Science fiction is not just spaceships and aliens and it's not just for guys. Within the past 5 years more and more authors are writing sci-fi as young adult fiction with teen girls in leading roles, and many of these books have a wider appeal than people who would classify themselves as science fiction or fantasy fans.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2005):
Uglies is the first in a series of young adult novels, is a great example of science fiction that has an appeal well beyond sci-fi fans. Tally and Shay live in Uglyville, where all the children in Westerfeld's future society live. When they turn 16, however, they will be transformed into perfect beauties through surgery and move to New Pretty Town, living lives that eerily resemble the lives of characters in more standard young adult books like Lisi Harrison's The Clique or Cecily von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl. Fans of these series will find much to like in the Uglies trilogy, as there is lots of back-stabbing, gossiping and in-fighting among the residents of New Pretty Town.
There is more to Uglies than just The Hills-style arguing, though. Westerfeld paints a picture of North America as it may be, weaving ideas about beauty over integrity and the treatment of the earth into a story about a young girl trying to save herself, her parents, her friends, and her love interests from a society that works to ruin them.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (Delacorte Press, 2009):
The Forest of Hands and Teeth seems at first to be more fantasy than science fiction. There are no futuristic gadgets or surgeries like in Uglies, and Mary, the main character, lives in a small, primitive village watched over by the Sisters and protected by the Guardians. What she is protected from, however, places The Forest of Hands and Teethsolidly into the sci-fi genre. The Unconsecrated, or, better known as zombies, shamble through the forest looking for victims, and when they break through the fences, Mary must struggle to make some very difficult choices in addition to the struggle to save her own life. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is certainly science fiction, but, like most good young adult books, it focuses on some very real problems for Mary: she must forge her own identity, an identity different from what the Sisterhood, her parents, her friends, and even her boyfriend want for her.
Libyrinth by Pearl North (Tor Teen, 2009):
This book begins inside the Libyrinth, an appropriate name for a giant, labyrinth-like library. Haly is a Libyrarian, one of a select few to whom the job of preserving the information passed down from the Ancients falls. However, she is different: the books speak to her. In an attempt to save the Book of the Night, the most sought-after book of the Libyrarians, Haly is captured by the Eradicants, the illiterate book-burners to whom the written word is evil, but she takes comfort in a very famous book: Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl.
Avid readers of all ages will love Libyrinth as the books that speak to Haly are mostly very famous and easily recognizable, but North gives them character and heart that relate strongly to Haly's situation. As Haly attempts to stop the impending war for knowledge, readers will love both her strength and her brain.
For teen readers, especially girls, who are looking for something a little different, YA sci-fi is definitely the new, hot genre. With excellent writing, strong characters and wide appeal, even space-haters will find lots to love in these great young adult books. For more science fiction for teens, check out this list of 3 great teen sci-fi books.
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