Spring 2017 Science Fiction YA to Put on Your Radar
With the coming of spring, it’s easy to leave reading aside for a stroll outside to smell the fresh flowers in bloom and hear the buzzing bees. Yet spring 2017 holds many exciting science fiction YA new releases, packed with thrilling action and adventure–ones that demand to be finished. These four sci-fi novels demonstrate how versatile the genre is, with stories taking place here, in the future, and in outer space. Check out these amazingly-diverse science fiction YA novels to add to your to-be-read list this spring.
The Takedown by Connie Wang
“The Takedown” by Connie Wang
The Takedown is the debut novel by author Connie Wang. Our heroine is Kylie, aka “Kyle,” a driven and ambitious senior at an exclusive New York private school who is part of the most popular clique in school. One day, the week of Christmas, a video of Kyle having sex with her young, meltworthy English teacher goes viral. The thing is, it’s not Connie, though nobody believes her. The novel is set in the near future, definitely beyond the 2010s based on one reference, and everything is connected to everything else. The Internet is beyond ubiquitous, and nearly everyone has a Doc, a cross between a tablet and a smartphone, but one with facial recognition, human mapping, and, of course, online trolls. Kyle is scrupulous about maintaining her reputation online and off, so it’s a mystery who would want to sabotage her (and how). As Kyle embarks on a way to both find and disarm her anonymous accuser, everyone becomes a suspect as she finds out she has more enemies than she realized—and she can trust no one. This brilliant debut combines futuristic technology with the unputdownable pacing of a mystery-thriller, and it’s one that’s frighteningly relevant.
Nemesis (Project Nemesis #1)
by Brendan Reichs
“Nemesis (Project Nemesis #1)” by Brendan Reichs
Ever since Min was eight, she is killed every two years on her birthday by a brutal murderer. Then she wakes up alive hours later with no evidence of the violence and goes about life as usual. Rinse. Repeat. It’s no way to live, and she’s been forced to see a psychiatrist and take medicine since the adults don’t believe her. Nearby, Noah is plagued by nightmares of violence and murder, ones he cannot place with a real memory. His rich and prominent father lets Noah know he finds him weak for not conquering his grim thoughts and hallucinations. Meanwhile, an asteroid is headed on a collision course with Earth, with NASA giving it a 50/50 chance of smashing into and destroying the planet. At the same time, Min and her best friend, Tack, start looking around for an explanation of the weird phenomena. They uncover information about a mysterious Project Nemesis that involves the members of their class. Min and Noah, though, are singled out. How they are bound together and what the nature of their strange experiences are is magnified by the growing threat of the asteroid, a threat that might be brutally related. Check out the first novel in the Project Nemesis series by Brendan Reichs, author of the Virals series. This science fiction YA thriller with a hint of romance is perfect to binge-read on a rainy day inside, or a sunny day, too.
Defy the Stars (Defy the Stars #1)
by Claudia Gray
“Defy the Stars (Defy the Stars #1)” by Claudia Gray
Seventeen-year-old Noemi Videl is a soldier, a defender of her planet, Genesis. A long time ago, humans lived on Genesis after humanity expanded from Earth and starting colonies on other planets in the galaxy. Genesis, though, was sort of a rogue planet and is now the enemy of Earth. Trying to save her friend, Ester, in the midst of a conflict, Noemi accidentally leads their ship into the path of one, the Daedalus, that has supposedly been uninhabited for 30 years—only it’s not. Here, Noemi meets the Abel, a rogue robot. Noemi and Abel find they can overcome their differences…and uncover revelations after revelations (including some feels) while gliding along through the galaxy, aggressors in hot pursuit. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fall in love among the stars? Pick up the first book in Claudia Gray’s Defy the Stars series for suspense and romance among the beauty of the galaxy.
Dreamfall (Dreamfall #1) by Amy Plum
“Dreamfall (Dreamfall #1)” by Amy Plum
In one of the hottest young adult science fiction YA novels of spring 2017, Cata Cordova suffers from chronic insomnia. An experimental procedure offers perhaps her one last hope. But during the experiment, things go horribly awry when the lab equipment goes on the fritz. Cata and fellow insomniac patients are hurled into a common dreamworld where their deepest nightmares, bogeymen and all, run free. As the insomniacs face down their worst fears, they must confront secrets that now threaten to bind them in the mind prison forever. This captivating new novel is the first in a new duology by beloved author Amy Plum (author of the Revenants and After the End series). Part sci-fi, part horror, this sensational novel will give you a tiny taste of Cata’s insomniac life if you start this addictive sci-fi YA before bed. Either way, it’s a YA science fiction novel you won’t want to miss!