This is a continuation of last week’s post. More great science fiction for anyone who likes imaginative reads or asking what if questions. (Not just nerds!) I was going to smash in top picks of middle grade, young adult and adult science fiction this week, and it just isn’t all going to fit. In fact, there are so many here I’m just going to give one bullet for each one, the target readers. Sorry, not sorry, this post is kind of long…I just couldn’t narrow these down any further! I even told myself no dystopia and none of the books that recently appeared in thriller for middle grades. Also, I drastically reduced my review parts so if you want more details on any books, click on that book’s title. Too many good middle grade scifi books. Which is a nice problem because scifi hit a dry spell for a while a few years ago. It’s nice to see it making a comeback. Look for part three with young adult and adult scifi next week.
Middle Grade Fiction Resources
How to Capture an Invisible Cat (Genius Factor, #1) by Paul Tobin, ill. by Thierry Lafontaine
Delphine's life is pretty normal. Ok, as normal as can be for an outgoing girl a little prone to escapades that may get her in trouble. But that all changes the day she becomes friends with the class genius, Nate. Nate gets bored being so brilliant all the time and ever Friday the 13th he schedules in to do 3 dumb things just to keep life interesting. There was a Friday the 13th recently and one of the dumb things Nate did was to enlarge his family cat Proton to the size of an elephant, turn him invisible, and hide seven molecules around town that contain clues how to change Proton back and then purposely forget the formula so he has to find the clues. Nate has his trusty talking dog Bosper to help him, and he and Bosper have decided that Delphine would make a good friend so they recruit her too. Soon Delphine finds herself doing a number of things she never dreamed of when she woke up that morning, like talking to a dog, becoming friends with a sentient car, and being stalked by a gigantic invisible cat that escapes Nate's house and goes on an invisible rampage around town. It's a good thing Delphine likes adventures.
What I liked: That the story is hilarious and imaginative, Nate is full of surprises, the scary but believable killer house cat, and lovable Bosper. And, that there’s a sequel coming out next year. I can’t wait for more laughs.
Target Readers:
- Humor fans, mad scientist fans, crazy invention fans, and those looking for a hilarious read aloud.
Planet Thieves (Planet Thieves, #1) by Dan Krokos
Mason is in the midst of pranking his older sister when the world as he knows it starts going to pieces. Human's archenemies the Tremists (ever since they started fighting over the enticing habitable planets) show up and start attacking the ship his sister serves on as an officer and in which he and 17 other ESC cadets are along for space hours. Before Mason realizes it, the Tremists have won and are stealing a secret weapon from the hold of the Egypt. Mason is just a cadet. What can he do against a foe with superior numbers, training, and weapon power, especially when they have a brand new secret weapon at their disposal? One thing is for sure, though, if he and his fellow cadets do nothing, everyone will die.
What I liked: Mason’s growth, that it is a more serious and high octane space adventure than average for middle grade scifi, a classic-feeling plot (such that you could probably sell it to StarTrek and they could make a high selling movie of it). I just got the sequel and am looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Target Readers:
- There’s a new kind of aliens introduced at the end that make the Tremists look like pansies. They almost push this over into the horror genre. They’re scary. That said, don't hand this one to a light scifi fan or a squeamish kid, but a middle grader ready for a little more serious scifi/thriller or kids who say they want a scary story. (Also good for adults who like classic-ish scifi and aren’t ashamed to read middle grade books.)
Starbounders (Starbounders, #1) by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson
Zachary Night just started at Indigo-8, a top secret Starbounders' academy, training the next wave of beings who will protect the universe. Zachary comes from a long line of famous Nights who have distinguished themselves for bravery in defending the universe from planet crushers and unfriendly races. He's got big expectations to fill. Of course, Zachary can't resist a good challenge from fellow Starbounder Kalley and roommate Ryic, even if it does mean breaking a few rules. The trio soon regrets their rule breaking though, when they get pulled off of the intergallactic field trip and put on space janitor duty scrubbing lunar mold instead. Their punishment goes just a smidgeon awry when prisoners on board hijack the ship and the kids find themselves hostages. It is soon evident that the kidnappers aren't the biggest problems though, someone is messing with Cerebella, the main computer that controls all of the Indigo bases, and has put out a hit on the three Starbounders. Who would want them dead and why? It'll take quite a trip across the universe to figure out the answer and try to save the day.
What I liked: That for the most part it's a very exciting and imaginative adventure that goes all over the universe with enough unique tech and aliens so it is its own imaginary world. The sequel is equally fun and adventurous.
Target Readers:
- Hand this book to kids who like boarding school stories, kids who save the day, and space adventures.
Dark Life (Dark Life, #1) by Kat Falls
Thanks to an earthquake relocating most of the East Coast into the depths of the Atlantic, the oceans have risen drastically and now the most precious thing on Earth is land space. What little dry land is left is built up to the max, and people are crammed in together. Of necessity, scientists quickly developed ways to farm and pioneer the ocean floor. But relocating to the Benthic Territories is still considered strange and risky. Rumors fly around about people who live under the water developing strange abilities, Dark Gifts. It doesn't help that those who have been down there for several years, like Ty and his family, have skin that shimmers and almost seems to glow in the dark thanks to a diet with plenty of phosphorescent sea life. It also doesn't help when outlaws are rampaging the Benthic Territories and making pioneers feel unsafe. The Seablite Gang is definitely a blight on the prospects of ever making the underwater territories self-sufficient. And now the Commonwealth is saying that the pioneers have to form a posse and help round up the gang before any more supplies can be brought down. Ty is determined to help bring in the Seablite Gang and make sure his parents can stay on their claim. He has his own eye on several acres he wants to claim as soon as he turns 18, so he'll do anything he can to make sure they don't have to relocate Topside. Gemma is a teen Topsider just come down to the Benthic Territories to find her older brother so she can finally be free of the Commonwealth's children's services. She runs into Ty, and he takes her home to his family's claim because she would obviously just turn into shark bait on her own. Between helping Gemma find her brother, keeping her alive in the underwater world, and trying to prove to his parents he can help save the homestead, Ty has his hands full. Especially when the Seablite Gang decides to attack the next door neighbors putting Ty front and center on their radar because he's one of the few people to have seen them and escaped. And telling much more might just ruin the fun of the read. So that's where the summarizing halts.
What I like: Students love this book! Seriously, two books in this series is not enough for them. And I’ve yet to hand it to someone and have them come back disappointed. I liked the reimagined underwater Western motif, the undersea culture and world, the best (most realistic) scenario for rising ocean waters I've ever come across, and dynamic characters.
Target Readers:
- So far my history with this book seems to show just about anyone will like this, but particularly underwater adventure fans, dystopia fans, and of course, Western fans.
Space Case (Moon Base Alpha, #1) by Stuart Gibbs
Dashiell Gibson is one of a handful of kids on Moon Base Alpha. Actually, he's one of a handful of people on Moon Base Alpha. There's a few families with both parents filling vital moon base rolls, as well as a couple other single specialists, and one snotty tourist family. Dash thinks they all know each other quite well. But when Dr. Holtz goes out the hatch and dies of a suit malfunction, Dash smells foul play. The Moon Base commander tells him to put his foul play theories deep under a moon rock and leave them there. Dash can't seem to let things be though. Dr. Holtz had a lot of stuff going for him and just hours before he died Dash overheard him in the bathroom talking about an exciting new discovery he was about to announce. Why would a scientist on the edge of a breakthrough do something stupid like go on a moonwalk alone? As Dash keeps poking his nose around base (because, let's face it, there's not much else for a kid to do on a small moon base) he discovers more and more residents of the base with possible motives for getting rid of the famous doctor. The question is, which motive was worth killing over, and who is next?
What I liked: This is solid murder mystery that is middle grade friendly and in a unique setting.
Target Readers:
- Fans of books featuring life in space or who like a good mystery.
Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies by Andrea Beaty, ill. by Dan Santat
Twins Joules and Kevin are quite relieved to get to go to Camp Whatsitooya and get out of going to the Spam Fest with their parents. And it turns out a good thing that Joules and Kevin are well-versed in B scifi/horror flicks from a steady diet of The Late, Late, Late Creepy Show for Insomniacs. The things they've learned from those shows just might help them survive when strange things start happening at camp. Like the camp counselors force-feeding the campers sugary treats, forcing them to watch teen musicals, and in general acting a bit odder than when Joules and Kevin first arrived.
What I liked: It has the facade of all the makings of a horror story with the alien invasion (poking fun at tropes in B scifi/horror flicks) but thanks to Beaty's writing and Santat's illustrations, it ends up being humorous. It was quite entertaining and a quick read.
Target Readers:
- Humor fans, reluctant readers, or those looking for a funny read-aloud (as long as you could have a way to show the sections where the story is told graphic novel-style through the illustrations).
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
I’ve mentioned this in a few previous Brainstorms. Click the title to see my summary and review again. It’s the sweet story of a robot who gets marooned on an island and makes friends among the animals through her kindness.
Target Readers:
- Robot fans, bittersweet story fans, survival story fans, those who prefer light scifi, and animal lovers.
The Search for WondLa (WondLa, #1) by Tony DiTerlizzi
Eva Nine is our heroine. She is twelve, human, and has never been outside of her Sanctuary before. She lives with Muthr, her caretaker robot, and spends her time in holographic simulations preparing for the day when she will leave Sanctuary and venture out onto the surface of Earth. That day comes sooner than Muthr or Eva thought when Sanctuary is attacked and Eva must run for her life. When she does emerge on the surface, she finds it little like the holographs depicted and there is no response from the other Sanctuaries and humans that are supposed to be out there. Eva does not get far before the creature who attacked her home captures her. He turns out to be a bounty hunter looking for rare life forms for Queen Ojo's museum, and Eva, to her shock, is as rare as they come. With the help of two fellow captive creatures, Rovender and Otto, Eva manages to escape, go back to get Muthr and then set out to find any other humans. Though Rovender has never heard of Earth or seen anyone else like Eva, a partially burnt photograph Eva found in Sanctuary shows another girl, a robot and an adult human and this gives her hope that there are others out there. On the photograph there are words but all but Wond and La have been destroyed. Eva calls it WondLa and thus the Search for WondLa means a search for others like her and answers to where she came from. As they search for Eva's WondLa, Muthr & Rovender & Otto have a number of adventures as they continue to try and evade the evil bounty hunter and other dangerous creatures that lurk about. This book does not answer all of Eva's questions, but she does find out where her WondLa came from.
What I loved: the world building, DiTerlizzi’s illustrations, the characters, and that our students love Eva and her world (all three books of it).
Target Readers:
- Those who like imaginative new worlds, grand adventures, mysteries, and futuristic scifi.
Rocket & Groot: Stranded on Planet Stripmall (Rocket & Groot, #1) by Tom Angleberger
Rocket and Groot barely survive a swarm of space piranhas (thanks to some nifty taping by Veronica, the Tape Dispenser) and crash land on a tiny planet they quickly discover is one huge strip mall. After just a few store visits, the trio quickly figures out there's no trees or water on this planet to be had and all the stores are populated by robots trying to feed visitors to killer toilets. Rocket is all for just finding a spaceship and leaving, but Groot insists they fix the situation on the planet. With the help of Veronica, Rocket and Groot will get to the bottom of the weird stuff going on on Planet Strip Mall.
What I liked: A fun, goofy, heavily illustrated space adventure with everyone's favorite members of Guardians of the Galaxy. Veronica is an unexpected comic genius addition to the team. Yes, there are killer toilets involved, but the humor in this didn't seem overly middle school boy bathroom humor-ish. This is the first book in a middle grade series about Rocket & Groot Marvel has Angleberger writing.
Target Readers:
- Rocket and Groot fans, those who like goofy humor and scifi, and reluctant readers.
What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World by Henry Clark
The town of Cheshire is burning. No really. There's a seam of coal under the town and an accident at the chemical company in town turned the entire surrounding area into a constantly burning inferno dubbed Hellsboro. Most people have moved as far away as possible from the hot spot, except for three families. Those of River, Freak, and Fionna. That's why these three are the only ones venturing out to wait for their bus one morning and find a very comfy seating option on the side of the road. The boys have thoroughly explored the outer aspects of the sofa by the time Fionna gets there, but she is the one to ask the all important question, "Have you searched for loose change?" They quickly dive into the depths of the fluffy innards of the couch and find an odd assortment of items, including a dark green crayon labeled "zucchini." Never having set eyes on a zucchini crayon before, the curious trio researches it and finds out that the crayon is extremely rare and could make them all very rich. So they do what any tweens would do, they put it up for auction on eBay and as the bidding starts to hit price ranges in the thousands, the kids have a bout of conscience twisting. Did the person throwing out the couch know that the precious crayon was hiding in the sofa? River convinces the others to at least ask Mr. Underhill if he's missing a zucchini crayon. But to their surprise, the trio finds that Mr. Underhill passed on some years back and the new owner of the mansion is a younger looking man named Alf. Alf turns out to know all about the crayon, and tells the kids it is all a plot to get an alien from another universe to come out and reveal himself (because the alien bent on universe dominations is also a crayon crazed collector). This alien, known as a Mr. Disin owns the chemical plant in Cheshire, and the cell phone company, and a food chain, and lots of other things. He is using them all for his evil devices, and Alf tells the kids he needs their help to save the universe from falling further in Disin's clutches. Now, River, Freak, and Fionna don't normally believe strangers who appear out of the blue and start telling them about plots to take over the known universe, but the fact that the sofa they met outside can Tesser (and demonstrates its talent) along with background info the kids have that agrees with what Alf is telling them, the trio soon find themselves on a weird and exciting path to save the universe.
What I liked: All the nods to other classic scifi/fantasy books, and that it is a super fun scifi romp.
Target Readers:
- Normal human versus evil alien scifi fans, humor fans, and those who like their books with plenty of nods to other books.
Graphic Novel Resources
Zita the Spacegirl (Zita the Spacegirl, #1) by Ben Hatke
Zita and her friend Joseph are out playing one day when a strange object plummets from space and makes a huge crater nearby. In her curiosity, Zita goes to investigate and inadvertently sends Joseph through a portal to somewhere else in the universe. Feeling guilty, Zita goes after him to try and rescue him. It turns out Joseph has been captured by aliens who think he is the sacrifice key to saving their planet from destruction by an asteroid. Zita teams up with some new friends she meets along the way to rescue Joseph and the planet too.
What I like: Zita is super popular with our students. All three of her books are never on the shelves because they are constantly checked out. It is a fun sci-fi adventure. Zita is cute, imperfect but lovable, and her friends are ever-so entertaining. The plot line has a good pace to it, and the illustrations fit the story perfectly.
Target Readers:
- Anyone, especially scifi adventure fans.
Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher (Missle Mouse, #1) by Jake Parker
Missile Mouse is given the task of rescuing a scientist and finding the stores of dark plasma before the bad guys can use both to create a star crusher and wreak havoc in the galaxy. Of course, nothing can be easy.
What I liked: It is fun graphic novel space adventure with a plucky hero who comes across like a galactic Indiana Jones. The illustrations are bright and attractive, and the story keeps up a good steady pace. Both books are recommended.
Target Readers:
- Fans of plucky adventurers and scifi graphic novels.
The Silver Six by A.J. Lieberman, ill. by Darren Rawlings
After Phoebe is caught by Children's Services (a better option than getting caught by the mysterious guy trying to do her in), she meets five other kids who all lost their parents the same day and have several other things in common. They name themselves the Silver Six and decide to get to the bottom of their parents' deaths, hopefully evade the bad guys on their tails, and just maybe find an alternate energy source along the way.
What I liked: This was a super fun sci-fi graphic novel adventure. The artistry is bright and attractive, the plot keeps a fast pace, and there's heartwarming moments along the way.
Target Readers:
- Mystery fans, space adventure fans, and graphic novel fans. Also those who don’t like series.
Earthling! by Mark Fearing
Bud has just moved to Arizona with his scientist father. He's waiting for the school bus the first day...and manages to get on the wrong one. He finds himself headed not to Abraham Lincoln Elementary School but to Cosmos Academy with other aliens from all over the galaxy. So this could be extremely cool, except that the aliens running the school are all convinced Earthlings are pure evil and are planning to wipe out the rest of the universe. Bud has to go undercover quickly as a Tenarian exchange student staying with an OK kid named Gort (who pretty much saved Bud from completely exposing his true identity and getting sent to suspension for life). Bud and Gort are trying to figure out how to get Bud back to Earth before anyone figures out who he really is. This isn't exactly easy since Earth is so evil Cosmos Academy has deleted all records of it's existence and location. Time is ticking away, and Principal Paranoid seems to be highly suspicious (both suspicious of Bud and suspicious-acting, as in up to no good).
What I liked: This graphic novel reads very much like Saturday morning cartoon of old in a good way. It's slightly larger than life, goofy, and brimming with impossible problems. The heroes are humorous, overly average, and use their quirky talents to eventually save the day. All the misunderstandings are eventually worked out, and everyone (even the bad guys) ends up having a happy ending. It's a lighthearted sci-fi romp through time and space that combines friendship, basketball know-how in zero Gs, stable singularities, hacking skills, and a variety of alien species to rival Starfleet academy.
Target Readers:
- School story fans, humor fans, scifi fans, and graphic novel fans.
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