It’s a sizzling season for YA sci-fi/dystopian literature on the silver screen. Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers face another treacherous ordeal in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (PG-13; premieres Sept. 18), based on James Dashner’s series (Delacorte), and Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her crowd bring The Hunger Games to a soul-stirring close with Mockingjay: Part 2 (PG-13; Nov. 20), the final chapter in Suzanne Collins’s epic trilogy (Scholastic). Not to mention The Martian (not yet rated; Oct. 2), a stranded-on-inhospitable-planet thriller starring Matt Damon, inspired by Andy Weir’s adult best-seller (Crown, 2014). Also coming soon are two TV adaptations of literary works scheduled to premiere on the SyFy station beginning in December: Childhood’s End, a miniseries retelling of Arthur C. Clarke’s first-contact classic (1953), and the debut season of The Expanse, a futuristic space-opera based on the book series written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name James S.A. Corey (Orbit).
Steer teens toward the source material for all of their screen favorites (see media tie-in editions below), and make sure to place a few of these hot new sci-fi, dystopian, and/or post-apocalyptic YA titles on their must-read radars.
Out of this World…Literally
Set in 2575, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s Illuminae (Knopf, Oct. 2015; Gr 7 Up) takes readers on a
remote-space voyage that soars with scintillating suspense, shocking secrets, and spellbinding story spirals. Readers take an active role in decoding the plot, which is completely conveyed through eye-grabbing dossier-style documents including interviews, emails, IMs, ship schematics, diaries, and more. When their illegal mining colony is obliterated by a rival corporation, teens Kady Grant and Ezra Mason are evacuated to different ships (a good idea, since they also recently survived a bitter break up). Badly damaged and burdened with refugees, the fleet is limping toward the nearest jump gate, a seven months journey, while BeiTech’s heavily armed dreadnaught follows in hot pursuit, determined to eliminate all witnesses. If that’s not bad enough, a virus that transforms people into flesh-eating zombies is running rampant on one of the ships, and the Alexander’s Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network (AIDAN) has begun to take extreme—and lethal—measures to keep the fleet safe. Through all the turmoil, Kady and Ezra reconnect, rekindle their romance, and work together to uncover the truth behind unfolding events, but will they survive long enough to be reunited? Rich characterizations, gripping action, and heartfelt emotion leach vividly through each and every page of the “Illuminae Files,” making this series opener a thrilling and chilling ride.
Karen Bao’s Dove Arising (Viking, 2015; Gr 7 Up) is set on a Moon colony distinctively drawn with a solid sense of place, site-suitable technologies, and a believably regimented way of life. Noticeable only for her gray-streaked hair, a trait inherited from her born-in-China great-grandmother, intelligent and introverted Phaet Theta, 15, lives on Lunar Base IV, where she tries to remain off grid. Easier said than done, since all residents have handscreens fused to their skin (a device used for communications and information access that also transmits conversations directly to officials) and power-drunk Militia soldiers patrol public areas and callously enforce stringent government rules. The family is barely getting by since her father’s death nine years ago, and when her journalist mother is unexpectedly (and suspiciously) quarantined, the only way to keep her siblings out of the squalid and crime-prone poverty district is to enlist in the Militia training program and hopefully earn a high-paying rank. Despite rigorous (and often unscrupulous) competition from older cadets, Phaet is determined to succeed, and finds an unexpected ally in Wes, the mysterious but magnetic boy who is also her number-one competitor. Her journey not only leads Phaet to discoveries about her own abilities and strengths, but also to alarming revelations about her government and the colony’s contentious relationship with disaster-plagued Mother Earth. A high-octane ending will have readers clamoring for the next installment in the “Dove Chronicles” series.
The Past Becomes the Future
Set in the Sunken City, a place once known as Paris, Sharon Cameron’s mesmerizing Rook 
(Scholastic, 2015; Gr 9 Up) begins, fittingly, with a beheading. Unbeknownst to city officials watching from velvet chairs and the roiling mob, in a subterranean prison far below the thirsty guillotine, the daring Red Rook works to liberate political dissidents destined for execution, leaving behind only a feather tipped in brilliant red. It’s 800 years in the future, shifts in the Earth’s magnetic poles have resulted in a major technological meltdown, and European civilization has defaulted to the candlelit, horseback-riding, sword-hefting days of the French Revolution, complete with political oppression and intrigue. Sophia Bellamy, 18, has resolved to marry the wealthy René Hasard in order to save her family’s estate in Kent. However, a different man seems to lurk beneath the exterior of this foppish and fatuous Parisian, one to whom she feels unexpectedly and deeply attracted. A woman of secrets herself, she will stop at nothing to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, the ruthless and ambitious LeBlanc, Ministre of Security, is determined to discover the Red Rook’s identity and have the rebel’s head. Complex plot twists, crackling romance, swashbuckling action, and deftly handled post-apocalyptic tropes make this well-written homage to “The Scarlet Pimpernel” a remarkably unique and satisfying read.
The stakes are high when humanity is forced to play by The Scorpion Rules (S&S, 2015; Gr 9 Up). When climate change caused global crisis 400 years ago, Talis, the powerful AI placed in charge of “conflict abatement” (and orbital weapons) by the UN, put a resounding end to the resultant wars by wiping out several cities. Determined to “make it personal,” Talis forced world leaders to send their offspring to live as hostages at monastery-like enclaves and immediately forfeit their lives should their country declare war. Greta, Crown Princess of the Pan Polar Confederation, has lived at Precepture Four for all but 5 of her 17 years, dutifully following the rules and resigned to the axe that hangs over her head. When Elián Palnik, hostage for the newly formed Cumberland Alliance, arrives, his rejection of the system and refusal to be cowed (despite torture) is eye-opening. Though their two countries are barreling toward war over water rights, Greta finds herself wanting to help Elián, and begins to question everything. Erin Bow blends old-fashioned ceremony with cutting-edge tech, humor with heartbreak, and gripping action with philosophical quandary. Greta’s journey of emotional, intellectual and sensual self-discovery unfurls like a rose. Other robust characterizations include Princess Xia, Greta’s compassionate best friend/eventual love interest, and the once-human Talis, whose voice cascades with megalomania, irreverent wit, and biting sarcasm. Like Greta, the author never takes the easy or expected path, weighing individuality against the greater good, depicting impossible choices, and eloquently questioning the price of peace. Simply dazzling.
Startling New Steps for Humanity
Wheelchair-bound due to the worsening effects of his muscular dystrophy, 17-year-old computer whiz Adam Armstrong volunteers to become one of The Six (Sourcebooks, 2015; Gr 8 Up), a group of terminally ill teens who agree to have their minds downloaded into hulking, built-for-combat U.S. Army robots that contain the necessary neuromorphic circuitry. Highly experimental, the Pioneer Project has been fast-tracked, since a new kind of warrior—one that bridges man and machine—is the only hope for combating Sigma, a rogue artificial intelligence that threatens to destroy the world. The Pioneers, consisting of a diverse group of teens (“strong, resilient personalities” are prerequisite), must quickly learn how to operate their new platforms, adjust to their unfamiliar metal-encased manifestations, and work as a team. Mark Alpert mixes cutting-edge scientific concepts, themes exploring the role of technology and what it is that makes us human, video-game-style battle action, and touches of teen angst into this roller-coaster read.
Three years ago the Alpha, strange humanoid sea creatures, walked out of the Atlantic Ocean and onto the beach of Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY. Kept in a containment camp ever since, some of the Alpha are now being integrated into local schools, touching off hostility in an already intolerant community. Since discovering that her mother is actually a Sirena, a species of Alpha, 17-year-old Lyric has vowed to keep a low profile for her family’s safety, but this becomes more difficult when the new school principal singles her out to build Alpha-human relations by spending time with Fathom, the emotionally volatile, physically formidable, and surprisingly charismatic Alpha prince. As tensions grow at school and in her neighborhood, Lyric’s secrets begin to drift to the surface, and her options begin to run out. Though fantastical, Michael Buckley’s Undertow (HMH, 2015; Gr 8 Up) is anchored in dark realism: his Coney Island is fraught with political maneuvering, examples of ethnic and cultural prejudice, and ripped-from-the-headlines violence. The Alpha are surprising, and other worldly, and the book also features culturally diverse characters, a strong heroine, and a steamy romance. Lyric will find her self-perceptions, beliefs, and courage tested as this wonderfully unusual series launch torpedoes toward its cliff-hanger climax.
Familiar Yet Fantastic
“How could you look the end of the world in the face and not go crazy?” An asteroid is on course toward Earth’s orbit with a 66 percent chance of striking and obliterating all life on the planet in the next two months. Set in present-day Seattle, We All Looked Up (S&S, 2015; Gr 10 Up) vividly depicts the impact the impending event has on four high school seniors. Popular jock Peter struggles with the realization that playing basketball and marrying the longtime girlfriend he doesn’t really love just might not be enough. Photographer Eliza, whose dad is terminally ill, longs for more than the comfort she finds in one-night stands. Well on her way to fulfilling her father’s expectation of being “a good little black girl with an Ivy League degree,” overachiever Anita wonders if she can truly give up her dream to sing. Andy has been content to coast along with his stoner friends, but it might be time to start making his own choices. As Ardor draws ever closer and order dissolves into anarchy, the lives of the teens intersect in interesting and emotion-packed ways, as each begins to question relationships, dreams, values, and priorities. Told in alternating voices that cleverly overlap, Tommy Wallach’s novel provides plenty of realism and grit, dabbles affectingly in matters of the heart, and masterfully takes on big existential questions.
The next generation of video gaming has arrived, and kids spend hours in the virtual-reality world of MeaParadisus Inc., utilizing their minds to play while their bodies lie unconscious. Parents who want their offspring off system and heading toward jobs, chores, or studies hire The Leveller (HarperTeen, 2015; Gr 7-10), aka Nixy Bauer, a teenage bounty hunter (and daughter of two game developers) with an unfailing ability to infiltrate the MEEP (as it’s called by most) and drag reluctant-to-disconnect gamers home. When she is hired by the very wealthy head honcho of MeaParadisus to locate his gone-missing son, Nixy jumps at the chance, but soon discovers that Wyn has actually been kidnapped, and now both of them are trapped. Nixy is a self-confident and intelligent heroine, and her first-person narrative resonates with snarky humor, effervescent energy, and can-do attitude. The cleverly envisioned cyber setting is fleshed out with alluring delights as well as unexpected “traps and torments.” Powered by pulse-pounding action, lighthearted humor, and heady romantic tension, Julia Durango’s techno-thriller is fast-reading joy-ride.
For most of her life, Alina Chase, a half-Hispanic 17-year-old, has been confined on a secluded island, not for a crime that she committed in this lifetime, but for the past incursions of her soul. In this not-to-futuristic world, scientists have discovered a way to make a Soulprint (Bloomsbury, 2015; Gr 7 Up)—analyzing spinal fluid to create a fingerprint of a particular soul that allows them trace its passage from individual to individual. A study shows “a high statistical correlation in criminal history from one generation to the next,” and Alina happens to possess the soul of the late June Calahan, notorious for hacking into the Soul Database and blackmailing public figures with nefarious past lives. Broken out of prison by three individuals not too much older than she is, Alina hopes to finally escape from June’s shadow and begin to live her own life, but her rescuers have ulterior motives. The authorities are hot on their trail, every path seems to lead her back to June, and she’s not sure whom she can trust, sometimes even doubting herself. In this thriller, Megan Miranda keeps the pace moving with titillating action scenes, grabs readers with heart-soaring moments of new-found affection and self-discovery, and raises thought-provoking questions (Are there ethical limits to scientific study? What makes us who we are? Do we control our fate? Are human beings quantifiable?).
Publication Information
ALPERT, Mark. The Six. Sourcebooks. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781492615293.
BAO, Karen. Dove Arising. “Dove Chronicles” series. Viking. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780451469014; ebook $10.99. ISBN 9780698152779.
BOW, Erin. The Scorpion Rules. S&S/Margaret K. McElderry Bks. Sept. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781481442718; ebook $7.99. ISBN 9781481442732.
BUCKLEY, Michael. Undertow. HMH. 2015. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780544348257.
CAMERON, Sharon. Rook. Scholastic. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780545675994.
DURANGO, Julia. The Leveller. HarperTeen. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780062314000; ebook $10.99. ISBN 9780062314024.
KAUFMAN, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. Illuminae. “The Illuminae Files” Series. Knopf. Oct. 2015. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780553499117; PLB $21.99. ISBN 9780553499124; ebook $10.99. ISBN 9780553499131.
MIRANDA, Megan. Soulprint. Bloomsbury. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780802737748.
WALLACH, Tommy. We All Looked Up. S&S. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781481418775; ebook $10.99. ISBN 9781481418799.
Media Tie-in Editions
CLARKE, Arthur C. Childhood’s End. Random House. Oct. 2015. Pap. $7.99. ISBN 9781101967034.
COREY, James S.A. Leviathan Wakes. Hachette/Orbit. Nov. 2015. Tr. pap. $16.99. ISBN 9780316390682.
DASHNER, James. The Scorch Trials. With full-color movie photos. Delacorte. 2015. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780553538229; pap. $10.99. ISBN 9780553538410; ebook $10.99. ISBN 9780553538427.
WEIR, Andy. The Martian. Broadway Books. 2015. Pap. $9.99. ISBN 9781101905005; pap. $15. ISBN 9781101903582.