Science Fiction for teens
Recommended by Farah Mendelsohn

Pre-teens | Early teens | Older teens

Pre-teens

Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist: The Fran That Time Forgot by Jim Benton (Simon, 2005)
Nine-year-old Franny’s classmates tease her about her middle name (Kissypie), so she travels back in time to change it. Her visit has disastrous results, including a confrontation with her future evil-teen self.

Exodus by Julie Bertagna (Walker, 2008)
In the flooded Earth of the near future, Mara’s island is drowning, so she and her family leave in search of a haven — but are forced back by the walled island state they encounter.

The Quantum Prophecy by Michael Carroll (Philomel, 2007)
Two boys discover that they are the sons of superheroes long thought dead or disappeared — but superpowers, it turns out, aren’t quite as much fun as they sound.

Space Station Rat by Michael J. Daley (Holiday, 2005)
When twelve-year-old Jeff discovers Rat, an escapee from a research facility, trapped on his parents’ space station, it’s up to him to save her — and perhaps the station itself.

Larklight; Starcross; and Mothstorm written by Philip Reeve, illustrated by David Wyatt (Bloomsbury, 2006–2008)
Two siblings in an alternative nineteenth-century Great Britain (in space!) join a teenage pirate and his motley band of extraterrestrials after their home is attacked by giant spiders, investigate mysterious and sinister happenings at an intergalactic vacation resort, and save the universe from an invasion of giant moths.

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex (Hyperion, 2007)
When aliens announce that all Americans must relocate to Florida, Gratuity “Tip” Tucci decides to search for her abducted mother instead in this highly entertaining sci-fi/road trip amalgam.

Early teens

The Diary of Pelly D. by L.J. Adlington (HarperTeen, 2007)
A young worker on a construction site finds a diary; as he reads it he discovers what it is he’s digging up and how he’s helping his society forget the holocaust it perpetrated.

Remnants by K. A. Applegate (Scholastic, 2001–2003, a fourteen-book series)
Eighty humans are chosen to escape Earth just as it is about to be destroyed by a huge asteroid, but only a handful of them survive the rescue mission. The lone survivors fight for their lives while occupying “Mother,” a monumental space craft that has raided its passengers’ databanks to create an environment out of great works of art.

Shadow Web by N. M. Browne (Bloomsbury, 2008)
Jessica Allendon Googles herself, finds another Jessica Allendon, arranges to meet her, and discovers that her alter ego is in fact herself from a different timeline — a fascist Britain in which the original Jessica becomes trapped.

Siberia by Anne Halam (Lamb/Random, 2005)
Rosita remembers life with her mother in the Settlement camp and escapes carrying with her the genetic “seeds” her mother created.

Epic by Conor Kostick (Viking, 2007)
In Erik’s world — part primitive colony and part interface game (called “Epic”) — gamers suffer real-life repercussions. This pulse-pounding adventure chronicles Erik’s actions as he loads his character with wit (instead of weapons) to save his family, changing both realities.

Questors by Joan Lennon (McElderry, 2007)
Three children (a boy, a girl, and a child for whom gender is unknown until puberty) are plucked from their everyday lives and taken to a "house between the worlds," where they discover they were genetically engineered for a quest to save the universe.

Before the Storm by Sean McMullen (Ford Street Press, 2009)
Two ordinary teenagers, Emily and Daniel, enlist in a mission to help time-traveling soldiers in the British Imperial Army prevent a century of war.

The Secret Under My Skin by Janet McNaughton (Eos/HarperCollins, 2005)
A gifted child of “disposed” scientists comes to the attention of those seeking to restore education to a world just recovering from the “technocaust,” in which scientists were killed and people turned away from rationalism.

Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu (Houghton, 2005)
Zahrah, a colonist on another planet, braves the forbidden jungle and begins to encounter some of the planet’s original inhabitants.

Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel (Eos/HarperCollins, 2005)
Matt Cruse and his friend Kate have numerous breakneck adventures in an alternate world where zeppelins and gaseous squid plow the skies, sherpas are the world’s best high-altitude wind navigators, and an insane genius has discovered the secret to creating hydrogen from water.

Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini (Hyperion/Miramax, 2004)
After terminally uncool Jeremy swallows a squip, a nanocomputer in the form of a pill, the computer begins to give him advice on how to be cool.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (Simon, 2005)
When she turns sixteen, Tally, like all other teens, will be operated on, her "ugliness" transmogrified into beauty as defined by evolutionary and biological arguments about the attractiveness of neoteny — until she’s sent after a runaway friend who doesn’t want the operation.

Older Teens

Naughts and Crosses and Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman (Simon, 2005 and 2007)
In an alternate England, where pale-skinned Naughts are oppressed and dark-skinned Crosses are privileged, childhood friends Callum and Sephy try to break through segregation and sustain their love — despite fate and their conspiring families.

British Front by Eric Brown (Barrington Stoke, 2005)
When teenagers Al and Amy are suddenly transported to the year 2055, they discover an all-white, fascist Britain and must find a way to prevent this future from coming true.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor, 2008)
Following a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, Marcus (unjustly apprehended by Homeland Security in the aftermath) applies his formidable technological savvy to thwarting efforts to restrict personal liberty after he is released from an unjust detainment and interrogation.

Odin’s Voice by Susan Price (Simon, 2005)
When Kylie, a bonder, and Affroditey (the cosseted daughter of a businessman) find that their roles in society have changed, they escape to Mars to start a new society.

The Last Universe by William Sleator (Abrams/Amulet, 2005)
Susan's brother Gary is dying of leukemia; together they explore the parallel worlds of infinite probability contained in their garden maze, attempting to find a world in which Gary is better.

The Big Empty by J.B. Stephens (Razorbill, 2004)
A few years after the deadly virus, Strain 7, has devastated America, seven teenagers find themselves heading for the evacuated American interior in search of hope — despite the government forces against them.

The Starry Rift: Tales of New Tomorrows compiled by Jonathan Strahan (Viking, 2008)
Sixteen contributors, including Scott Westerfeld, Neil Gaiman, and Ann Halam, present a variety of fully imagined science-fiction microcosms.

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