Science Fiction
Suggestions from Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
Unless otherwise noted, shelved in children's fiction under the author's last name.
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Anna to the Infinite Power / Mildred Ames
A 12-year-old math whiz accidentally learns the startling facts about her true identity and her role in an important secret experiment. Grades 5+
Spacer and Rat / Margaret Bechard
Jack's predictable existence on Freedom space station is transformed when Kit, the Earthie rat, enters his life and enlists him and a sensitive robot in an effort to outwit the Company. j / Young Adult / Grades 6+
The White Mountains / John Christopher
Will Parker and his companions make a perilous journey toward an outpost of freedom where they hope to escape from the ruling Tripods, who capture mature human beings and make them docile servants. Grades 5+
Things not seen / Andrew Clements
When fifteen-year-old Bobby wakes up and finds himself invisible, he and his parents and his new blind friend Alicia try to find out what caused his condition and how to reverse it. j / Young Adult / Grades 6+
The Supernaturalist / Eoin Colfer
In futuristic Satellite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill escapes from his abusive orphanage and teams up with 3 other people who share his ability to see supernatural creatures. Together they determine the nature and purpose of the swarming blue Parasites that are invisible to most humans.
j / Young Adult / Grades 5+
The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, where the rulers maintain control through an annual televised survival competition , sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she takes her younger sister's place. Young Adult / Grades 7+
The City of Ember / Jeanne DuPrau
In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions. j / Young Adult / Grades 5+
Enchantress from the stars / Sylvia Engdahl
When young Elana unexpectedly joins the team leaving the spaceship to study the planet Andrecia, she becomes an integral part of an adventure involving three very different civilizations. Grades 5+
The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm : a novel / Nancy Farmer
In 2194 in Zimbabwe, three children are kidnapped and put to work in a plastic mine, while three mutant detectives search for them. Grades 6+
The house of the scorpion / Nancy Farmer
In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patrón, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States.
j / Young Adult / Grades 6+
Ignatius MacFarland : Frequenaut! / Paul Feig
Bullied in school and called "Piggy MacFartland," twelve-year-old Iggy longs to travel to another planet and live among extraterrestrials, until an explosion transports him to a scary alternate reality. Grades 4+
The Softwire : Virus on Orbis 1 / PJ Haarsma
When twelve-year-old Johnny and his sister arrive on Orbis in a space ship of orphans, he finds he has a unique ability to communicate with computers. Grades 5+
Among the Hidden / Margaret Peterson Haddix
In a future where the Population Police limit a family to only 2 children, Luke has lived all his 12 years in isolation and fear on his family's farm, until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong.
j / Young Adult / Grades 5+
Found / Margaret Peterson Haddix
When two adopted thirteen-year-olds learn they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time. Grades 5+
Invitation to the Game / Monica Hughes
Unemployed after high school in the robotic society of 2154, eight friends resign themselves to a boring existence in their "Designated Area" until the government invites them to play The Game. Grades 6+
Evil Genius / Catherine Jinks
A child prodigy and antisocial computer hacker, discovers his true identity when he enrolls as a first-year student at an advanced crime academy.
Young Adult / Grades 6+
A Wrinkle in Time / Madeleine L'Engle
Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government. j / Young Adult / Grades 4+
The Giver / Lois Lowry
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives. j / Young Adult / Grades 5+
Dragonsong / by Anne McCaffrey
Forbidden by her father to indulge in music in any way, a girl on the planet Pern runs away and takes shelter with the planet's fire lizards. Book 1 in The Harper Hall Trilogy. j / Grades 5+
The Angel Experiment / James Patterson
After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose. Book 1 of the Maximum Ride series. Young Adult / Grades 6+
The Transall Saga / Gary Paulsen
While backpacking in the desert, thirteen-year-old Mark falls into a tube of blue light and is transported into a more primitive world, where he must use his knowledge and skills to survive. Grades 6+
Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide natural disasters. (Sequel: The Dead and the Gone) Young Adult / Grades 6 +
Larklight, or, The revenge of the white spiders!, or, To Saturn's rings and back! : a rousing tale of dauntless pluck in the farthest reaches of space / Philip Reeve
In an alternate Victorian England, young Arthur and his sister Myrtle, residents of Larklight, a floating house in one of Her Majesty's outer space territories, uncover a spidery plot to destroy the solar system. Grades 6+
Lost Time / Susan Maupin Schmid
Violynne, the twelve-year-old daughter of missing archaeologists on the planet Lindos, must solve the puzzle of her parents' disappearance before the dictatorial Arbiter captures her and forces her to do his bidding. Grades 5+
The Dark Side of Nowhere : A Novel / Neal Shusterman
Fourteen-year-old Jason faces an identity crisis after discovering that he is the son of aliens who stayed on earth following a botched invasion mission. Grades 6+
The Duplicate / William Sleator
Sixteen-year-old David, finding a strange machine that creates replicas of living organisms, duplicates himself and suffers the horrible consequences when the duplicate turns against him. Grades 5+
Earthborn / Sylvia Waugh
Upon suddenly learning that her parents are researchers from another planet and they must leave in seven days or risk discovery, twelve-year-old Nesta decides to stay in their York, England, home, whether or not her parents go. Grades 4+
You'll Like It Here (Everybody Does) / Ruth White
Forced to flee a small North Carolina town when the neighbors suspect they are aliens, sixth-grader Meggie Blue and her family leave Earth and arrive in Fashion City, where indiviuality is punished and the greatest crime is being "grossly unique." Grades 4+
Look for these and other great books in
The Children's Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
16 Castle Shannon Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
412.531.1913
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
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