Last week I shared my 12 Adult Science Fiction Books to Read in 2022, and this week we’re taking a look at some exciting YA titles! Boy, YA sci-fi is hard to find. I think I’ve said this in past years, but I’m always surprised that YA is inundated with fantasy, yet YA science fiction is much more scarce. Because I struggled to even come up with ten titles that already have covers, some of these I’m calling “Sci-fi adjacent” because they may not look like sci-fi on the outside, but if you read the descriptions, there are definite sci-fi elements (so take my opinion with a grain of salt, is what I’m saying!)
I’m listing these in order of release date (dates subject to change), and you can click on the titles to read the full Goodreads description. Here we go!
1.
The Kindred by Alechia Dow. January 4th from Inkyard Press. I love when authors combine science fiction and fantasy, and I think this is going to be a great mash-up of those two genres. According to the author, this is set in the same universe as last year’s The Sound of Stars, but it’s not a sequel.
2.
Across a Field of Starlight by Blue Delliquanti. February 8th from Random House Graphic. “An epic sci-fi graphic novel romance between two non-binary characters…” Wow! There’s a lot of good stuff in that description. I think this sounds fabulous.
3.
Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space edited by Zoraida Córdova. February 15th from Wednesday Books. These science fiction and fantasy stories are all written by Latin American authors, I love this idea. Contributors include: Daniel José Older, Yamile Saied Méndez, Anna-Marie McLemore, Mark Oshiro, Romina Garber, David Bowles, Lilliam Rivera, Claribel Ortega, Isabel Ibañez, Sara Faring, Maya Motayne, Nina Moreno, Vita Ayala, J.C. Cervantes, Circe Moskowitz, Linda Nieves Pérez, and Zoraida Córdova.
4.
All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown. March 8th from Balzer + Bray. A queer, post apocalyptic story set after a deadly pathogen has killed off most of the world. I love survival stories like this, and seriously, give me all the post apocalyptic stories please!
5.
Remember Me Gone by Stacy Stokes. March 22nd from Viking Books for Young Readers. So this is sort of “sci-fi adjacent,” but I love the idea of a family who can remove painful memories from people, and that gives me sci-fi vibes, so let’s go with that!
6.
Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson. March 29th from Sourcebooks Fire. The author takes inspiration from Black Lives Matter in this teen thriller set in a futuristic Baltimore. I’m also getting some vibes from Stephen King’s Under the Dome. This sounds really good and intense!
7.
Alone Out Here by Riley Redgate. April 5th from Disney Hyperion. In a near future facing an apocalyptic event, a group of teens inadvertently find themselves on a spaceship, and must figure out how to survive. This sounds amazing!
8.
Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak (Unstoppable #2) by Charlie Jane Anders. April 5th from Tor Teen. This is the follow up to Victories Greater Than Death, which I’ve heard really good things about. This is a series I need to start!
9.
Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White. June 7th from Peachtree Teen. First, I love this title, it’s so unusual. A trans boy running from a cult, monsters, bioweapons, queer and autistic characters—wow, this sounds amazing!
10.
Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder edited by Saundra Mitchell. June 7th from Inkyard Press. This collection is the third in a series of short stories by queer authors, and this time the stories are all set in the future. Wow, this is such a great idea! Includes stories by Kayla Ancrum, Kalynn Bayron, Z Brewer, Mason Deaver, Alechia Dow, Z.R. Ellor, Leah Johnson, Naomi Kanakia, Claire Kann, Rahul Kanakia, Alex London, Jim McCarthy, Abdi Nazemian, Emma K. Ohland, Adam Sass, Nita Tyndall.
Well, not only have I not heard of any of these, I revisited your list from last year and I still haven’t read any of those! I guess YA scifi just isn’t my thing lol
Ha ha well it’s not for everyone!
Nothing really caught my eye here. I wonder why it’s so difficult to find them. Is there a general lack of interest with the targeted age group? Is it a fear on the part of publishers to take a chance with scifi? Are there many more out there that are just very difficult to find? Are there fewer authors who write scifi for this group? Are there potential reasons I’m missing?
It may be YA SF just doesn’t sell as well. I’m curious too. YA fantasy has been huge for years!
I picked up a copy of Victories Great Than Death when it came out, but haven’t read it yet. Seeing there’s a sequel on the way, I guess I’d better get to it! I’ll be interested in hearing your thoughts on whichever of these you end up reading. None are on my radar just yet, but that can change!
I’m not sure how many I’ll read, but some of them are definitely possibilities:-)
Across a Field of Starlight looks really fun! Survive the Dome and Alone Out Here also sound really good. I also think it’s funny how clearly you can see a lot of the cover design trends of the illustrated people style in YA right now through these covers.
I’ve noticed that too. I actually like illustrated covers:-)
Across A Field of Starlight- for some reason I love that the cover is set in like the cockpit of the ship.
And you have a great point about YA SF. I wonder if there’s some overlap. Like Dead Space which I recently read can definitely be an adult SF but I also feel like that could be definitely marketed as YA sF if they wanted to…
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There’s definitely overlap. I can see Dead Space appealing to the YA crowd.
Thanks for the intro to Remember Me Gone – sounds like it has a lot of potential!
It sounds really good, right?
I guess I’m officially done with YA now, because looks like I haven’t made much of an effort to look at what’s coming out because these are all completely new to me! Nothing really screams “read me!” but some of them look interesting, and I hope you’ll enjoy them!
Ha ha, well I figured I would give adult and YA equal time, but man it was hard to find these!
I love the cover for Hell Followed With Us – sounds intriguing.
Lynn 😀
I love that cover too:-)
I’m looking forward to Reclaim the Stars as well but I’ve heard little about these others! Love the cover for Hell Followed with Us 😀
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The Kindred and Reclaim the Stars are both on my TBR. I’ve got an ARC of Survive the Dome that I can’t wait to read closer to pub date as well. Great picks!
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I just finished Alone Out Here and it was absolutely incredible!! I am trying to find more ya books set in space like this!