Comp Titles for MG where MC is in a Military-esque Group

Hmm... not sure if the book of How to Train Your Dragon is a great comp for a strict military society; in the book, he's just a Viking kid in a world where Vikings are expected to capture and train dragons. (They changed a fair bit for the movies.) Even in the movie, I don't know if Hiccup is raised so much in a militant, strict society as a world where survival is tough and he's expected to be tougher. Both have a rather blunted edge to the stricter aspects of their societies, the book more than the movie (at least the first book; never went further, though I love the movies.)

Also Percy Jackson... is Camp Half-Blood military per se, or more a place where half-humans go to learn about their powers and heritage (and how to defend themselves from monsters) away from the mundane world? I'm not sure it counts as much more militant than Harry Potter's Hogwarts.

For underage kids being trained for covert ops, Gail Carriger wrote an MG/YA extension of her steampunk/alt-world Parasol Protectorate series starting with Etiquette & Espionage; the MC is a unconventional girl who is recruited by a very special finishing school. There is magic, but she herself has none that I recall.

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (and the companion/parallel novel Ender's Shadow) are about kids being trained at an orbital station for interplanetary wars. It's a military environment, government sanctioned, and fairly strict. Older titles, though, so invoke only if strictly relevant or necessary.

For a series where children have powers that fade with age and are therefore forced into dangerous situations, try Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood & Co.; when deadly ghosts stalk London, spirit-sensitive kids are the population's best line of defense.

And a not-too-old title about kids/teens and steampunkesque machinery/flying machines would be the Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfield. No magic, but dieselpunk and biopunk. (Also Kenneth Oppel's Airborn trilogy.)

OT, perhaps, but if you're concerned about the child-soldier aspect:

Maybe, if they're just starting with flying machines, it's not a particularly military project, but just an attempt to get the thing into the air - how much magic is needed, and how, etc? Not that they don't have big plans for the future, perhaps.

Think of the history of military aircraft here - they started out as scout planes, and observers, then someone thought, "Might as well drop this hand-held bomb on the enemy while I'm up here," or "I've got a pistol, let's shoot someone!". And from that minor start we proceeded to specialized bombers, and fighter jets, etc.
But it all started with the Wright brothers, in a bicycle shop.

Orson Scott Card recently released Children of the Fleet (2018), a standalone title from the universe of Ender's Game. It seems people aren't updated with the ongoing series, but it's still going strong. I think this book can be of help! Good luck.

GeneBWell said:

I just finished my last WIP and submitted it to PitchWars, so now I'm trying to take my mind off that by starting up my next concept.
The only possible comps I know of are HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and PERCY JACKSON, with a lot of parallels with the former. Unfortunately neither of those are good for comp titles because they're million-sellers. Anyone know of any other titles that would give me the right kind of 'fantasy world, militant society, kid working for strict government group that are not secretly evil or anything like that' vibe?

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The two comps that I can think of are Divergent, and The Hunger Games.
Besides that how did the pitch work out? Was it a headache or was it worth the time it took for it all? I ask because there's one taking place in December and I am considering.