A few months ago, Megan Crewe, guest blogged at Tor.com. She gave us her recommended YA science fiction novels: Tor.com / Science fiction and fantasy / Blog posts / Young Adult Science Fiction: A Reading Guide. I’ll admit I haven’t read some of her picks, but I definitely agree with these two:
- City of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau. Three of the four books are set in a post-apocalyptic world. They feature strong girl characters (and equally strong boy characters). The series is actually more middle grade than young adult, and the movie — not so good.
- Feed by MT Anderson. Feed is an exceedingly smart post-cyberpunk tale. In this not-so-far-flung future, everyone is hooked into the Feed. The main character starts to question things when he meets a girl whose connection to the Feed is killing her. SPOILER ALERT. The book may frustrate some readers because it doesn’t have a sappy, we’ll-fix-the-world ending. I like that. So many writers underestimate kids. YA doesn’t have to have a happy, fully resolved ending.
My recommended reading list would also include:
- The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Hunger Games and Catching Fire are easily the best YA science fiction books of the last few years. (The third book, Mockingjay, hasn’t come out yet.) In the far, post-whatever future each District has to randomly pick one boy and one girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Think Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” meets the Running Man–with the main character being a smart, head-strong girl who volunteers for the games to save her little sister. I pre-ordered the third book even before it had a title.
- The Uglies and the Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld. The Uglies series culminated with the Extras, which came out in paperback last year. Leviathan is the first book of his newest series. Uglies is set in the far future, and Leviathan is set in an alternate Steampunk reality. Both series feature strong teen/tween girl heroes. The Uglies is ultimately about overcoming your societal programming. Leviathan is just plain fun.
