Sci-Fi and Superheroes, Fantasy and Fears: Teen Speculative Fiction
User Unfriendly, by Vivian Vande Velde
When a hacked copy of a virtual-reality game glitches, trapping Arvin, six friends, and his mom, the trouble is just beginning. The eight have to fight their way through and finish the game—and as Arvin’s mom starts exhibiting weird symptoms, time is running out.
Runaways, by Brian K. Vaughan
When they find out that their parents make up the super-villain group The Pride, six teens do the only logical thing: run away from home and plot to overthrow their parents. Finding a secret hideout and learning about their new powers is hard enough, but finding a traitor in their midst complicates everything.
Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld
Cal is parasite-positive, a “peep,” but he’s lucky—he’s a carrier, with superhuman strength and night vision. As a carrier, it’s his job to track down more typical peeps, the insane cannibals who roam the city, but the person he really wants to find is the girl who infected him. When he discovers the horrible truth about virus, Cal’s priority shifts to saving the city—and his new love interest.
Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin
15-year-old Liz is learning to cope with disappointment. She’s never going to have a boyfriend, go to the prom, or learn to drive. Not in this lifetime, anyway. Because Liz is in Elsewhere, the place she went after the bike accident that killed her, where she’ll age backward until she’s an infant sent back down to earth. For now, she has to find a job and adjust her outlook, because the afterlife can be pretty nice—if she lets it.
Magic For Beginners, by Kelly Link
Link’s second short-story collection is full of lyrical, humorous fantasy that doesn’t read like genre fiction at all. From the surreal ghost story Stone Animals to The Library about an unpredictable television show trying to get a message to a teenage boy, this collection will appeal to readers who appreciate something a little out of the ordinary.
Castle Waiting, by Linda Medley
Castle Waiting provides sanctuary for all sorts of odd outcasts, from runaway princesses and forgotten handmaidens to iron-hearted blacksmiths and bearded nuns. At turns romantic, fun, and occasionally tragic, Medley offers wonderful re-imaginings of classic fables and fairy tales, from the lost blessing of sleeping beauty to the love lives of the order of bearded nuns.
Un Lun Dun, by China Mieville
Animals have been watching Zanna. Staring at her, actually. And a few people have called her “the Schwazzy.” But Zanna only finds out why when she and her best friend Deeba fall through to Un Lun Dun, the reverse of their own London, and they’re suddenly in charge of saving the world—both worlds, actually—in a place where words are alive and nothing makes any sense at all.
House of Stairs, by William Sleator
Five teenage orphans wake up to find themselves in a place without walls, floors, or ceilings—only stairs. Endless stairs, leading to landings and more stairs. On one landing is a machine that dispenses food, but only if the five do everything right—and what’s right one day isn’t necessarily what’s right the next. And sometimes, it was never right at all.
Feed, by M.T. Anderson
The feed advertises things you’re walking past and recommends similar products, it’s television shows and news and email and maps, and it’s all right there in your head. But what happens when your feed gets hacked? Titus and Violet are about to find out, because a malfunctioning feed is one thing—but a malfunctioning feed with an atypical installation is a much bigger problem.
Story Time, by Edward Bloor
George and Kate are lucky enough to be accepted into the Whittaker Magnet School. But the school’s curriculum is focused only on standardized tests: drills, dreary classrooms, and disgusting protein shakes are all part of the new school day. Oh, and there’s also a murderous demon loose. Can George and Kate pass the tests and make it through the year?
Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
James and Will, both 13 years old, are very excited about the carnival coming to town. As the carnival lingers, though, the boys are increasingly aware of the evil that permeates it. But it’s when the boys discover the mysterious powers of the carousel that the truly diabolical nature comes clear. James and Will might be able to save the souls of the townspeople—but only if they can resist having their own wishes granted.
So You Want to Be a Wizard, by Diane Duane
On the run from bullies, Nita ducks into the library to find a safe place to hide out. What she finds instead is a how-to book on becoming a wizard. Now she and fellow-wizard Kit face their Wizard Ordeal, where they’ll officially get their powers. If they survive.
Oddly Normal, by Otis Frampton
Oddly Normal is a 10-year-old half-witch (her dad’s human; her mom’s a witch) who accidentally wishes her parents away at the end of a lousy birthday. With her parents gone, Oddly goes to live with her great-aunt in her mother’s homeland: Fignation. At least Oddly won’t be an outcast here like she is in the regular world… right.
Temping Fate, by Esther Friesner
Ilana needs a summer job, so she goes to the same place her sister worked for: Divine Relief Temp Agency. The first day on a new job is always a little nerve-wracking, but it’s much, much worse when your bosses are the Greek mythological goddesses, the Fates!
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman
When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous. But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself—and her parents—and return to her ordinary life.
The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs, by Jack Gantos
The Love Curse is an excessive, obsessive mother-love passed down through the generations. It's a dark, gothic story, involving taxidermy, identical twin brothers, their mother (from whom they can't bear to be parted), a young girl, and her mother. The combinations of all these elements are compelling, and will keep you turning pages late into the night.
Capt. Hook, by J.V. Hart
How did Captain Hook, Peter Pan’s nemesis, grow up into the villain he eventually became? From his outcast days at his fancy private school (and his first run-in with the Darling family) to his first sailing adventure, Captain James Hook is always a complex character.
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