If you’ve ever talked to me about books, you know  that my favorite genre is science fiction—more specifically, books that are set in the future. Today, I’ll be counting down the five best dystopian or post-apocalyptic books I’ve ever read.

5. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. I was obsessed with this mega-popular series a while ago. The love triangle is a little unnecessary, but it’s written in a way that’s not too distracting. The first book in the series is good; the second, Catching Fire, is all right, but not superb; and Mockingjay, the finale, is absolutely amazing!

4. Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Yes, I know it’s third in a series. Divergent and Insurgent were just okay—nothing I’d rave about, but readable. Their sequel, though it garnered a lot of criticism from fans, was a tragically wonderful way to end the story.

3. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. This book is pure dystopian, masquerading as a steampunk novel; at first, you think it’s set in Victorian times, but that’s just an elaborate façade that most of the characters live under. The other set of characters live in a sentient prison. Does this sound confusing? Read the book to find out what I mean.

2. House of Stairs by William  Sleator. A little-known classic involving near-Pavlovian conditioning experiments being performed on teenagers. (You don’t specifically find out that it’s set in the future until the end, but hints are dropped before that.)

1. The Giver Quartet by  Lois Lowry. The first book won a Newbery, and for good reason; the other three (Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son) are great, too. This is the series by which I judge all other dystopian novels. If you decide  to read just one of the books on this list, let it be The Giver.