ABSTRACT
Teenaged girls oppose oppressive societies in the latest wave of young adult dystopian fiction, rescuing themselves and ascending to leadership roles in overt, ostensibly feminist displays of girl power. As young adult dystopia is an entirely different beast from the bleak, cautionary tales written for adults, teenage protagonists have a much better chance at succeeding against the odds and defeating their governments. Despite the subversive elements that mark rebellion in dystopian young adult fiction, in cases where a female protagonist has a prominent female friendship, the friendship will be sacrificed in order to reconcile dystopia’s hopelessness with the hopefulness of young adult fiction, often at the cost of reinforcing negative female stereotypes.
