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10 Book Recommendations for Divergent Fans

by Tom Burns

Was your teen captivated by the thrilling world of the Divergent series and searching for more heart-pounding adventures? Whether they’re on the hunt for stories of rebellion, resilience, or revolution, find their next favorite read in our curated collection of YA books like Divergent.

The Last Bookstore on Earth

The Last Bookstore on Earth

by Lily Braun-Arnold

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Two teens fight for love and survival in this bestselling post-apocalyptic novel. After a catastrophic natural disaster destroys civilization, Liz creates a home for herself in an abandoned bookstore. When she catches Maeve breaking into the store, the two girls quickly join forces and slowly fall in love. But with another disaster heading their way, the girls must fight for their lives — and each other.

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Snowglobe

Snowglobe

by Soyoung Park, translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort

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With the world covered in ice, the only warm place left is the domed city of Snowglobe, where the citizen’s lives are broadcast to everyone living outside the walls. When Chobahm gets the chance to live in the city and become a television star, she doesn’t hesitate to say yes. But life in Snowglobe is different than it appears on TV, and it doesn’t take long before Chobahm realizes that dark secrets and corruption lie beneath the glittering city.

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The Gilded Ones

The Gilded Ones

by Namina Forna

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You’ll love this breathtaking fantasy novel if you love Divergent’s theme of courageous warriors sworn to protect their people. Labeled “impure” by her village and sentenced to death, Deka takes the only other option available to her — to join an elite group of near-immortal warriors who protect the empire. However, Deka soon discovers that the greatest threat against the empire might lie within it.

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The Dividing Sky

The Dividing Sky

by Jill Tew

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Star-crossed lovers, a dystopian society, and a world of possibility make this YA novel perfect for Divergent fans. Liv earns extra cash by selling memories illegally to wealthy people. When a young Forceman named Adrian tracks her down with plans to arrest her, he discovers she has no memory of her crimes. With beautiful world-building and surprising plot twists, this book will keep readers glued to the page.

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Happy Head

Happy Head

by Josh Silver

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With teenage mental health at an all-time low, a new experimental retreat center opens and invites Seb to participate as one of its patients. At the center, Seb meets another boy named Finn, who flouts the program’s rules and exposes troubling issues with the assessments. As the program gets increasingly worrisome, Seb and Finn realize they are playing a game that is impossible to win.

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The 5th Wave

The 5th Wave

by Rick Yancey

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Strong female protagonist? Check. Post-apocalyptic setting? Check. Constantly shifting allegiances, romantic entanglements, and high stakes global drama? Check. Yancey’s tale of teenaged Cassie trying to rescue her brother from the insidious aftermath of an alien invasion is an ideal post-Allegiant read for teens (particularly since it’s the first of a series and had its own movie adaptation earlier this year).

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The Meadows

The Meadows

by Stephanie Oakes

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This riveting dystopian novel tackles the dangers of forced conformity and enmeshment in society. At a beautiful school called the Meadows, Eleanor and her friends learn to live state-approved existences. Years later, Eleanor digs into her experience at the Meadows and the tragic fate of her friend and first love, Rose. But her situation grows more perilous with each secret she unearths.

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Illuminae

Illuminae

by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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This ingeniously constructed adventure introduces us to Kady, a normal girl in 2575 trying to navigate an intergalactic war, a space plague, and insane artificial intelligence. And, regrettably, she might need the help of her ex Ezra to survive. The first part of a trilogy, Illuminae tells its story in a wonderfully unique way: The whole narrative is revealed through a file of hacked documents like files, transcripts, emails, etc.

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Ready Player One

Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline

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If your teen can’t get enough of Divergent’s panoramic thrills (whether on the page or the movie screen), they’ll geek out over Ready Player One, a gloriously nerdy adventure that Steven Spielberg is turning into his next movie. In a crumbling future where everyone spends most of their time in a virtual reality world called The OASIS, hardscrabble teen-geek Wade Watts just discovered the first in a legendary series of “easter eggs” hidden in the virtual world, which launches him into a life-or-death game for the ownership of the OASIS. Ideal for gamers, cosplayers, and Doctor Who fanatics.

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Skyward

Skyward

by Brandon Sanderson

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Factions, fierce competition, and courage — this series is a must-read for Divergent fans. Spensa would do anything to become a fighter pilot, but her late father’s reputation makes flight school a pipe dream. So, when Spensa discovers an abandoned ship, she finds a way to make her dream a reality.

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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2016 and updated in 2025.