TOP PICKS IN QUIET DYSTOPIA’S
Where The Morning Star Fell - David Boevers
My review:
A Hopepunk which unfolds into Something Wholesome
This book combines drama, mystery, and a dystopian setting in a way that kept me engaged throughout. I really enjoyed the sense of possibility in the world and the questions that slowly unfolded as the story progressed.
What truly made this book stand out for me was the ending. The choice to start again, learning from mistakes to create something more equal, resourceful, and community-focused, was genuinely wholesome and emotionally satisfying. It wrapped up the tension and uncertainty in a way that felt earned, turning a good book into a great one.
A thoughtful, unique, hopepunk read with a hopeful core.
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So, why this book?
When I first began reading, I genuinely thought it was set in space. I’m not entirely sure why—because it isn’t—but that initial impression meant it didn’t immediately grab me.
Then, as I kept reading, the humanity of the story just poured through. I learned from David that the protagonists were inspired by real people in his life, and that knowledge made me connect with the book even more deeply.
There are autistic characters too, portrayed with their strengths first, and I absolutely loved that. It felt respectful, real, and refreshingly unforced.
What struck me most, though, was how the book handled the end of the world. It wasn’t obsessed with destruction or spectacle. Instead, it nudged me to think about the human side of catastrophe—how we might actually respond, how communities might rebuild, how people find each other again when everything familiar has fallen away.
It’s a story that lingers not because of its apocalypse, but because of its compassion.
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About the author David Boever.
David Boevers is a speculative fiction author and middle school social studies teacher whose work explores the intersections of family, trauma, and the fragile line between destiny and choice. He is the author of Where the Morning Star Fell, the first instalment in the Eleuthera Rising Saga, a near-future dystopian series that blends apocalyptic survival with deeply human questions about fate, resilience, and legacy.
Before teaching, Boevers served as a State Park Ranger, experiences that deepened his appreciation for history, community, and the natural world—perspectives that frequently inform his writing. As a teacher, he brings both empathy and clarity to the challenges of young people, qualities that carry into his fiction. He holds degrees in history and education and has spent seven years in the classroom, teaching the very histories of collapse, resilience, and civic responsibility that echo through his novels. He currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife and children.
THE SALT & ASH TRILOGY
Okay, It wouldn’t be right to name the top dystopian books without naming my own.
Salt & Ash draws upon the realities we already know and fear. Set in a dystopian future, this one feels a bit too close to home. With its character driven storyline.
Can I review my own book? Absolutely not. But, I have had plenty of people do that for me, check them out on goodreads.
So why this book?
Salt & Ash is a quiet dystopia focusing on the people rather than the systems they’re navigating.
Not only that, but it’s created with neurodivergence in mind — though maybe not in the way you might think. I live in a household where neurodivergence is the norm. In my house, the ratio of neurodivergent to neurotypical is 5:1, and that’s not including the cat and the dog! So when I created a world, it’s the people with neurotypical traits who struggle to fit in
To Cage a Wild Bird
Breaking the mould a little, although this is traditionally published, it’s already a Sunday Times bestseller! Brooke Fast wrote her debut novel in September 2025.
My review:
To Cage a Wild Bird is a bold dystopian set in a future shaped by an extreme form of capital punishment. In this world, every crime carries the same sentence: Endlock.
Endlock is a prison where the wealthy can pay to hunt inmates like game birds. Prisoners aren’t allowed to fight back, they can only run, hide, and hope to survive. The only escape? Death.
The story follows a bounty hunter navigating this brutal system while trying to keep herself emotionally detached from it. The enemies-to-lovers thread adds tension, and the stakes feel high throughout. The ending definitely left me wanting more.
Personally, I struggled a little with the first half. The protagonist is hardened, aggressive, physically tough, very different from me, so I initially found it harder to connect with her. But as the layers begin to peel back, I found myself far more invested in her.
This is a loud, high-stakes dystopia with echoes of The Hunger Games; that rich vs. poor divide, the spectacle of suffering, the sharp physical and social segregation. If you enjoy morally grey characters, brutal systems, and intense tension, this one will likely grip you.
About The Author
According to Amazon, Brooke Fast is a lover of dystopian, fantasy, and all things romance. When she’s not writing new worlds, you can find her curled up on the couch with her husband and their pups in their self-built tiny house in the mountains of Maine. She’ll either be consuming copious amounts of coffee and thumbing through the latest romantasy release or sharing book reviews and writing snippets under her alter-ego, @librarybrookes.
