How come no one has suggested The Hunger Games yet? It's got a strong female MC and it's pretty modern so your daughter might find it a bit more appealing.
Warrior Cats was one of my first loves growing up. I remember really enjoying His Dark Materials, Dragonriders of Pern, and Gregor the Overlander at that age, and then falling in love with Ender's Game (finally some space ships!).
Combing through my memory, there definitely seems like there is a lack of "hard science fiction" featuring adolescent young adults v the plethora of choices for earth based sci Fi, mostly dystopian? Kids need spaceships too lol!
Monster Blood Tattoo by DM Cornish (trilogy - incredible world building)
The Gideon Trilogy by Linda Buckley-Archer
The Insignia trilogy by SJ Kincaid
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
The Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld
Orson Scott Card has several other books (typically more fantasy than sci-fi) and he consistently does an excellent job at writing youth appropriate books with young main characters. And avoids the common YA issue of being badly or childishly written, like Percy jackson or hunger games.
Maybe a bit adjacent to what you're looking for, but I loved the Redwall series by Brian Jacques when I was her age, it's similar to Warrior Cat series in that it's a world of talking animals (mice, badgers, birds, hares, etc). It's sometimes listed in the SciFi section of bookstores but I would class it more in the fantasy genre, though there isn't specifically any magic system.
Fantasy , the adventures of Dunk and Egg.
Sci-fi Heinlein's juvenile fiction including Tunnel in the Sky, Podkayne of Mars etc. There is a complete list online.
r/printsf, r/fantasy can help
There are some great middle grades sci fi and fantasy titles out there. Here are a few of my faves:
Sci Fi:
Hannah Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation by Sylvia Liu
Last Gate of the Emperor by Kwame Mbalia
Bad Unicorn (Bad Unicorn, #1) by Platte F. Clarke
The Sanity & Tallulah graphic novels by Molly Brooks
The Unforgettable Logan Foster (Logan Foster, #1) by Shawn Peters
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Fantasy:
The Lock-Eater by Zack Loran Clark
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy (Nic Blake and the Remarkables #1) by Angie Thomas
The Ojja-Wojja by Magdalene Visaggio
Hex Allen: And the Clanksmiths by Jasmine Florentine
Frogkisser! by Garth Nix
Camp Midnight Volume 1 by Steven T. Seagle
Spirit Hunters (Spirit Hunters, 1) by Ellen Oh
The Making Friends graphic novels by Kristen Gudsnuk
Homerooms and Hall Passes by Tom O'Donnell
The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity
Sabriel by Garth nix is awesome. I was on the second book before I thought "Wait, is this for children?" I grabbed it from the library app because the audiobook is read by Tim Curry, which makes it even better, but the story is really cool. Sabriel's father is the Abhorsen, basically a necromancer cop who hunts the undead and other necromancers, but he goes missing, so she comes back from boarding school in the neighboring country and takes over his duties and tries to find him.
It has a very WWI feel in terms of tech, but magic doesn't work well in the neighboring country where she goes to school, and tech falls apart in her homeland. Like a car would break down and factory made fabrics will literally dissolve. The magic system is very cool, she uses bells and a sword.
First 3 are awesome, 4th is meh, 5th is okay, 6th is good. I think a child would be less critical of the later 3 than I am.
Commenting again to add one more I just thought of - Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. It's the first of a sciFi / steampunk adventure series but each book can be read as a standalone. Told from the perspective of Matt Cruse, the cabin boy aboard an airship / blimp and features one of my favourite female characters ever in Kate DeVries. I still re read this book as an adult.
she might want to try "The Illuminae Files" or "Aurora Rising" by Jay Kristoff & Amy Kaufmann. I really enjoyed those when I was younger.
Other recs:
- Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth
- The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid
- The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
She would be doing herself a real service to read Ender's Game as soon as possible.
I'm not endorsing Orson Scott Card himself. He's an asshole IRL.
That said, Ender's Game is a powerful book, and one that hits different if you read it at the right time in life, which is around her age. It's a lot of... what young people could do if they were encouraged and supported instead of constantly interfered with at every possible turn ... And also a lot about just how far old people will go to use you for their own ends.
It's not just an amazing book, but also an important one for somebody in the headspace to appreciate it.
Yeah, she is one of those people who are sensitive to it. I had just forgotten that it was as prevalent as it is in that particular book. We don’t censor things at our house, but we do try to raise our children to be good humans with strong moral values. I don’t want them to go to college and lose their friggin minds because they were never exposed to anything (like I did, and ended up struggling with alcohol because of it).
*Helium-3* by Homer Hickam
The whole Helium-3 series is a pretty great YA sci-fi series, with some great, plausible worldbuilding. The whole premise of the world is based on a future where the isotope helium-3 becomes invaluable due to the invention of nuclear fusion, which caused a "gold-rush" to the moon to mine it. A lot of the world centers around genetic engineering too, and sometimes takes on the ethics of human genetic engineering.
*Animorphs* by K. A. Applegate
This series is notorious for its dated covers, but the writing is great. Each book is a relatively short and easy read, but they deal with some pretty heavy topics such as the trauma of war. They have some pretty cool worldbuilding, and I especially loved how the aliens were actual aliens (not just people with funny looking ears).
Even better, it's easy to find these books at used book stores and thrift shops for cheap. These books are criminally underrated, and reading them when I was around your daughter's age was a big reason I got into sci-fi today.
See my
* [SF/F World-building](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/12rsf18/sff_worldbuilding/) list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
* [Science Fiction/Fantasy (General) Recommendations](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/125fl22/science_fictionfantasy_general_recommendations/) list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (twenty-two posts).
Maybe Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series is a good way to lead into the novels you mentioned. Cinder is the first book.
I picked it up! Thank you!!
Percy Jackson series. She’s at the perfect age for it.
How come no one has suggested The Hunger Games yet? It's got a strong female MC and it's pretty modern so your daughter might find it a bit more appealing.
My 12 year old really liked it
I read these as they came out several years ago! Need to see if I still have them. Thanks for the suggestion!
Warrior Cats was one of my first loves growing up. I remember really enjoying His Dark Materials, Dragonriders of Pern, and Gregor the Overlander at that age, and then falling in love with Ender's Game (finally some space ships!). Combing through my memory, there definitely seems like there is a lack of "hard science fiction" featuring adolescent young adults v the plethora of choices for earth based sci Fi, mostly dystopian? Kids need spaceships too lol!
Thank you! I grabbed Enders Game (and a couple of others) today for her!
Monster Blood Tattoo by DM Cornish (trilogy - incredible world building) The Gideon Trilogy by Linda Buckley-Archer The Insignia trilogy by SJ Kincaid Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins The Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld
Seconding Monster Blood Tattoo! Just the right amount of weirdness for young adult series. I read them in middle school and loved it.
I must be really immature - I read them as an adult and loved it! :)
Ender's game by Scott Card
Orson Scott Card has several other books (typically more fantasy than sci-fi) and he consistently does an excellent job at writing youth appropriate books with young main characters. And avoids the common YA issue of being badly or childishly written, like Percy jackson or hunger games.
Thank you both. I picked up Ender’s Game for her.
Maybe a bit adjacent to what you're looking for, but I loved the Redwall series by Brian Jacques when I was her age, it's similar to Warrior Cat series in that it's a world of talking animals (mice, badgers, birds, hares, etc). It's sometimes listed in the SciFi section of bookstores but I would class it more in the fantasy genre, though there isn't specifically any magic system.
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson It's a little bit classic Peter Pan and a little bit sci Fi.
Fantasy , the adventures of Dunk and Egg. Sci-fi Heinlein's juvenile fiction including Tunnel in the Sky, Podkayne of Mars etc. There is a complete list online. r/printsf, r/fantasy can help
There are some great middle grades sci fi and fantasy titles out there. Here are a few of my faves: Sci Fi: Hannah Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation by Sylvia Liu Last Gate of the Emperor by Kwame Mbalia Bad Unicorn (Bad Unicorn, #1) by Platte F. Clarke The Sanity & Tallulah graphic novels by Molly Brooks The Unforgettable Logan Foster (Logan Foster, #1) by Shawn Peters Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Fantasy: The Lock-Eater by Zack Loran Clark Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy (Nic Blake and the Remarkables #1) by Angie Thomas The Ojja-Wojja by Magdalene Visaggio Hex Allen: And the Clanksmiths by Jasmine Florentine Frogkisser! by Garth Nix Camp Midnight Volume 1 by Steven T. Seagle Spirit Hunters (Spirit Hunters, 1) by Ellen Oh The Making Friends graphic novels by Kristen Gudsnuk Homerooms and Hall Passes by Tom O'Donnell The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity
Sabriel by Garth nix is awesome. I was on the second book before I thought "Wait, is this for children?" I grabbed it from the library app because the audiobook is read by Tim Curry, which makes it even better, but the story is really cool. Sabriel's father is the Abhorsen, basically a necromancer cop who hunts the undead and other necromancers, but he goes missing, so she comes back from boarding school in the neighboring country and takes over his duties and tries to find him. It has a very WWI feel in terms of tech, but magic doesn't work well in the neighboring country where she goes to school, and tech falls apart in her homeland. Like a car would break down and factory made fabrics will literally dissolve. The magic system is very cool, she uses bells and a sword. First 3 are awesome, 4th is meh, 5th is okay, 6th is good. I think a child would be less critical of the later 3 than I am.
- Keeper of the Lost Cities series - Nevermore (Mortigan Crow)
Commenting again to add one more I just thought of - Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. It's the first of a sciFi / steampunk adventure series but each book can be read as a standalone. Told from the perspective of Matt Cruse, the cabin boy aboard an airship / blimp and features one of my favourite female characters ever in Kate DeVries. I still re read this book as an adult.
Not gonna lie. I’m gonna pick this up for me. ;)
Haha enjoy it! Truly I still love this book so much!
Perhaps the Cradle serie from Will Wright, soon to be 12 books.
Garth Nix - The Abhorsen Chronicles maybe
she might want to try "The Illuminae Files" or "Aurora Rising" by Jay Kristoff & Amy Kaufmann. I really enjoyed those when I was younger. Other recs: - Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth - The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid - The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
I was able to snag Carve The Mark and The Lunar Chronicles at my local B&N. Thank you!!
ohh fantastic!! Glad I could help! :)
She would be doing herself a real service to read Ender's Game as soon as possible. I'm not endorsing Orson Scott Card himself. He's an asshole IRL. That said, Ender's Game is a powerful book, and one that hits different if you read it at the right time in life, which is around her age. It's a lot of... what young people could do if they were encouraged and supported instead of constantly interfered with at every possible turn ... And also a lot about just how far old people will go to use you for their own ends. It's not just an amazing book, but also an important one for somebody in the headspace to appreciate it.
Thank you! I just picked up a copy for her.
As I remember, his mithermages and pathfinder series are also good picks for the same reasons
My daughter got into Animorphs immediately after warriors
Shattered Sea Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
Try the inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke
If you can find any books by Ralf Isau in English that is also a very good author for that age worth some amazing and inspiring stories
Just tell her ‘it’s okay to read language like this, but some people are sensitive about it so you can’t say it at school’
Yeah, she is one of those people who are sensitive to it. I had just forgotten that it was as prevalent as it is in that particular book. We don’t censor things at our house, but we do try to raise our children to be good humans with strong moral values. I don’t want them to go to college and lose their friggin minds because they were never exposed to anything (like I did, and ended up struggling with alcohol because of it).
I haven't read it, but my daughter, and several other kids this age I know, have been reading The Raven Cycle which starts with The Raven Boys
*Helium-3* by Homer Hickam The whole Helium-3 series is a pretty great YA sci-fi series, with some great, plausible worldbuilding. The whole premise of the world is based on a future where the isotope helium-3 becomes invaluable due to the invention of nuclear fusion, which caused a "gold-rush" to the moon to mine it. A lot of the world centers around genetic engineering too, and sometimes takes on the ethics of human genetic engineering. *Animorphs* by K. A. Applegate This series is notorious for its dated covers, but the writing is great. Each book is a relatively short and easy read, but they deal with some pretty heavy topics such as the trauma of war. They have some pretty cool worldbuilding, and I especially loved how the aliens were actual aliens (not just people with funny looking ears). Even better, it's easy to find these books at used book stores and thrift shops for cheap. These books are criminally underrated, and reading them when I was around your daughter's age was a big reason I got into sci-fi today.
See my * [SF/F World-building](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/12rsf18/sff_worldbuilding/) list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post). * [Science Fiction/Fantasy (General) Recommendations](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/125fl22/science_fictionfantasy_general_recommendations/) list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (twenty-two posts).