Despite my love of Star Trek, spaceships, alien cultures and all things Doctor Who, I only read two science fiction books in 2011, and both were technically “teen” books, not that the designation matters much anymore in such a prospering genre. I rarely read adult sci-fi as it tends to be a little too heavy for me, where as with a TV show, it’s easier to take everything in smaller doses. YA science fiction seems to be the perfect compromise, utilizing scientific/futuristic elements while still focusing attention on the story.

On concept alone I would think that science fiction would be more common than it is. Dystopian fiction is still insanely popular in YA and there are so many common elements between a lot of those stories and sci-fi. Futures are created around what people or their governments think is the best for everyone and yet somehow, things don’t always go as planned.

The two books I read in 2011 were Across the Universe by Beth Revis and Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan. Across the Universe did really well for itself and has stirred up a lot of hype. There were absolutely some dystopian elements in this one (as well as great writing) so I’m really not surprised that it did so well. The second book in this series just recently came out and Beth Revis is once again getting great reviews. With a little luck this will help to secure a future for science fiction in YA.

The other book, Glow, is one that I’m pretty sure I have already gushed about A LOT over the past few weeks (I just read it at the end of last year) so I won’t go too much into it but it was one of my favorite reads, sci-fi or otherwise. Isn’t the cover beautiful (alas, not the cover of my copy, but still super pretty)? A lot less dytopianisms in this one, and to be fair a little less science fiction/ technological elements as well, but the story telling combined everything wonderfully. A great introduction to sci-fi for anyone who may not have tried it out yet.

Overall, I definitely think there is room for more stories like these in the future of “teen” reading. A lot of people have been looking for more variety in their YA books and I think science fiction would be a great route to try out. The future will always be a slew of potential and no matter where we end up, there will always be farther to go, so why not read about the possibilities in the mean time.

Are there any YA Sci-Fi novels you would recommend? Let me know!