Are there ETs? It's sci-fi.
Is there an oppressive government or was the world destroyed by climate change or war? It's Sci-fi.
Has technology run amok? Yep, it's sci-fi!
Girl Out of Time by Clyde BoyerA young girl befriends a time traveler on the run. Now, to save the world, she must learn to fly, track down aliens, and traverse space and time.
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada KellyWhen twelve-year-old Michael Rosario meets a mysterious boy from the future, his life is changed forever.
Izzy at the End of the World by K. A. ReynoldsEver since Izzy Wilder's mom died, she's wanted life to feel normal. She plays video games with her little sister, helps her grandparents around the house, and takes care of her best dog, Akka. But losing her mom is far from normal, and for Izzy, who is autistic, it feels like the end of the world. When mysterious lights flash across the mountains outside Izzy's house one night, and suddenly everyone except her and Akka seem to have disappeared in an instant, Izzy is more alone than ever. But Izzy is a fighter and she won't lose anyone else in her family, even if it means battling terrifying gray, ugly monsters and decoding cryptic messages that seem a lot like her mom talking to her from beyond the grave
The Rhythm of Time by Questlove; S. A. CosbySeventh grader Rahim Reynolds loves testing out the gadgets invented by his brilliant friend Kasia Collins. First there were the X-ray glasses and all the trouble they caused. Now there's the new cell phone she built for his birthday, even though his parents won't let him have one. But Rahim is excited to use the phone to search for videos of his favorite old-school rap group. What he doesn't know is the phone has a special battery that interfaces with a secret government satellite, which spells trouble when the phone transports him back to 1997.
The Color of Sound by Emily Barth IslerTwelve-year-old Rosie is a musical prodigy whose synesthesia allows her to see music in colors. Her mom has always pushed her to become a concert violinist, but this summer Rosie refuses to play, wanting a "normal" life. Forced to spend the summer with her grandparents, Rosie is excited to meet another girl her age hanging out on their property. The girl is familiar, and Rosie quickly pieces it together: somehow, this girl is her mother, when her mother was twelve. With help from this glitch in time--plus her grandparents, an improv group, and a new instrument--Rosie comes to understand her mother, herself, and her love of music in new ways.
Grades 8-10
Alienated by Melissa LandersHigh school senior Cara Sweeney gets more than she bargained for when she agrees to participate in Earth's first intergalactic high school exchange program
All That's Left in the World by Erik J. BrownWhen Andrew stumbles upon Jamie's house, he's injured, starved, and has nothing left to lose. A deadly pathogen has killed off most of the world's population, including everyone both boys have ever loved. And if this new world has taught them anything, it's to be scared of what other desperate people will do . . . so why does it seem so easy for them to trust each other? After danger breaches their shelter, they flee south in search of civilization. But something isn't adding up about Andrew's story, and it could cost them everything. And Jamie has a secret, too. He's starting to feel something more than friendship for Andrew, adding another layer of fear and confusion to an already tumultuous journey. The road ahead of them is long, and to survive, they'll have to shed their secrets, face the consequences of their actions, and find the courage to fight for the future they desire, together. Only one thing feels certain: all that's left in their world is the undeniable pull they have toward each other.
ISBN: 9780063054981
Fractal Noise by Christopher PaoliniJuly 25th, 2234: The crew of the Adamura discovers the anomaly. On the seemingly uninhabited planet Talos VII: a circular pit, 50 kilometers wide. Its curve not of nature, but design. Now, a small team must land and journey on foot across the surface to learn who built the hole and why. But they all carry the burdens of lives carved out on disparate colonies in the cruel cold of space. For some the mission is the dream of the lifetime, for others a risk not worth taking, and for one it is a desperate attempt to find meaning in an uncaring universe. Each step they take toward the mysterious abyss is more punishing than the last. And the ghosts of their past follow. The Fractalverse Series To Sleep in a Sea of Stars Fractal Noise
ISBN: 9781250862488
Scythe by Neal ShustermanA world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life--and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe--a role that neither wants.
The Stars Too Fondly by Emily HamiltonSo, here's the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn't mean to steal this spaceship. They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace. But then the stupid dark matter engine started all on its own, and now these four twenty-somethings are en route to Proxima Centauri, unable to turn around, and being harangued by a snarky hologram that has the face and attitude of the ship's missing captain, Billie. Cleo has dreamt of being an astronaut all her life, and Earth is kind of a lost cause at this point, so this should be one of those blessings in disguise that people talk about. But as the ship gets deeper into space, the laws of physics start twisting, old mysteries come crawling back to life, and Cleo's initially combative relationship with Billie turns into something deeper and more desperate than either woman was prepared for. Lying somewhere in the subspace between science fantasy and sapphic rom-com, The Stars Too Fondly is a soaring near-future adventure about dark matter and alternate dimensions, leaving home and finding family, and the galaxy-saving power of letting yourself love and be loved.
ISBN: 9780063320819
Grades 10+
The Dissent by Leah VernonA thousand years into the future, a Black elite class reigns while the underclass toils at their feet. With her society's future hanging in the balance, young Avi Jore enters into an arranged marriage. But the ceremony turns violent when the servants rebel and kill Avi's father. In the aftermath of General Jore's death, Avi and her sister Jade vie for power in a vicious contest. As the rightful heir, Avi has no choice but to defend what's hers--at any cost. With her loyalties tested and her enemies closing in, Avi must rely on her sister Saige, who searches for allies outside the Union's walls. As Avi and Saige navigate threats and betrayals in the wake of worsening unrest, they forge a path forward that could forever change their turbulent world.
ISBN: 9781662500374
The Ferryman by Justin CroninNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Next to impossible to put down . . . exciting, mysterious, and totally satisfying."--STEPHEN KING From the author of The Passage comes a riveting standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia--where the truth isn't what it seems. A POLYGON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR The islands of Prospera lie in a vast ocean, in splendid isolation from the rest of humanity--or whatever remains of it. Citizens of the main island enjoy privileged lives. They are attended to by support staff who live on a cramped neighboring island, where whispers of revolt are brewing--but for the Prosperans, life is perfection. And when the end of life approaches, they're sent to a mysterious third island, where their bodies are refreshed, their memories are wiped away, and they return to start life anew. Proctor Bennett is a ferryman, whose job it is to enforce the retirement process when necessary. He never questions his work, until the day he receives a cryptic message: "The world is not the world." These simple words unlock something he has secretly suspected. They seep into strange dreams of the stars and the sea. They give him the unshakable feeling that someone is trying to tell him something important. Something no one could possibly imagine, something that could change the fate of humanity itself.
ISBN: 9780525619475
The Morningside by Téa Obreht"A touching, inventive novel about belonging and loss" (People) from the critically beloved, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger's Wife and Inland "I marveled at the subtle beauty and precision of Obreht's prose. . . Read in the context of today's conflicts and injustices, climate emergencies, and political and racial divisions--together more dystopian than any dystopian novel--the book surprised me most with its undercurrent of hope."--Jessamine Chan, author of The School for Good Mothers, in The New York Times (Editors' Choice) There's the world you can see. And then there's the one you can't. Welcome to the Morningside. After being expelled from their ancestral home in a not-so-distant future, Silvia and her mother finally settle at the Morningside, a crumbling luxury tower in a place called Island City where Silvia's aunt Ena serves as the superintendent. Silvia feels unmoored in her new life because her mother has been so diligently secretive about their family's past, and because the once-vibrant city where she lives is now half-underwater. Silvia knows almost nothing about the place where she was born and spent her early years, nor does she fully understand why she and her mother had to leave. But in Ena there is an opening: a person willing to give the young girl glimpses into the folktales of her demolished homeland, a place of natural beauty and communal spirit that is lacking in Silvia's lonely and impoverished reality. Enchanted by Ena's stories, Silvia begins seeing the world with magical possibilities and becomes obsessed with the mysterious older woman who lives in the penthouse of the Morningside. Bezi Duras is an enigma to everyone in the building: She has her own elevator entrance and leaves only to go out at night and walk her three massive hounds, often not returning until the early morning. Silvia's mission to unravel the truth about this woman's life, and her own haunted past, may end up costing her everything. Startling, inventive, and profoundly moving, The Morningside is a novel about the stories we tell--and the stories we refuse to tell--to make sense of where we came from and who we hope we might become.
ISBN: 9781984855503
Painted Devils by Margaret OwenAn Instant New York Times Bestseller! An Instant Indies Bestseller! A scrappy former maid and jewel thief must outwit gods, injustice, and her own past in this sequel to the Indie Next Pick, Little Thieves by Margaret Owen. Let's get one thing straight - Vanja Schmidt wasn't trying to start a cult. After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous junior prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family . . . and whether they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now that lie is growing out of control--especially when Emeric arrives to investigate and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice. For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine if Vanja is guilty of serious fraud or if the Scarlet Maiden--and her claim to him--is genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice that could be their way out. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but also the ties of her past. And with what should be the simplest way to save Emeric hanging over their heads, he and Vanja must face a more dangerous question: Is there a future for a thief and a prefect, and at what price? From the indie bestselling author Margaret Owen comes the thrilling next installment in the Little Thieves trilogy with all new interior illustrations from the author.
ISBN: 9781250831163
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra ChandrasekeraA 2023 New York Times Notable Book "The best book I've read all year. Protean, singular, original." --Amal El-Mohtar for the New York Times The Saint of Bright Doors sets the high drama of divine revolutionaries and transcendent cults against the mundane struggles of modern life, resulting in a novel that is revelatory and resonant. Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy. He walked among invisible powers: devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen. Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world.