PHOTO: CC Robinson, award-winning author of Divided, merges real-world wisdom with dystopian storytelling to inspire unity, resilience, and social awareness in young adult readers.
Real-World Experience Inspires Thought-Provoking Young Adult Dystopian Fiction
CC Robinson’s Divided series blends dystopian thrills with themes of reconciliation, unity, and resistance. Her medical and pastoral background shapes powerful stories that challenge division and inspire hope in young readers.
Award-winning author CC Robinson delivers more than just dystopian thrillers — she builds narratives rooted in real-world experience, infused with courage, and shaped by a relentless pursuit of hope. Her acclaimed Divided series takes readers into a fractured future, while anchoring its emotional weight in the universal themes of resistance, reconciliation, and the fight for unity.
Drawing on her background as a medical doctor who served in post-civil war nations and as a pastor in a diverse congregation, Robinson brings unmatched authenticity to her work. These experiences have shaped her perspective, allowing her to write characters who face unimaginable odds yet find strength through community and faith.
Robinson is a visionary storyteller whose authentic voice, shaped by real-life experiences, empowers young readers with courage, purpose, and hope.
At the heart of her young adult dystopian series lies a chilling premise: a future where a dictator has divided society along ethnic lines, raising walls between communities and erasing generations of shared identity. The first book, Divided, introduces readers to teenagers Marcos, Rose, Harriet, and Jason — born into separation but destined to challenge the system. Its sequel, Caged, due in autumn 2025, promises to deepen the emotional stakes as characters wrestle with loyalty, identity, and the cost of rebellion.
The inspiration for the Divided series came from a vivid dream that lingered long after Robinson woke. In it, she saw a nation torn apart by civil war and controlled by a regime that enforced ethnic segregation. That vision stayed with her — and evolved into a layered world where young people grow up behind walls, unaware of others unlike themselves.
“My background as a physician working in post-civil war nations definitely impacted not only my writing, but how I weave courage, hope, and working together into these novels,” Robinson says. “Often, dystopian can be a dark genre, not at all hopeful. But I want Divided to inspire young people to fight against impossible odds — except with racial reconciliation at its core.”
Robinson’s meticulous world-building process begins with societal structures: the regime, education, economy, food systems, even embedded chips in citizens’ forearms. Every detail serves a narrative purpose, reinforcing the tension between individual agency and authoritarian control. But Robinson emphasizes that her characters drive the story — and the world they inhabit must reflect their inner journeys.
Rose, for example, takes center stage in Caged, and Robinson admits she’s the most difficult character she’s ever written. “She’s chaotic, unpredictable, and sometimes mirrors parts of myself I’d rather not face,” Robinson shares. “At one point, she completely disrupted the plot I had outlined — and I had to rewrite the entire back half of the novel to follow her more authentic arc.”
Grounding her speculative fiction in realism, Robinson has also researched nuclear fallout zones, drawing from historical events like Chernobyl and Hiroshima to bring believability to post-disaster landscapes in her companion novella Deception. Her extensive travel, especially through the Appalachian foothills, informs her depiction of these haunting terrains.
As an author influenced by early 2000s YA dystopian giants — Divergent, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner — Robinson continues that legacy of creating stories where young people rise against injustice. But she also looks to indie authors like KA Riley, Claire Littlemore, and Emma Ellis as proof that independent voices can thrive in this space and meet readers’ demand for fresh, relevant stories.
For aspiring authors interested in dystopian fiction, Robinson offers simple but profound advice: “Ask yourself, what provokes you about our current society? Then build a world where that issue is the defining force. Add compelling characters and high stakes, and readers will follow.”
Through Divided and its growing universe, CC Robinson is doing more than imagining dark futures — she’s lighting the way toward healing, understanding, and transformation. Her work stands as a powerful reminder that even in dystopia, there is room for hope.
This article was adapted from an interview with CC Robinson in the latest issue of Reader’s House.
