A Thinker in Space

(Books for Readers Young and Old #3)

Picking up where my article last week left off – I am now headed to science fiction! For a review of what this article series is serving to accomplish, take a look at my Historical Fiction/Realistic fiction article here[LINK]. I also provide two sources for screening content concerns literature in that post, so take a look! For a review – this is the list that I send to parents at the beginning of the school year for book recommendations as an MS (Middle School) Language Arts teacher. Each book (or series) includes a grade level, page count, a short explanation of the story and the reason this is included as a recommendation. Let’s dive in!

The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer

Grade Level: 5^th+

Length: ~300 pages

Concept: Cosmo is an orphan living in a futuristic world where the planet is being invaded by strange “parasites”.

Recommendation: The Supernaturalist was one of my favorite sci-fi novels as a child – it is a short but enjoyable trip into a futuristic world, and is worth the read for both adults and middle schoolers.

Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz

Novels 1-14

Grade Level: 6^th+

Length: ~200-400 pages

Concept: In short – a teenage James Bond. Alex Rider is extremely skilled, and, because of a mysterious family connection, ends up working for an intelligence organization, as a spy. Each book contains its own mystery, and uncovers a piece of Alex Rider’s past.

Recommendation: Alex Rider novels are fun, easy reads for middle school readers. The stories are rather rudimentary, but are still enjoyable, and the novels do tend to be repetitive, at least for the first 5. If your child is into spies and gadgets and all that fun stuff, this series is an excellent choice! Some of the stories can have mild violent content – this is the only thing of which to be wary.

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Books 1-3

Grade Level: 7^th+

Length: 300-400 pages

Concept: A group of teenagers and children who were genetically altered to have angel wings escape from captivity into a world of unknowns, searching for freedom.

Recommendation: Maximum Ride is a fantastic series about unique and gifted children thrust into extraordinary circumstances. I have personally read the first three novels, and they are an excellent, contained story. There are, I believe, 9 in total, but I have heard from many different sources that books 4-9 drag out the plot and are a bit of a mess narratively speaking. So I recommend the first three novels, but would encourage the reader to stop after the satisfying conclusion of book three, rather than allowing James Patterson to string you along with the mess that follows.

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Things Not Seen, Things Hoped For, Things That Are

Grade Level: Things Not Seen – 5^th+, Things Hoped For/That Are – 7^th+

Length: 200-300 pages

Concept: A boy turns invisible one morning, and it changes his life forever.

Recommendation: Andrew Clements, author of popular novels for children such as Frindle and The Losers Club, returns with the Things series, a series that explores humanity and dives into the core of what makes us who we are. I read all three of these books as an adult, and loved them. Their primary strength is that each of them are written in first person, and are an incredible portrayal of what an author can do with narrative voice. Andrew Clements is also a Christian, which I did not know until reading Things That Are, which portrays Christianity respectfully and appropriately. The only book that has some content to be aware of is Things Hoped For. It isn’t necessarily inappropriate, but there is something that happens in this novel that can be disturbing to read. These novels take place in the same world, and there is some character overlap, but they are not direct sequels – the main character is different in each book.

Dune by Frank Herbert

Grade Level: 8^th+

Length: ~600 pages

Concept: Paul Atreides is removed from his home planet and placed on a desert world, and must learn how to deal with the world of political intrigue that surrounds him as an heir to one of the most powerful thrones in the universe.

Recommendation: Hands-down, Dune is the most challenging novel on this list. So if your child wants to tackle a difficult but rewarding novel, Dune is definitely an excellent choice. It is a work of classic science fiction, written in 1965, and is a political thriller at its heart. This is an excellent novel, with so much to offer, but it is certainly not an easy book to get into.

The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

Books 1-4

Grade Level: 8^th+

Length: ~250 pages each

Concept: A dystopian story about series about a world where sameness has taken over everything else we hold dear. The Giver is a fascinating franchise full of books that each serve to tell a different story.

Recommendation: Some of these novels deal with more difficult subject matter, which is why they are listed as 8^th despite the fact that they are at a lower reading level.

Star Wars – Heir to the Empire Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

Books 1-3

Grade Level: 8^th+

Length: ~400 pages each

Concept: In an alternate reality, after the destruction of the Empire, Luke, Leia and Han went on to start a new life. Leia and Han were happily married, and the new government was in a solid and stable place until the invasion of Grand Admiral Thrawn. In this character’s first original appearance, his menace and strategic skill makes him an incredible antagonist and creates a monster that our main cast must face in order to save everything they love.

Recommendation: Star Wars is a household name across the country, but before episodes VII-IX, there were over a hundred books published that are no longer canon to the Star Wars universe. Out of all of these, Heir to the Empire stands out as being an excellent work of literature, and a masterclass in the creation of an antagonist, so much so that the villain of this story, Grand Admiral Thrawn, was brought back into modern canon, and recently into live action in the show Ahsoka. These books have some moderate violence, but nothing you wouldn’t expect from a Star Wars film. There are plenty more stories that follow (and precede) this one that I would be happy to recommend if this novel strikes a chord! NOTE: When we discuss genre in the classroom, we mention how technically Star Wars is by definition “Fantasy with Science Fiction elements” due to the existence of The Force. However, I have put it in Science Fiction in this packet for the sake of cataloguing by interest.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Grade Level: 8^th+

Length: Books are 300-400 pages.

Concept: In a future world where society is controlled by strict rules and war has been eradicated, order is maintained through a system known as The Hunger Games, where children and teenagers are forced to fight in an arena until only one is left standing.

Recommendation: The Hunger Games is a novel you’ve probably heard of, and your child might have already read! But if they have not, I do recommend this novel as an excellent exploration of tyranny and the importance of standing up for what you believe in against hopeless odds. When this novel entered the spotlight, it was a hot topic amongst Christian parents, because the first novel takes place in this arena where children are forced to kill one another. So make sure you are aware of the content of these books before allowing your child to read them, but I do believe that it has literary merit and can raise some excellent questions in your child’s mind about the world around them.

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras

Grade Level: 7^th+

Length: Books are 300-400 pages.

Concept: In a futuristic world, all people are considered “ugly” until they hit a certain age, where they have an operation that makes them “pretty”.

Recommendation: This is an excellent dystopian fiction series. In this version of our future, technology has advanced significantly, and it rules the world. It deals with the concept of self-image, and stars a girl who is “ugly” as she explores the world around her. These books don’t have very much objectionable content, and are excellent reads. It is an extremely relevant series to many of the self-esteem issues that boys and girls experience, and I would recommend it for middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adults alike.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure

Grade Level: 8^th+

Length: Books are 300-400 pages.

Concept: A boy wakes up without his memory in a brand new place, and learns that his new home is surrounded by a maze full of terrifying monsters and a mystery that will change his life forever.

Recommendation: This dystopian series is not for the faint of heart. The character building of these novels is fantastic, and the story is full of twists and turns. This series, however, has violence, and some of the scenes and sequences can be very disturbing for younger readers. I would highly recommend screening these before you allow your child to read them to ensure you know the content in advance.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Books 1-4

Grade Level: 6^th+

Length: 200-300 pages

Concept: An underground world where jobs are assigned by skill, and people live by the lightbulbs surrounding them… as they start to break down.

Recommendation: I highly recommend these as solid reads – they are an excellent introduction to dystopian literature.

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