Science+Fiction

=This page is for reading recommendations. Please add a review when you find a great science fiction "read."=


 * FOUND: THE MISSING: BOOK 1** by Margaret Peterson Haddix - This is a fantasy, mystery, science fiction thriller. Thirteen years ago, a plane "appeared" with only babies on board. No crew, no one else. The government swept in and hushed everything up by dispersing the babies to various adoption agencies and intimidating witnesses to remain silent. Our story starts in the present when the adopted kids start getting threatening, anonymous letters."You are one of the missing," and, "Beware! They are coming back to get you." Should they tell their parents? Can they solve it on their own? Read this great story to find out what is going on. I bet you can't stop with just one.


 * ENDER'S GAME** by Orson Scott Card - This will make you think of video games in a new way. The international government of earth monitors children to find out who has the best temperament to become good military commanders. Then those kids, usually boys, are taken from their families around age six and sent to military boarding school. In the past, there was a war with the Buggers, and the people of earth believe they need to defeat the enemy once and for all in order to ensure survival of the human race. The military training consists mostly of video game battles. Only at the end do you learn the truth. Will Ender survive the harsh training? Will the human race be saved? What about the family members Ender leaves behind? There is so much more to tell about this story, but just take my word for it and read it for the thrill and wisdom contained in these pages.


 * THE CITY OF EMBER** by Jeanne DuPrau - We meet the main characters as they turn twelve years old. In the city of Ember, where they live, citizens are assigned jobs at this age. Lina wants to be a messenger so she can run the streets of the city delivering news; Doon wants to work with the electrical system because there are more and more electrical failures each day. Lina draws the "pipeworks," while Doon draws "messenger." They decide to trade jobs. Pipeworks will at least get Doon underground, closer to the electrical system. The two team up using Doon's mechanical knowledge with Lina's sharp eyes to figure out that government officials aren't being honest with the people. As circumstances get worse, Doon and Lina know they must save their city. Can they do it?


 * THE PEOPLE OF SPARKS** by Jeanne DuPrau - This sequel to THE CITY OF EMBER tells what happens when the other residents of Ember find instructions from Doon and Lina so they can also escape from the dying city. In escaping, they realize that Ember was an underground city. Up on earth's surface, they must get used to living in nature. They follow remnants of a road to a city called Sparks and hope these folks will help them. But how would your town react if a group of people as large as the population of your town suddenly showed up? The citizens of Sparks try to help but with a lot of fear that this large group of strangers will cost them their lifestyles and what little prosperity they have. Will it work?


 * THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEK DAY** by Adam Rex - This story is actually the award-winning essay submitted by a young girl explaining her world after Earth has been overtaken by aliens. After a few false starts, she gets knee-deep in an adventure to escape the alien's control so she can try to find her mother whom they kidnapped. She meets up with both good and bad people and aliens as she traverses the United States in a car she has altered so she can reach the pedals to drive. Besides the adventure, this story takes funny shots at present day American life to make the reader chuckle. I think this would appeal mostly to sophisticated readers.