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Keeper of the Universe by Louise Lawrence
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Rogue Princess
B.R. Myers - 2020
R. Myers' Rogue Princess, a gender-swapped sci-fi YA retelling of Cinderella.Princess Delia knows her duty: She must choose a prince to marry in order to secure an alliance and save her failing planet. Yet she secretly dreams of true love, and feels there must be a better way. Determined to chart her own course, she steals a spaceship to avoid the marriage, only to discover a handsome stowaway. All Aidan wanted was to “borrow” a few palace trinkets to help him get off the planet. Okay, so maybe escaping on a royal ship wasn’t the smartest plan, but he never expected to be kidnapped by a runaway princess!Sparks fly as this headstrong princess and clever thief battle wits, but everything changes when they inadvertently uncover a rebel conspiracy that could destroy their planet forever.
Qualify
Vera Nazarian - 2014
You die, or you Qualify.
The year is 2047. An extinction-level asteroid is hurtling toward Earth, and the descendents of ancient Atlantis have returned from the stars in their silver ships to offer humanity help.But there’s a catch.They can only take a tiny percent of the Earth’s population back to the colony planet Atlantis. And in order to be chosen, you must be a teen, you must be bright, talented, and athletic, and you must Qualify.Sixteen-year-old Gwenevere Lark is determined not only to Qualify but to rescue her entire family.Because there’s a loophole.If you are good enough to Qualify, you are eligible to compete in the brutal games of the Atlantis Grail, which grants all winners the laurels, high tech luxuries, and full privileges of Atlantis Citizenship. And if you are in the Top Ten, then all your wildest wishes are granted… Such as curing your mother’s cancer.There is only one problem.Gwen Lark is known as a klutz and a nerd. While she’s a hotshot in classics, history, science, and languages, the closest she’s come to sports is a backyard pool and a skateboard.This time she is in over her head, and in for a fight of her life, against impossible odds and world-class competition—including Logan Sangre, the most amazing guy in her class, the one she’s been crushing on, and who doesn’t seem to know she exists.Because every other teen on Earth has the same idea.
You Qualify or you die.
* * *EXCERPT!Now you can read
Chapter One
in its entirety (click here)!* * *
Shapeless
Glenn Bullion - 2017
Boy must put his best face forward. Brady Jones doesn’t know where he came from. He knows nothing about his family. He doesn’t know what he is, or how it’s possible to do the amazing things he can do. He does know loneliness and survival, both from a life in the foster care system. He knows that he’s comfortable being alone on a Friday night. Despite the fact they’re so very different, he’d like to get to know Lily Ferguson better. Maybe even call her a friend. Brady knows he’s a shapeshifter. He can change his body to look like nearly anything he can imagine. An object, an animal, even other people. What he doesn’t know is how far the powers-that-be in the world will go to meet him, control him. He’s about to find out.
Zero G
Dan WellsBetsy Hogg - 2018
The journey is over a century long but luckily, everyone is in stasis, so they’ll be safe and sound asleep during the trip. Everyone that is, except for Zero, whose pod has malfunctioned, waking him up a hundred years early. His initial excitement in roaming the ship alone quickly turns to a heart-stopping interstellar adventure when a family of space pirates show up, trying to hijack the ship and take the colonizers hostage. With everyone he knows fast asleep, it’s up to Zero to think fast and find a way to stop them–all on his own.
The Disasters
M.K. England - 2018
So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than twenty-four hours.But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape—barely—but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats.On the run and framed for atrocities they didn’t commit, Nax and his fellow failures execute a dangerous heist to spread the truth about what happened at the Academy.They may not be “Academy material,” and they may not get along, but they’re the only ones left to step up and fight.
Fearless
Francine Pascal - 1999
Gaia's mother was murdered, and her father, Tom Moore, a famous covert antiterrorist mastermind, is in hiding. Now 17 years old, Gaia is living in New York City with Tom's CIA friend, George, and his wife, Ella. Gaia is a prime target for terrorists and is in constant danger, but she is trained in all forms of combat so she can defend herself. Like Buffy and Xena, Gaia Moore is a force.But she is also a high school student, trying to be like everyone else. As her friendships develop, we see that Gaia is in many ways a typical teen -- when she's not busy getting herself into and out of dangerous situations, righting wrongs, avenging hurts, and solving mysteries.
Terra: The Terra Trilogy Book One
Mitch Benn - 2013
wise, funny, and above all, human.' NEIL GAIMANAbducted from Earth as a baby by a well-meaning alien, Terra has grown up far across the galaxy on planet Fnrr. Terra has always known she was different. Her skin isn’t grey. Her eyes are a weird blue colour. She has ... ears.And now Terra is starting high school. A daunting prospect, even without being the only human in class.There’s lots to like about life on Fnrr. Society is ordered and peaceful; founded on reason, logic and the pursuit of knowledge. However, its inhabitants are blissfully unaware of the impending invasion that could destroy their way of life forever ...Before long, Terra will find herself propelled into a fierce battle to save the world she calls home.A story for young readers - or adults who remember being one - Mitch Benn’s Terra is a warm and witty coming-of-age Sci-Fi adventure for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider. Escape into a story of hope, discovery and the unbreakable bonds we naively refer to as ‘humanity’.PRAISE FOR TERRA:'Terra is delightful ... I found myself thinking of Roald Dahl, Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, but the voice and story are uniquely Mitch Benn’s. Wise, funny, and above all, human.' NEIL GAIMAN'Mitch Benn is a very fine writer and Terra is a very fine book.' THE INDEPENDENT'High-end deadpan Sci-Fi silliness ... with added warmth. For a story set light years away, it feels wonderfully human.' MATT HAIG
The Starry Rift: Tales of New Tomorrows
Jonathan StrahanKelly Link - 2008
With this in mind, noted anthologist Jonathan Strahan (who is also the reviews editor of Locus magazine) asked sixteen of today's most inventive, compelling writers to look past the horizon of the present day. Neil Gaiman (Anansi Boys), Kelly Link (Magic for Beginners), Garth Nix (the Abhorsen Trilogy), Scott Westerfeld (Uglies; Pretties; Specials) and their colleagues have crafted a dazzling range of stories. Whether on spaceships, in suburbia, or in simulated gaming worlds, whether about cloning, battle tactics, or corporate politics, the stories of The Starry Rift will give every reader something to consider. This original anthology is crucial reading for those who want to see where the future (and the future of science fiction) is headed.CONTENT"Ass-Hat Magic Spider" by by Scott Westerfeld"Cheats" by Ann Halam"Orange" by Neil Gaiman"The Surfer" by Kelly Link"Repair Kit" by Stephen Baxter"The Dismantled Invention of Fate" by Jeffrey Ford"Anda's Game" By Corey Doctorow"Sundiver Day" by Kathleen Ann Goonan"The Dust Assassin" by Ian McDonald"The Star Surgeon's Apprentice" by Alastair Reynolds"An Honest Day's Work" By Margo Lanigan"Lost Continent" by Greg Egan"Incomers" by Paul McAuley"Post--Ironic Stress Syndrome" by Tricia Sullivan"Infestation" by Garth Nix"Pinocchio" by Walter Jon Williams
Hold Back the Stars
Katie Khan - 2017
‘We’re going to be fine.’ He looks around, but there’s nothing out here: nothing but the bottomless black universe on their left, the Earth suspended in glorious technicolour to their right.Carys and Max have ninety minutes of air left.None of this was supposed to happen.But, perhaps this doesn’t need to be the end…Adrift in space with nothing to hold on to but each other, Carys and Max can’t help but look back at the well-ordered world they have left behind – at the rules they couldn’t reconcile themselves to, and a life to which they might now never return.For in a world where love is banned, what happens when you find it?Hold Back the Stars is a love story like no other.
A Test of Courage
Justina Ireland - 2021
She’s been charged with supervising twelve-year old aspiring inventor Avon Starros on a luxury liner headed to the dedication of a wondrous new space station called Starlight Beacon.But early in their journey, bombs go off aboard the ship. After narrowly avoiding being sucked into the vacuum of space, Vernestra; Avon; Avon’s droid J-6; a Jedi Padawan; and an ambassador’s son make it to an shuttle, but communications are out and supplies are low. They decide to land on a nearby moon, which offers shelter but not much more. And unbeknownst to them, danger lurks in the jungle….
The Final Six
Alexandra Monir - 2018
After erratic climate change has made Earth a dangerous place to live, the fate of the population rests on the shoulders of the final six who will be scouting a new planet. Intense training, global scrutiny, and cutthroat opponents are only a few of the hurdles the contestants must endure in this competition.For Leo, the prospect of traveling to Europa—Jupiter’s moon—to help resettle humankind is just the sense of purpose he’s been yearning for since losing his entire family in the flooding of Rome. Naomi, after learning of a similar space mission that mysteriously failed, suspects the ISTC isn’t being up front with them about what’s at risk.As the race to the final six advances, the tests get more challenging—even deadly. With pressure mounting, Naomi finds an unexpected friend in Leo, and the two grow closer with each mind-boggling experience they encounter. But it’s only when the finalists become fewer and their destinies grow nearer that the two can fathom the full weight of everything at stake: the world, the stars, and their lives.
The Threat Below
Jason Latshaw - 2015
Now, a small remnant – the descendants of the few survivors who were able to escape the massacre below – lives above the clouds, on the top of a Mountain. When they discover that their water supply is being poisoned Down Below, an expedition, including seventeen year-old girl Icelyn Brathius, must descend and face the monsters, the Threat Below, that wiped out civilization centuries ago. Icelyn quickly learns that all is not what it seems as she uncovers secrets hundreds of years old and struggles to stay alive in a world where no human is fit to survive.
Unplugged
Donna Freitas - 2016
Years ago, Skylar Cruz’s family sent her to the App World for a chance at a better life.Now Skye is a nobody, a virtual sixteen-year-old girl without any glamorous effects or expensive downloads to make her stand out in the App World. Yet none of that matters to Skye. All she wants is a chance to unplug and see her mother and sister again.But when the borders between worlds suddenly close, Skye loses that chance. Desperate to reach her family, Skye risks everything to get back to the physical world. Once she arrives, however, she discovers a much larger, darker reality than the one she remembers.
V is for Villain
Peter Moore - 2014
Though Brad's basically a genius, Blake is a superhero in the elite Justice Force. And Brad doesn't measure up at his high school, either, where powers like super-strength and flying are the norm. So when Brad makes friends who are more into political action than weight lifting, he's happy to join a new crew-especially since it means spending more time with Layla, a girl who may or may not have a totally illegal, totally secret super-power. And with her help, Brad begins to hone a dangerous new power of his own.But when they're pulled into a web of nefarious criminals, high-stakes battles, and startling family secrets, Brad must choose which side he's on. And once he does, there's no turning back.Perfect for fans of The Avengers, Ironman, and classic comic books, V is for Villain reveals that it's good to be bad.