The best young adult soft science-fiction books

Scythe has some of the most fantastic world-building in a dystopian that I’ve read. The story is told by switching back and forth between two main characters, one male, Rowan, and one female, Citra, which adds depth to the story without getting too confusing. *I’m looking at you Six of Crows.*

Society has reached the point where no one dies from natural causes anymore, and people can live indefinitely. Scythes have been tasked with killing people at random to keep the population somewhat in check. When Citra and Rowan are selected to study and learn under a famous scythe, the moral dilemmas that follow are both thought-provoking and entertaining. Scythe is the first book I’ve read that addresses the universal problem of our impending deaths with this beautiful balance of respect and humor. 

If you’re at all familiar with Brandon Sanderson, you may worry that diving into this YA work of his will require a significant amount of mental fortitude to follow. But unlike his high fantasy novels, Sanderson really dials it back in Skyward, making it an easy read with such fantastic dialogue that I laughed aloud repeatedly. Spensa is a curious, resilient girl, hellbent on redeeming her father’s legacy. Of the many AI’s that I’ve come to love in my sci-fi stories, MBOT is my all-time favorite and reason alone to read this book.

Aurora Rising follows an unlikely crew of teens with well-developed and conflicting personalities with fantastically-written POV switches. I love the fast-paced writing, the dialogue, and the small bit of romance tossed in. There are aliens and intrigue, fist-fights, and plot twists and I loved the alien worlds. 

While this book came out a while ago in 2009, and was made more famous by the film adaptation, I feel it’s fallen under the radar for people who have recently discovered their love of science fiction. Dashner’s dystopian is dominated by male characters, which I found refreshing since so many popular dystopian novels feature female protagonists. The Maze Runner’s non-stop action makes it the sort of book you want to read in a single sitting.  

I know, I already listed a book by Kaufman on this list and I’m not sorry about it. This book has it all. Enemies to lovers, space travel, ghosts, clean romance, great character development, and attention to detail that created vivid, beautiful scenes in an alien environment. This book is more of a romance than the other ones on my list, but what can I say? I like to think that if the world ends, or spaceships explode and you’re stranded on a weird planet, love will go on (but not like, Titanic style.)