Finally as John Scalzi runs for president of the Sci Fi & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), one of the things that has come up (among many many many topics) at his site is the state of YA science fiction. I waded very carefully into these waters last night letting folks know that as a YA reviewer wtih access to dozens of publisher catalogs (both big and small) every year, I don't see a lot of YA Sci Fi - in fact I see hardly any at all. There was a question of supply vs demand at Scalzi's - are the books not there because YA readers won't read them in other words and some folks lamenting that kids don't read Asimov or Dick or any of the greats. I think it's more of a supply issue and while I immediately thought of Life As We Knew it and Siberia, I went looking to see what other SF titles I've reviewed (or will review) and what I found was interesting.
Here's what I found at the publisher sites:
Life As We Knew It (Harcourt): about a meteor knocking the moon out of regular orbit and the subsequent planetary catastrophe. Listed as Juvenile Fiction-Social Situations/Emotions/Feelings. There are five subject listings for this book, and it is only in the last one that Science Fiction/Fantasy/Magic is listed.
Tanglewreck (Bloomsbury): An alternate earth story where time twisters plague the planet and force the heroine on an interplanetary journey to save the world and get time back in sync (among many other things). Described as "A sophisticated gothic tale of a society where time is bought and sold." No mention of science fiction at all by publisher.
The Death Collector (Bloomsbury): In Victorian London someone is reanimating the dead for nefarious purposes. Here's the description: "Recalling the classic horror of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the gothic chills of Caleb Carr’s The Alienist, Justin Richard’s novel is a historic thrill ride that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page." Even name dropping Shelley doesn't get this one Sci Fi status, it is mystery/thriller all the way.
London Calling (Knopf): A young boy finds that his grandmother's radio allows him to travel back through time to WWII era London where he witnesses an injustice and must set things right in the present. Described as juvenile fiction-family, jf-social situations - death and dying, jv- boys and men. No SF even though time travel is key to the story.
Larklight (Bloomsbury): Two children travel through space in a large Victorian house with their father; many adventures ensue. Described as "A rousing tale of intrepid pluck in the farthest reaches of space" and "An adventure as big as the universe!" All adventure, no Sci Fi.
Journey to the Blue Moon (Candlwick): Our young hero goes in search of his lost pocketwatch (and the subsequent loss of time he has suffered without it) on a rickety rocket ship ride into space and "the blue moon" where all lost things from Earth are found. Description: "Time gets out of hand in a witty, suspenseful new fantasy..." So even with a rocket ship ride, you aren't talking Sci Fi.
Siberia (RH): In an alternate future young Sloe and her mother struggle to preserve and protect the DNA strands for every wild creature the planet has ever known. Eventually Sloe is separated from her mother (who taught science), sent to a prison school and breaks out to find the strands and get them to a safe place. (I loved this book!) It's listed as juvenile fiction by RH - no mention of Sci Fi at all.
Secret Under My Skin (Harper Collins): In the future after a technocaust, "Master storyteller Janet McNaughton vividly imagines an all-too-believable future where one child's brave search for the truth could restore a broken world." This is about as Sci Fi as it gets - not listed as Sci Fi, but the fact that it is listed as taking place in 2368 might be all the clue the publisher wants to give.
Aquanauts (Tundra): On an undersea adventure a group of kids find themselves battling scientists across hundreds of years of a time travel chase. This is the first one to list Sci Fi at all - it actually lists juvenile fiction - science & technlogy as the first category, and sci fi /fantasy/magic second.
It is entirely possible that some publishers just don't want to categorize books on their web sites - or in the descriptiosn they provide. And as I said above, some are obviously SF as they take place in the future or involve time travel, etc. But the fact that publishers don't list these books as Science Fiction from the beginning - don't tout them as "Sci Fi Horror" or "Sci Fi Adventure" or even "A science fiction novel designed to make readers think about today", well all of that makes me wonder if maybe publishers just don't think there is a market for books labeled as Young Adult Science Fiction. If it's time travel, isn't it Sci Fi? How can we put everything Ray Bradbury has ever written fiction-wise in Sci Fi, but not London Calling?
And we could argue forever (please, let's not) as to whether or not Frankenstein is science fiction, but isn't a book published today whose storyline hinges on reanimation of the dead using science a definite science fiction tale? And isn't alternate history science fiction by definition? (I might be wrong here - correct me if that's the case.)
I look constantly for YA Sci Fi (separate from YA Fantasy) because my brother and I were all over those books when we were teenagers. I just can't believe that teenagers who love Star Wars movies and "Men in Black" and "Independence Day" and on and on ("Battlestar Galactica", "X-Files", etc.) would resist reading SF. So are publishers responding to a perceived lower demand or are they repackaging Sci Fi as other genres on their own?
You tell me - what do you think has happened to YA Sci Fi?
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March 22
2007
08:07 AM
Unfortunately, "science fiction" is still basicaly a curse word in YA publishing. While fantasy has overcome the geek/nerd association, science fiction is still firmly saddled with it. There are plenty of books being published that are clearly science fiction (Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy, Reeve's Mortal Engines series, I'd even argue for Oppel's Airborn being SF), but rarely if ever will the words "science fiction" be used in any of the publishers' literature. Come to think of it, I don't even think M.T. Anderson's Feed was called SF by the publisher, and that's a no brainer.
One day, hopefully soon, a science fiction novel will break out, and perhaps that will finally remove some of the stigma.