I grew up in a small community surrounded by mountains and vast public land. I learned to ride a horse before riding a bike, and my dad taught me about recreating in remote areas. I didn’t think of those lessons as survival training, but in my novels, the skills I learned as a kid often save the characters’ lives. All the books on this list feature ordinary people doing extraordinary things to survive and, in some cases, protecting those they love. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have!
I grew up in a small rural town where almost everyone fished, hunted, gardened, and enjoyed the simple things in life. Most of what I learned isn’t necessary to live in today’s world, but what if things changed and those able to live off the grid were the ones who survived? I love survival stories, especially about normal people doing extraordinary things to survive and protect those they love.
This book contains many of the themes I enjoy—survival against the odds, navigating complex relationships, and the oppressed rising up against the oppressor. This fast-paced novel begins with a seriously intense shock factor, a government sending children to fight to the death. After that, I couldn’t put it down.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before - and survival, for her, is second nature. The Hunger Games is a searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. Welcome to the deadliest reality TV show ever...
This book is set in Wyoming, my home state. Wyoming is a perfect setting for survival stories since it’s sparsely populated and has millions of acres of undeveloped land and wilderness areas to recreate in or explore.
When a cyber-attack collapses the American banking system, society descends into chaos—a scenario that I believe could become a reality someday in the not-so-distant future. This action-packed novel follows a group of anthropology (another of my interests) students stranded in the lawless West as they fight to survive the dissolution of America. I found the what-if scenario to be exciting and frightening, and the setting was realistic and familiar.
Robin dreamed of attending Yale and using her brain. Kory lived on the streets of Seattle and relied on his brawn. Without the asteroid, they never would have met.
For three years, Robin and her grandfather have been hiding, trusting no one. When a biker gang moves into town, Robin…
I love to be surprised. Poster Girl started a bit slow, but as the story unfolded, the web of connections made this dystopian book much more interesting than I thought it would be.
The story began after a revolution. Many considered patriots by the former government were either killed or imprisoned. As the new government tries to paint itself as the liberator from oppression, similarities between the new and old regimes are exposed.
As with any good dystopian story, it shows what people will do to survive in a dangerous and unfamiliar world and how they navigate relationships within a new set of social rules.
A fallen regime. A missing child. A chance at freedom.
Ten years ago, Sonya was the face of an oppressive regime. Then it was toppled by rebels and she was thrown into prison - where she has been locked up ever since.
When an old enemy comes to her with a deal, it seems too good to be true: find a missing girl who was stolen from her parents, and earn her freedom.
But as Sonya hunts for the child, she is forced to dig deeper into the past - and her family's dark secrets - than she ever bargained…
I was instantly drawn in by the concept of this novel. As young adults reach a certain age, they must leave their homes and journey to a far away, randomly chosen enclave in a mostly-destroyed America, ensuring genetic diversity for the small, remaining human population.
The story follows Rayne Mirago’s struggle to survive after leaving her family and home behind on her sojourn. It has action, adventure, deadly plants and animals, dangerous groups, daily struggles for food, water, and shelter, and even a sweet love story.
Each novel in the series presents a new ecosystem and a different set of threats. Not only was this novel hard to put down, but each one left me anxious for the next.
In a dark future, follow seventeen year old Rayn Mirago as she leaves everything she knows behind, and embarks on a journey that will either prove her worth, or take her life. Sojourn - The Wildlands, is the first book in the Rayn Mirago saga where she must leave on her Sojourn across the former United States to prove her worth. She will face many struggles and dangers that will challenge her, make her doubt herself, and force her to realize that she is stronger than she ever imagined. But first, she must overcome the burden of leaving her old…
1184 BCE. Ramesses III, who will become the last of the great pharaohs, is returning home from battle. He will one day assume the throne of the Egyptian empire, and the plots against him and his children have already started. Even a god can die.
This novel has it all, ancient lore, nightmares, mysticism, self-discovery, friendship, a budding romance, and intense action and adventure.
When four friends are sucked into an alternate universe filled with danger, they must survive a host of nightmarish threats and find their way to the center of the web to escape.
I love stories of survival against the odds, but this was exceptionally interesting as the threats are not what anyone would expect. Much of the book takes place in the badlands of South Dakota, another place I’m familiar with. I’m a sucker for a story set in a place that would be difficult to survive under the best of circumstances.
When seventeen-year-old Jory Pike cannot shake the hellish nightmares of her parent’s deaths, she turns to an old family heirloom, a dream catcher. Even though she’s half blood Chippewa, Jory thinks old Indian lore is so yesterday, but she’s willing to give it a try. However, the dream catcher has had its fill of nightmares from an ancient and violent past. After a sleepover party, and during one of Jory’s most horrific dream episodes, the dream catcher implodes, sucking Jory and her three friends into its own world of trapped nightmares. They’re in an alternate universe—locked inside of an insane…
My book follows the lives of Ashley, Caleb, and the residents of Beartooth. Ash and Caleb have known each other most of their lives and have always been best friends. As they enter adulthood and begin to take an active role in the community, they learn the government plans to use a geoengineering process to cool the planet. Along with the fear of how this will impact their food supply, Ash learns her mom’s health is failing. Not wanting Ash to face an uncertain future alone, she nudges Ash and Caleb into marriage.
Together, Ash and Caleb learn about love, tragedy, and grief. They work to protect Beartooth from deadly predators and ruthless neighbors while searching for solutions to a rapidly changing environment and deteriorating world.
One summer night in a small prairie city, 18-year-old Gabriel Reece accidentally outs himself to his redneck brother Colin, flees on his motorcycle, and gets struck by lightning on his way out of town.
He’s strangely fine, walking away from his melted pile of bike without a scratch. There’s no…
A fresh take on the difference between trauma and hardship in order to help accurately spot the difference and avoid over-generalizations.
The book integrates the latest findings in brain science, child development, psycho-social context, theory, and clinical experiences to make the case that trauma is much more than a cluster…
