When I was a kid – the age that I now write for – I was a science fiction addict. This was before the days of Harry Potter and YA, and most of my SF buzz came in the form of adult SF novels. Which is ironic, partly because I run a blog concerned about “age appropriate” reading material for advanced readers, and partly because back then all science fiction was considered “juvenile.”
Well, SF has grown up (some might say aged) since then, and as Dark Omen plunges into those Young Teen (12-14) years, I find myself wanting to set him loose on my SF paperback collection, yet concerned about what he might find there.
Serendipitously, the SF publisher Baen comes to my rescue. I was researching small publishers to consider for my middle grade science fiction novel, and as I perused Baen’s site, I found a list of Young SF! And there were all my favorites: Niven, Poul Anderson, Heinlein, Marion Bradley Zimmer, Pournelle . . . and a whole lot more that I didn’t even recognize. While I’m sure many on this list are more Teen than Young Teen, it’s at least been culled by some erudite SF editors as “suitable for an intelligent young reader.”
Which is a great description of Dark Omen.
As a bonus, most are available as e-books, so I can load up the Nook and hand it to Dark Omen the next time he says, “Mom, I’m out of books again!”
Kids today are lucky. They are so many books aimed at teens and older MG now than there ever has been. But even so, I know a lot of kids that bypass most YA and read adult b/c they aren't into the fluff and vampire stuff. Luckily there are some good clean adult novels!
That's great. Wonderful you found such a list. BTW…I'm loving Dark Omen.
@Laura You are right, we're in something of a heyday of kidlit. And boys especially avoid the "pink aisle" in YA. I need to familiarize myself with current adult lit more, if my kid's going to read it! π
@Sheri I'm kinda partial to him, myself. π
I still haven't read Heinlein. Is it bad to admit that?
@Bryan No, but I feel it must be remedied. Perhaps, if I offered to read some literary work in exchange? π
Geesh, how many books do you have going, Susan?
Pink aisles in YA? Who came up with that dumb idea to chase guys away from reading. My local bookchain doesn't do that. The only pink that exists comes from the bookcovers.
@Stina Too many, apparently! π And the "pink aisle" is only figurative, but with all those girly covers, they might was well paint it pink. It reminds me of the Barbie Aisle at the Toys R Us, which my boys avoid like the plague.
Interesting. I'll show this to Neal. Did you notice the page of free downloadable books? http://www.webscription.net/c-1-free-library.aspx
Awesome! I'll have to check that list out. π
This is so awesome!!! Thanks for sharing, Susan! Hubs loved SF like you, and I wanted to get some of these for our daughters to try. Perfect timing~ :o) <3
Fantastic! My son love sci-fi so this is a great suggestion!!
I got hooked on SF at the tender age of 12 and have been hooked ever since. Of course, back then there were no books aimed at the teenage market.
@Rhonda I had missed that! Thanks for pointing it out! π
@Shannon *smiles*
@LTM Awesome! π
@Lindsay Yay for another SF fan! π
@Kate I know! Things are so different now, with kidlit books!
Yes for kidlit and SF! I love that there are so many choices now. π