Monday, November 22, 2010

Top 50 SF novels for kids/YA?

I get sent quite a few of these lists for my crime blog and they never seem that relevant, however this one does seem quite useful. It's a list of 50 Science Fiction novels suitable for kids/young adults. Here's the first (top?) 10. The whole list can be found at Best Universities.

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle: This whip-smart novel introduced many children to the concepts behind tesseracts, time travel and many other real scientific concepts applied to a purely speculative setting.

2. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell: Perfect for high school students curious about the tenets of dystopian literature, with more emphasis on philosophy than technology.

3. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury: Several interlocking stories spanning a wide time frame question what life might be like if human colonized Mars.

4. The Ender’s Game Series by Orson Scott Card: The brilliant eponymous character must lead humanity into battle against alien assaults in this multiple award-winning classic sci-fi series.

5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Series by Douglas Adams: More appropriate for high school readers, the incomparable Hitchhiker’s Guide books soar through the universe with some truly unique characters and gut-busting humor.

6. The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov: Like Ray Bradbury, pretty much all of Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi writings would appeal to young adults (kids probably not so much), but the Foundation novels remain some of his most influential.

7. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson: Teenage girls who enjoy strong female protagonists, dystopias and the tenets of cyberpunk seriously need to pick up one of the most essential Neal Stephenson novels.

8. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clark: Yet another writer whose entire oeuvre probably deserves inclusion here, the story of mysterious monoliths, the eerie HAL 9000 and the humans they impact for good or for ill.

9. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells: The Time Machine and The Island of Dr. Moreau could easily work on this list as well, but H.G. Wells’ infamous tale of an alien invasion is probably one of his most recognized and adapted works — making it a nice place to start when diving into his works.

10. The Giver by Lois Lowry: A classic dystopian novel, The Giver is an excellent read for kids who feel a bit out of step with their surroundings.

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