bravery, or peacefulness. 
Tris decides to leave her faction in favor of Dauntless, the brave faction. She struggles to fit in though because she cannot fit into one, single category: she is Divergent. However, being Divergent is illegal. In this society, you must fit in to only one category. To be Divergent is a secret and a death sentence. As Tris finds out, though, it is more crucial to the human race to be different than she ever could have imagined.]]> 2021-06-07 20:30:45 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591055934 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591065396 The Giver is about a society of people who are all equal. Everyone takes a pill in the morning which suppresses dreams and desires, everyone is totally honest all the time, and no one can see in color. All except one. In order to keep this society the way it is, one person must be sacrificed as The Giver. The Giver holds all memories and emotions, both good and bad, happy and sad. The Giver is the only one who can see in color, and eventually he chooses a new person, a young boy named Jonas, to become his predecessor. Jonas then learns just how much he must hold, and has to decide whether to carry the burden alone, or to run away and release the knowledge, emotions, and yes, pain, onto his people. ]]> 2021-06-07 20:36:35 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591065396 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591079863 1984 is a classic novel with a male protagonist, Winston. Winston is middle-aged and plain, very plain. He lives under Big Brother and their totalitarian regime where all things including love, creativity, and free thinking are suppressed into non-existence. Winston meets Julia, a young, beautiful woman, and they begin a passionate, defiant affair. When they eventually do get caught, Winston is forced into admitting that 2+2=5, and therefore falls victim to government control. ]]> 2021-06-07 20:44:49 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591079863 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591086162 The Last Kids on Earth is about a boy and his friends he meets along the way during their survival of a Zombie apocalypse. This books is a series and is along the same ideas and writing styles as books like "Captain Underpants." It definitely appeals to middle school-aged male readers and those who are not interested in typical school-book storylines. It also features kids on the cover of all different races, and includes a girl, June, in all of their action-packed story sequences.]]> 2021-06-07 20:48:34 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591086162 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591090165 Forgotten City stood out to me as a new book for this series because the boy on the cover, Kobi, is Asian. He is struggling in his post-apocalyptic world with the trauma of losing his father, and a depression that continues to try to hold him back as he figures out the world around him and fights to defeat the Waste and the even more eery people behind it. This book is also engaging for readers who are interested in books with more imagery and less traditional settings. It is action-paced and introspective and is a fun read for younger adolescents and adults alike. ]]> 2021-06-07 20:51:05 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591090165 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591091591 This book is mostly here on this list as an example of the vast amount of texts available as support for dystopian novels. Most of the books on this list have a graphic novel to go with it, or to support it further. This particular text is from a different perspective on the same events, which opens up discussion about how everyone experiences life differently based on their own intersectionalities.]]> 2021-06-07 20:52:03 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591091591 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591093138 This story is an example of classic dystopian short stories that can be used and implemented with less time for teachers who want to test out dystopian fiction, or for those who just do not have the time or resources to teach a novel. Each story in this book has a different plot, and they all tie back to the Illustrated Man. Teaches can choose stories based on their students interests and identities in order to best engage and inspire them.]]> 2021-06-07 20:53:05 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591093138 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591787119 2021-06-08 03:33:12 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591787119 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591788630 2021-06-08 03:34:02 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591788630 mleveille1 https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591788848 This book is a wonderful picture book that introduces the idea of a problem and how, if left unattended, that problem can grow, and grow, and grow. I wanted to incorporate a children's book with this theme, because I think it really puts into perspective what so much of dystopian literature says to us: if there is a problem, it will not just go away. It also has amazing illustrations of how we desperately try to maintain control when really, the best thing to do is let go of control and recognize the issue at hand. 

I would use this book at the very beginning of reading to introduce the unit, or at the very end when wrapping up a thematic discussion.]]> 2021-06-08 03:34:09 UTC https://padlet.com/mleveille1/hafxqi0fbdf5cou1/wish/1591788848