Posts Tagged «science fiction»
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
by Marie Lu, 305 pages, Grades 7-12
In a dystopian future society, the western United States has become the Republic, a military dictatorship in a constant war with the surrounding Colonies. Student trials determine where you will be placed in the social order, but Day lives outside the law; he is the Republic’s most infamous criminal. June, on the other hand, was raised in a wealthy family; her parents and her brother held high positions in the Republic; she scored the highest ever on the Trials and attends one of the Republic’s best military academies. An accident throws these two opposites together. They should be instant enemies, but maybe what brought them together was not an accident after all, but what they are up against might be too big for the greatest outlaw and the smartest citizen even if they are working together.
Click here to see if it’s available for check out.
If you like dystopian fiction, you might also enjoy: The Hunger Games, by Susanne Collins, The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, or Matched, by Ally Condie.
Tags: adventure, dystopian, identity, science fiction, suspense
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Sunday, September 4th, 2011
by Eoin Colfer, 412 pages, Grades 7-8
Conor Broekhart was born in the air. His parents took a ride in a hot air balloon at the 1878 Paris World’s Fair, and that is the moment Conor decided to arrive. It is no wonder he is determined to fly; he is a brilliant engineer from very young and is lucky enough to work with another brilliant man, Victor Vigny, advisor to the king. The king’s daughter admires Conor’s talent as well, and all seems to be perfect for the Broekhart family.
Unfortunately, his life takes a dramatic turn. The good king has placed his trust in the wrong man; one of his confidants, Marshall Bonvilain, kills the king and frames Conor for the murder! Conor is thrown into a high security prison on an island, and his parents believe him to be dead. He is subjected a brutal life in the prison, but also makes some allies that help him attempt to save the kingdom, and his family as well as seek revenge on the evil Bonvilain.
Connections: If you enjoy steam punk fiction, you might also like: Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld, or Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas is the first novel about a man being mistakenly imprisoned and escaping to seek his revenge.
Click here to see if it’s available for check out.
Tags: adventure, fantasy, science fiction, steam punk, survival, suspense, Young Adult
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Monday, November 29th, 2010
By Neil Shusterman, 335 pages. Grades 7-9
It is the future, and if you are between the ages of thirteen and eighteen you worry every day about becoming an “unwind.”
When no one won the terrible civil war between the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life groups there was a compromise. It was decided that all babies would be born, that children would be untouchable from birth to 13, and that between 13 and 18 any child could be unwound. Every single body part goes on living in another body, so it is not considered death. The unwound teen continues to live in different places.
In this version of the future there are no doctors, only surgeons. There is a transplanting process that works so well, people just replace parts that are damaged or diseased instead of trying to cure them. The technology is great for people who lose a limb, but you can also “correct” things like baldness with a transplanted scalp full of hair, or replace your crooked teeth with a brand new set.
Connor is trouble, and his parents have had enough. Risa has no parents, and the state homes need to make space for the new babies being “storked,” left on their doorstep. Lev is a “tithe;” he has been raised since birth to be unwound as a sacrifice to god. “Unwinds” are outcasts whom no one wants to help, so how can they escape their fate?
Connections: For other survival stories full of adventure try: The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, or Graceling, by Kristin Cashore. Another edgy science fiction adventure is Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.
Tags: coming of age, creepy, family problems, identity, science fiction, survival, suspense
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Monday, November 29th, 2010
by Mark Haddon, 195 pages. Science-Fiction Mystery.
Jimbo’s sister, Becky, tries to scare him into thinking he is about to be kicked out of school, so Jimbo and Charlie bug the teachers’ room with walkie talkies to find out if it could be true. Instead of finding anything out about Jimbo, they catch two of their teachers speaking a strange language, and it isn’t a human language!
The boys are determined to solve the mystery, and when none of their other tactics yield answers, the boys decide to sneak into Mrs. Pearse’s house. This a big mistake; now they know too much. They are sure aliens are after them, but their families think they are crazy, and then Charlie disappears!
What would you do if your best friend might have been abducted by aliens? Go after him, of course. Jimbo and his sister Becky are on their own in the wilds of Scotland trying to save Charlie, and maybe a lot more than that!
For other crazy alien stories try: Nosepickers from Outer Space by Gordon Korman, or The Doom Machine, by Mark Teague
Tags: adventure, aliens, friends, humor, mystery, science fiction
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Saturday, November 27th, 2010
By David Klass, 227 pages Grades 6-9
In a tale that is not always what it seems, Ketchvar III is an alien, snail-like creature who is charged with the important task of evaluating human beings’ worthiness before possible extermination (vaporization by Gagnerian Death Ray). In order to get close to the humans, he inhabits the body of 14 year-old Tom Filber by crawling in through Tom’s nose. As it turns out, seemingly ordinary Tom’s life is not so typical. Ketchvar questions the value of humanity when he finds himself dealing with a dysfunctional family and bullies at school (“voluntary daily incarceration”).
Connections: For other humorous tales of alien/human interaction, try reading The Doom Machine by Mark Teague, Boom! by Mark Haddon or Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
Tags: bullies, bullying, extraterrestrial beings, humor, science fiction
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Monday, October 25th, 2010
By Julie Bertagna, 345 pages Grades 7 and up
Sometime in the not-to-distant future, the world as we know it has mostly drowned under the rising ocean from the melting ice caps. Fifteen year-old Mara’s island home is just about to disappear under the waves when her vision of sky cities prompts the village to sail off on dangerous seas in search of a safe haven. When they reach the high-tech city, they find that they and the thousands of other refugees aren’t welcome. Instead, they must fight for their lives and for scraps from the city in the sky.
Connections: For another story of a society threatened by global warming, try reading First Light by Rebecca Stead or read the sequel to Exodus called Zenith. To read about the author’s inspiration for the story, check out her website.
Tags: altruism, coming of age, floods, friendship, global warming, journeys, leadership, science fiction, survival, voyages and travels
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Monday, May 17th, 2010
By Mark Teague, 376 pages. Grades 5-7
When Isadora Shumway and her mother get stuck in a small town after their car breaks down, the last thing they expect is to be abducted by aliens. Soon logical, studious Isadora finds herself allied with the local juvenile delinquent, Jack, in an interstellar fight to keep the spider-like alien Skreeps from finding and using the space travel machine that Jack’s uncle invented.
Connections: For other titles with space/time traveling students, try reading Alan Mendelsohn, The Boy From Mars by Daniel M. Pinkwater or I was a Sixth Grade Alien by Bruce Coville.
Tags: adventure, humor, science fiction, space and time fiction
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Thursday, April 29th, 2010
by Ian Beck p. 353 Young Adult
In 2050, central London has been transformed into a theme park for modern day tourists to visit. These ”gawkers” fly in on an airship for a day or two to experience what life was like in Victorian London, including dangerous street crime and hangings. When seventeen-year-old Caleb flies in with his father, one of the originators of Pastworld, his father is kidnapped and Caleb is accused of murder. He meets beautiful and innocent Eve, a teenage inhabitant of Pastworld, and they become embroiled in a ScotlandYard investigation of a series of gruesome murders by the mysterious Fantom. This story is a compelling mix of science and historical fiction.
Connections: Another suspense novel with people living in an historical amusement park is Running Out of Time by Margaret Haddix. Other great mysteries set in Victorian London are Montmorency by Eleanor Updale, Smith by John Garfield, and the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Tags: amusement parks, historical fiction, London, murder, mysteries, science fiction, suspense, Victorian London
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
By Margaret Peterson Haddix, 314 pages Grades 4-8
When a mysterious plane suddenly appears at the gate, the gate agent gets the surprise of her life as she finds only 36 babies onboard the plane. Thirteen years later, the Skidmore’s adopted son Jonah (from the belly of the whale) and his friend Chip receive the same creepy letter, “YOU ARE ONE OF THE MISSING.” With the help of Jonah’s sister Katherine, the two boys search to find out more about their true identities.
The sequel called Sent is a great window into the difficulties of living in medieval England.
Connections: Other great stories of time travel include: Nick of Time by Ted Bell, the Gideon Trilogy by Linda Buckley-Archer, Archer’s Quest by Linda Sue Park, the Baseball Card Adventure series by Dan Gutman, and The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen.
Tags: adoption, adventure, science fiction, time travel
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Sunday, March 14th, 2010
by Martin Chatterton p. 212 Grades: 6-8
Farfetched but fun! The Brain does find a leg. It used to belong to Biff Manly, a seventeen-year-old surfer, who has been found dead at the bottom of a quarry. Theophilus Brain, a thirteen-year-old self-described genius and Sherlock Holmes disciple, has figured out that a saltwater crocodile (who thinks he’s a dog) severed the leg and hid it underwater. The crocodile is just the first of list of bizarre-behaving Australian wildlife who show up in this zany science fiction mystery which includes koalas that attack in gangs, possums that steal SUVs, kangaroos that rob supermarkets and whales that toss tourist boats. The Brain enlists Sheldon McGlone as his sidekick, and the two are fast on the trail of the murderer and the secret to what’s making the animals act so strangely.
Connections: Other creepy creature stories include The Cryptid Hunters, The Underneath, and Loch.
Tags: animals, Australia, crime, detectives, geniuses, humor, mystery, science fiction, suspense
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Friday, November 13th, 2009
by Ellen Booraem. p. 318 Grades 6-9
In a world where things and places are simply named for what they are and people are named for what they do, how would you expect a boy named Medford Runyuin to fit in? He doesn’t. Instead the people of Island are wary of him and the children teasingly call him Raggedy or Plank Baby because of his messy look and his arrival on the island tied to a plank when he was a baby. To make matters worse, Medford has a secret that he is trying keep hidden from the people of Island, and the mysterious arrival of the stinky Goatman is likely to blow his cover, literally.
For other stories of characters fighting the unfair rules/laws of their world, try reading The Giver by Lois Lowry, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Among the Hidden or Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix
To learn the story around the creation of the crazy character the Goatman, check out the author’s website http://www.ellenbooraem.com/evolution.html
Tags: change, coming of age, Ellen Booraem, friendship, individuality, outsiders, satyrs, science fiction, utopias
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Friday, October 16th, 2009
by Jeanne DuPrau p.270 Grades 5-8
What if the only light in your world came from an electric bulb? And what if your society was running out of those light bulbs? This is the situation that faces twelve-year-olds Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow. Lina discovers a set of instructions that she believes will help her people get out of Ember into a world of light. Unfortunately, her baby sister has chewed on the paper and only certain words are readable. Will they provide enough clues for Lina and Doon to find the escape route through the underground pipeworks. And why are the city officials trying to arrest them?
Connections: The Books of Ember series also includes People of Sparks, Prophet of Yonwood and The Diamond of Darkhold.
Tags: adventure, future, science fiction, series, survival
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Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
by Suzanne Collins, p. 374 – Grades 7 & Up
In this book, for mature readers, what was once the United States is destroyed by climate change and war and is replaced by Panem with its wealthy rulers in the Capitol controlling twelve neighboring districts. Each year the districts must pay tribute to the Capitol by sending two of their teens (12-18) to fight to the death in the Hunger Games, which is televised and must be watched by everyone (think Survivor with weapons and a manipulated environment). Sixteen year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers to replace her younger sister as the tribute from District 12 (the poorest district) when her sister’s name is pulled in the lottery for the 74th Hunger Games. Since her father’s death in a mining accident, Katniss has had to work hard so she and her family could survive, but in the Hunger Games she will be facing tributes who have spent their lives training for this event.
Connection: Other examples of survival fiction that will keep the reader on edge are Deathwatch by Robb White and The Dead & the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer. –CRW
Highlight: Watch this video interview with Suzanne Collins.
Tags: contests, interpersonal relations, love stories, loyalty, science fiction, survival, suspense, Suzanne Collins, television programs, Young Adult
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by Marie Lu, 305 pages, Grades 7-12