Novels Grades 7-9
Anna to the Infinite Power, 1981. Outstanding book about cloning, governmental control etc. Not dated. Award winning.~Barlow, Steve.
The Outernet Series. 2002+Bell, Hilari.
Songs of Power. 2000. A Young Inuit girl having inherited her grandmother's magic now lives in a highly technological underwater environment. The magic and the technology interweave and counterpoint as the habitat deals with mysterious and effective sabotage.Bell, Hilari.
A Matter of Profit. 2001. "Sick of the horrors of conquering beings on other planets, Ahren will end his career as a soldier and save his sister from an unhappy marriage if he can discover who is behind a rumored plot to assassinate the emperor." (from LC copy)~Brittain, Bill.
Shape Changer, 1994. Alien shape changers contact 7th grader Frank Dunn.Bond, Nancy.
The Voyage Begun -- Gr 6-10 (7-9). Excellent story of a Cape Cod that has dwindled due to widespread economic depression, shrinking resources, and environmental damage. Science a bit dated. Good environmental stuff.Brunner, John.
Stand on Zanzibar. 1968. A classic vision of an overcrowded near future world. Eugenics, mega brain hiveliving. Hugo and Nebula.Bujold, Lois McMaster.
Young Miles. Award winning space opera.Butler, Octavia.
Kindred. A 1970's black woman is suddenly time travelled back to slavery times in Maryland apparently to keep her ancestor -- the slaveholder alive. Wonderful book! African American writer.Chetwyn, Grace.
Collidescope. 1990. 7-9 . An alien android, a young 20th Manhattan girl, and young Manhatto (Delaware) boy from pre-European contact period collide at one point in space and time and interesting results follow.Dickinson, Peter.
Eva 1989. Award winning story of a girl whose consciousness is placed in a chimp's body. Excellent depiction of an overcrowded, strained future as well as a number of provocative concepts. ALA Best Book.Dickinson, Peter.
A Bone from a Dry Sea. 1992. Two time tracks prehistoric sea-ape people and modern archaeologists. Well written.Ehrensberger, Hans Marcus.
The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure. 1997. "Annoyed with his math teach who assigns word problems and won't let him use a calculator, 12-year old Robert finds help from the number devil in his dream." (LC copy) Lost in Time. 1998. 13-year old Robert travels in time to various points over 14 years -- learning, changing etc. Very well done and fascinating.Engdahl, Sylvia Louise.
Enchantress from the Stars. 2002. A young girl must pose as a magical being to help the inhabitants of an alien planet who cannot be told that space contains other intelligent beings. A delightful book.Farmer, Nancy.
The House of the Scorpion. 2002. "In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as a young clone of El Patron, the 140 year old leader of a corrup drug empire nestled between Mexico and the U.S." (LC copy)Finney, Jack.
Time After Time (time travel to the Titanic). 1995. Well written and enjoyable. Sequel to Finneyís 1970 Time and Again.(time travel back to the 19th century. Very readable still!)~Frankowski, Leo.
The Fata Morgana. 1999. "Two modern hard headed engineers" discover the legendary Western Islands.Fuller, Kimberley.
Home. 1997. An alien landing exposes a cultureís closely guarded secrets -- and a genocidal history.Haddix, Margaret Peterson.
Turnabout. 2000. Two elderly women receive an injection that will make them grow younger but by the late 21st century they are facing the prospect of entering childhood -- because the injection that should have arrested the change has proved fatal to those who have received it. Website: http://scifan.com/writers/hh/HaddixPMargaret.aspHenderson, Zenna
. Ingathering: The People: Pilgrimage. A collection of short stories from the 50ís and the 60ís about an alien race hiding out in the southwest and dealing with the misunderstandings of humans. While this is not a recent text, its focus on people, culture, and society makes its still workable.Hesse, Karen.
Phoenix Rising. 1994. A young girl in Vermont following a nuclear accident. Dedicated to the children of Chernobyl. ALA Best Book for Young Adults. An ALA Notable Book Website: http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=56Hesse, Karen
. The Music of the Dolphins. 1999. A girl raised by dolphins from the age of four -- tries to cope with the world of her human rescuers. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults. School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly Best Book. By the winner of the 1998 Newberry Medal (for Out of the Dust) Website: http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=56Kerner, Charlotte
. Blueprint. 1999. "I don't like the word clone..."Kress, Nancy.
The Prince of Morning Bells. 1981. Just turned 18, Kirila, the princess of well-ordered kingdom, chooses to seek adventure with an enchanted dog. Speculative fiction -- closer to fantasy -- but wonderful.Lasky, Kathryn.
Star Split. In 3038, 13 year old Darci, a Genhant (Genetically enhanced) begins to wonder about the "Originals" who have not been given the 48th chromosome. A well written and fascinating book by the Newberry about winner.Lawrence, Louise.
Dream-Weaver. 1996. ALA Booklist Starred. A young psychic girl helps her people prepare for the coming of the earth colonists they have sensed.Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Word for World is Forest. An ecologically stable world is endangered by invading "yumans." Websites: http://www.catch22.com/SF/ARB/SFL/LeGuin,UK.php3http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~sparks/lgnlinks.html
http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~sparks/leguinfh.html
Levitin, Sonia.
The Cure. 1999. Gemm 16884, branded deviant by his society because of his musical inclinations is sent back to 1348 Strasbourg where he confronts anti-semitism and the Black Plague.Marsden, John.
Tomorrow When the War Began. 1993. ALA Best Book. The Dead of Night. 1994. Sequel. Australia is invaded and surviving is a bitter challenge.McCaffrey, Anne.
Dragonsong. 1977, Blends excellent science fiction with excellent fantasy elements.McCaffrey, Anne.
The Dolphins of Pern. 1994.McCaffrey, Anne.
The Ship Who Sang. 1969. A womanís consciousness fused with the ship in which she is encased. Powerful concept and delivery.McIntyre, Vondra.
Dreamsnake. 1978. Snake is a healer in a ravaged landscape. Wonderful reading. Hugo and Nebula award winner. Website: http://www.sff.net/people/Vonda/McIntyre, Vondra
. Superluminal. 1984. Genetic and medical enhancements and alterations make interdimensional space travel and underwater living and cross-species communication possible. A rich and imaginative text. Website: http://www.sff.net/people/Vonda/Nix, Garth.
Shade's Children .1997. An ALA Best Book 1998. All children are killed and bioharvested at 14. A group of children try to find a way to resist.O'Brien, Robert C.
Z for Zachariah. 1975. A classic vision of a handful of survivors in a post-holocaust world. ALA Notable. Edgar Allan Poe Award winner.Philbrick, Rodman K..
Rem World. 2002 Arthur Woodbury, trying to lose weight, gets trapped in Rem World.Philbrick, Rodman K..
Last Book in the Universe. 2000 "in a world where most people are plugged into brain-drain entertainment systems epileptic teenager Spaz is a rare human being who can see life for what it really is. ... Spaz sets off on an unlikely quest to save his dying sister and in the process perhaps the world." (publisher's blurb)Rivers, Karen.
Dream Water. 1999. Orcas and a Canadian tragedy based on a true incident.Rubinstein, Gillian.
Galax-arena. 1992. Chilling account of children kidnapped and enslaved as performers for aliens -- with high risks being a prime requisite for the performances. Interesting twist at the end.Sargent, Pamela.
Alien Child. 1988. The only human left on earth being raised by aliens. Or so she thinks until she meets the boy who has also been raised by an alien. The two learn together of the history of their species and try to determine its future. Thoughtful and raises a number of good questions. Website: http://www.sff.net/people/PSargent/default.htmhttp://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Pamela_Sargent.htm
Sargent, Pamela
. Earthseed. 1983. A group of children have been raised from frozen embryos by a sentient Ship and are to be seeded onto a new world. Excellent on interactions, cooperation, and cultural challenges. Website: http://www.sff.net/people/PSargent/default.htmhttp://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Pamela_Sargent.htm
Sargent, Pamela
. Homesmind. 1984. Anra living in a future earth where technology had been largely abandoned and the worlds "Minds" hidden under great mountains have slept for generations is now connected with the Homesmind which has arrived with the "skydwellers." Website: http://www.sff.net/people/PSargent/default.htmhttp://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Pamela_Sargent.htm
Sheffield, Charles
. Putting Up Roots. 1997. A teenager on Solferion defends the planet's natives and its ecosystem.Sleator, William.
Boltzmon! 1999. The answer to young Chris' plea for help with his sister is an "all-knowing, shape-shifting, space-traveling remnant of a black hole..." Be careful what you wish for!Sleator, William.
Strange Attractors. 1999. Parallel universe. School Library Journal says: "In Sleator's richly imagined fictional treatment of [chaos] theory the strange attractors are people from a parallel universe: a brilliant scientist, Sylan, and his beautiful daughter, Eve, whose reckless manipulation of time travel has plunged their timeline into chaos."Stervermer, Caroline.
River Rats. 1996. A generation after the "Flash" has poisoned everything, especially the Mississippi, a group of orphans ply the river and seek a better future. Imaginative book about determination, survival, and friendship.