Should I read young adult science fiction? It's a question that gets asked a lot. Despite the popularity of YA fantasy books, sometimes sci-fi takes a backseat. Not this month! YA Sci-Fi & Fantasy Addicts is hosting a month of sci-fi celebration. Read on to see what other readers are saying about YA science fiction and what draws them back time and time again. It might make you think twice about this genre!
Also, be sure to check out all of the blog stops below and scroll to the bottom of this article for a chance to win 5 books from our prize pool!
Blog Hop Stops
What do I love about YA sci-fi?
"I've been drawn to science fiction since I was a kid. My dad would come home from a long day at work and turn on classics like Star Trek and Twilight Zone on television. I'd crawl up beside him and watch too. I didn't understand much then. I just liked being with him and watching the gadgetry and starry skies.
As I grew older, my brother introduced me to books like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Ender's Game. I started to really appreciate the genre. I love how sci-fi condenses thought provoking questions into plot lines you can't pull your eyes away from. (What if we lived in a world with massive water shortages? Dune. What if we could create life from the dead? Frankenstein.) I also like how societal concerns can be viewed in settings where we can digest them or see them through a new lens.
Also, as an increasingly digital culture, I think young adults relate more and more to having technology in their stories. I know I do. It's harder and harder to believe that the hero on the run doesn't have access to a cell phone or that there's no GPS tracking on that stolen vehicle. 😂
One of my favorite things about YA sci-fi in particular are the frequent mashups between sci-fi and fantasy where curses can be ordered on the computer (Curses Incorporated), Rapunzel is a political dissident girl trapped in a satellite (Cress), or vampires are cyborgs who crave iron deposits (The Botanist's Game)."
-Evelina Everest
What do other readers and authors love YA science fiction?
"I just read The Darkness Outside Us in one day. It's YA, and what I loved was the totally relatable struggles in a totally unfamiliar setting, and I enjoy the science and use of technology as a stand in for parents or authority."
- Jo Holloway
"I love sci-fi because it paints such a vivid picture of humanity where we’re going, where we’ve been, and what is possible--not just with technology but humanity’s drive for survival and innovation."
- Aurora Medina
"I’m a sucker for cool inventions & tech, and I love seeing how language evolves and how authors imagine the future. And because sci-fi is based on tech, I really love imagining how the stories COULD happen. We’re just a few years away from the next revolutionary tech that will allow us to live in a sci-fi reality. I can’t wait!"
- Kasia Lasinska
"Sci Fi has always been my favorite over everything because it encompasses my love of outer space stories and Dystopian stories. For me I'm just drawn to them. I love futuristic aspects as well."
- Stephanie Sarac
"I love the futuristic aspect. Sci-fi usually takes one or two details from our modern world and blows them out of proportion, showing us what could happen if we don't keep each aspect in its proper place. It's really thought-provoking."
- Nicole Adrianne
Still not sure? Here are three good entry points for the sci-fi skeptical.
Starts in a contemporary setting and slowly eases you into more and more sci-fi goodness. It's also got a hefty dose of magic and royalty that YA fantasy readers will enjoy.
All of the books in the series mashup classic fairy tales with sci-fi concepts. A good entry point for lovers of fairy tale retellings. Cyborg Cinderella, hear we come!
If you like enemies to lovers romance and are really not sure about sci-fi, this dystopian is a good entry. This mutant/dystopian angle is very understated. (If you want to go even lighter, The Selection is technically dystopian but just barely.)
