Apart from the literary talent of our modern-day classic writers, it is no mystery that what makes their books stand out is their ability to predict the future with such craft and precision. Books like "Animal Farm" by Orwell or "The Great Gatsby" by Fitzgerald shape the past while simultaneously shifting the present as well. This leaves us to wonder, nowadays, which modern-day book is destined to become a classic in the future.
This list contains what this generation has shown to potentially shape the future generation for years to come. It includes books that not only work with amazing literature but also with a future reality that is already starting to be predicted in this day and age. If you want a book to read soon, this list might be a good place to start!
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Get notified of top trending articles like this one every week! (we won't spam you)1. 'The Hunger Games' by Susanne Collins
This book is already a steadily known book that many have read and loved, and it has recently started to appear in schools for children to read and learn. A book that revolves around a dystopian universe in which the world is divided into districts has already begun its comparison to our world in the same way.
This story follows a girl named Katniss Everdeen, who got selected to compete in the 74th annual Hunger Games. A game in which children from the ages of 12-18 compete to win by not getting killed by the other children who are competing as well. This story is known for the struggle of not knowing if you are choosing your love or your survival.
This book has managed to stick on many people's shelves. The idea of a future in which only a few have enough money to survive while the rest have to fight to get a meal on their plate is already shown in the world today. But, as time passes, the harsh reality of poverty in the world only worsens. This book drew a world in which the rich are extremely rich, and the poor are extremely poor. Sadly, this book, which was once an idea, now has grown to be something to relate to, making this book even more powerful. Due to this, the book continues showing up in schools' curriculums and will only potentially grow more in the future.

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2. 'Song of Achilles' by Madeline Miller
Although this book has existed since 2011, its' big break occurred in 2020 when the infamous social platform 'Tiktok' blew up the book. This book is a Greek mythology retelling of Achilles and Patroclus. This story follows Patroclus, a young prince exiled from his land due to a mortal accident.
When exiled, he meets Achilles, a prince from Phthia, and they are sworn to protect each other. As the story continues, it tells of an unfortunate yet beautiful love that, by all means, should go wrong.
The most notable part of this book is how Miller explains and describes the story of two boys who essentially grow up together, fight together, and end together. Although this story is not a depiction of the future of our world, it is a beautiful retelling of a Greek story. The ability in which this story shows the love and loyalty that two people can have is not something that can easily come across people.
The depth in which this story is told gets people to feel all the emotions: love, sadness, hope, and defeat. This book began a powerful expansion of Greek mythology and paved the way for many more stories. The impact this book had on the literature world is one to note, but it was not only the literature world that it impacted. The book also blew up tremendously in the world of popular culture. It introduced many to their newfound love for reading. This book will continue to thrive in the future because the story will not die. It will only grow to be even more appreciated than it already is right now.
3. ‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney
Not normally spoken about, this romantic drama will only grow in impact on the new generations to come. It is a story about two teenagers, Marianne and Connell, growing up and unintentionally always being in each other's lives. Uncommonly shown, 'Normal People' is a story in which two people constantly miss each other, and the timing of a relationship never truly works. Throughout the years, their friendship develops as they grow and show their own changing experiences.
Although romances never truly get classified as something that will live on to become a classic, this book has a high chance it will be around for a long time. The beauty of Rooney is how she explains life as true nature. It is easy to find oneself relating to the words written inside any of Rooney's stories; she encapsulates the main character as one, which could be found in each person reading the story.
The skill behind engaging one's readers so potently is something few can accomplish, but Sally Rooney has done marvelously in her work. This story will only continue to be relatable in the future, and its admiration will continue to grow. Comparable to the great works of romance and the pining of Austen, Rooney simply understands perfectly how to bring complete life into a character and a story.
4. ‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara
The big lift for this book happened when it blew up on Tiktok for the first time in 2020. But the story was made famous for all the right reasons. 'A Little Life' is the story of four friends who move to New York and live through its' many ups and downs. The main plot of this book is truly to dive into the different experiences that form one into the person they are and who one is destined to become as well. It is rare to find a book that truly shows a person's life and what makes up the person after the good and the bad happen to them.
This book has always been shown to have the potential to continue being told for generations to come. The writing of this book is nothing short of memorable. Finding the idea to simply show the upcoming of people and doing so in such a beautiful way is hard to come across.
The art that is required to make characters who have flaws yet are still sympathized with and loved is truly what is so compelling in this book. Sometimes, books fail to make a flawed character who can still be loved at the end of the day; Yanagihara does it in an amazingly remarkable way. This story does and will continue to make people reading it relate while loving the book for all that it is. Although people talk about how heavy the book is, it is easy to point out that this makes it so unforgettable. It shows how some things in life are not perfect or easy to digest, but through the bad, people can truly appreciate how marvelous moments of life can truly be. This book opens people's eyes to how even the scarred and bad can be loved and how they do it in a way that will live on for many generations.
5. 'The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak
While many stories already exist in the same timeline as World War 2, 'The Book Thief' is a story that simply astounded many. This story revolves around Liesel Meminger, a foster girl who finds her love for books during the war and begins stealing them to learn to read. She begins sharing the stolen books with people around her while also helping hide a Jewish man in her basement. She is forced to learn to survive in these times of horror by her means.
Overall, the big marvel of this book is Zusak's ability to explain the influence of literature and find an escape in such a scary time. It also enforces ideas of human nature within relationships people have with one another. It explains compassion within people, hatred within, and even alliance.
How Markus finds a new way to involve such an unforgettable time in history while bringing in a plot that engages and saddens its readers is something truly difficult to do. The power behind this story has already begun showing in schools, with children reading it and learning from it. Becoming essential for children and teens to read, it is easy to know that in the future, this novel will continue to stick with people. An event so famously known and yet so beautifully retold is truly what will cause this book to travel and continue sticking in time.
6. ‘Tender is the Flesh’ by Agustina Bazterrica
Originally an Argentinian novel, this book follows a 'future' world in which all meat previously consumable now has a poisonous virus and is inedible to all of society. Instead of eating poisonous meat now, the world has resorted to eating human meat since it is the only meat that can be consumed without becoming poisoned. The main character, Marcos, works in the meat-providing industry and hates his job for its true nature.
Unlike all other novels on this list, this novel is truly disturbing. Finding itself in the psychological thriller genre, this book explains a side of humans that is never discussed. The author finds a way to make a world in which people truly become selfish to their own needs above anything and everything.
Although the book is already disturbing enough as it is, it only gets heightened when it is revealed that the humans also preferred to eat the humans when they were still alive and kicking. Although it is already known that humans in this day and age dehumanize their meat and only care for its consumption. Bazterrica takes it a step further and rearranges the world in this horror novel to instead enjoy humanizing the meat they are consuming.
Regardless of the heavy imagery and ideas of how selfish people can be, it truly brings to light how, in a potential future, people could become just about ruthless. The awful story shows how selfish humans can become and how little we care about all consumption and things that can hold value. Even now, in society, we have already shown how little value we hold for inanimate objects and how 'easily' they can be replaced, but in the future, this book paints a scarier picture.
This novel shows how people can detach themselves from emotions and instead think only with greed. Although this book exceeds a form of true realism, it is not uncommon for heavily imagined futures to become classics anyway. This book has the potential to live for many generations to come for its true literary value.
Although many books could also make it on this list, it is safe to say that the themes explored in these books are truly mind-blowing and deserve to continue shining now and in the future. For people who read or want to get into reading, this list truly demonstrates the impact that literature can have, and does so in truly remarkable ways, which is hard to accomplish. These books have managed to withstand the test of time and will hopefully only get better and more memorable.