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Science Fiction Stories for Teenage Girls?
Sooner Boomer asks: "Not having met 'Mrs. Boomer' yet, I'm buying Christmas gifts for my nieces and nephews. Whether genetics or just good luck, almost all of the young 'uns are girls. I've been slowly introducing them to the classics of science fiction: Heinlein ('Podkayne of Mars', _'Starship Troopers', etc.), Asimov short stories, Ann McAffrey (the Dragonrider books), Alan Dean Foster (the Flynx books and others), Douglas Adams and Terry Prachett, some Neil Gaiman (Stardust, Good Omens), as well as the mandatory Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. This is just a partial list, but what would Slashdot consider to be good (or even essential) science fiction for teen and pre-teen girls?"
Anything by Nicholas Fisk is good for that age bracket, but especially 'Highway Home' and 'Trillions'. Very accessible sci-fi for kids, although if you've already educated them in Pratchett and Heinlein you're probably way ahead of this.
Smegma.
What the hell do we know about girls??
\/\/oobie
http://www.reginapaul.bravehost.com/
Regina is a relatively new science fiction writer- this is her first novel, released just this year, self-published through Lulu press. It was originally written as a romance- and thus has a good deal of appeal for the female sex. But I found it equally interesting as science fiction. It's likely to end up the first book of a series; and thus would give you additional purchases in the future. But best of all, it's available cheap ($5.00) as a PDF e-book; which would allow you to give it as a present to people on your list that you won't neccessarily be seeing for Christmas.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
Lackey, who wrote the Heralds of Valdemar series, is about as perfect as you can get for a teenage girl--for one thing, three of the first books, Arrows of the Queen, Arrow's Flight, and Arrow's Fall have a teenage girl as the main character. All of them are fun to read, and most of them are at least pretty good books. Light fantasy.
Bujold is the author of the Miles Vorkosigan series, which has something of everything, as well as the Chalion series and a few other books. They're also excellent. The former are usually termed "space opera" (I'd call them "light SF"), and the latter are rather deep fantasy.
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
I thought his name was not to be spoken.
"Made up/misattributed quote that makes me look smart. I am on
"for teen and pre-teen girls?"
pics or stfu
Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
Seriously though, don't miss Le Guin's "Earthsea" books, and the old Andre Norton stuff - the "Witch World" stories are good.
Soylent Green is peoplicious!
I'd have to recommend the Honor Harrington Series. It's easy enough reading to be entertaining, and the story's compelling enough to bring you back for more. There's a good number of books in the series (On Basilisk Station being the first) and the main character through all but the latest is a very strong female lead.
The books tend to be a little formulaic, but still very enjoyable.
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A girl I was infatuated with got me hooked on Piers Anthony, specifically his Adept series. Good blend of sci-fi and "girly stuff" (unicorns, chivalry, etc.).
"You know you're narcissistic when you quote yourself in your sigs." -- PRoPAiN!
Speaking as a former teenage girl...
The Meri by Maya Bohnhoff
Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy (start with The Crystal Cave)
Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar series (start with Magic's Pawn or Arrows of the Queen)
David Eddings's Belgariad and Mallorean (start with Pawn of Prophecy)
Mary Herbert's Dark Horse trilogy (start with Dark Horse)
Trudi Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy (start with Magician's Guild)
Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality Series (start with On a Pale Horse)
Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept Series (start with Split Infinity)
But Marianne Curley writes some great fantasy books, all in the YA category
i logy
[plug]
I started a wikipedia project on a series she wrote,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians_of_Time_Tr
Interestingly, the stub fell into the "science fiction book stub" section (admittedly, there is no fantasy section for book stubs)
By reading this, you have given me brief control of your mind.
Oh, yeah, one I forgot: Garth Nix's Sabriel series. It's really, really good. Main characters are 2 teenage girls (well, one grows up, then the other one's the main character). High and deep fantasy.
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
>> Science Fiction Stories for Teenage Girls?
If it's your first time, you can't get pregnant.
Seeing how you mentioned Stardust, Good Omens and a bunch of other fantasy stuff I take it you don't mean science fiction but rather books that geeks/nerds like. I'm not saying that individually these books aren't interesting but as a whole it leaves a very stunted impression of what fiction is about.
So give them some Harry Potter. They can read some pretty good fantasy and there won't be any social stigma attached to it.
The problem with books in general for young people is that you have to know what things their parents will be comfortable with. Will they like the mocking of angels and devils in Good Omens? Would they be comfortable with the rape scenes in the Fionavar Tapestry (a great fantasy series)? The rather archaic gender roles in Heinlen and Asimov, and really most of the other classics?
If you leave the ghetto of Sci-fi\fantasy you end up generally with books that have possibly objectionable content or are so devoid of anything that reading them becomes work.
So give 'em some Harry, or Dave Eddings or whoever else (Billy Collins writes some pretty accessible poetry), just check it with the parents so that they don't come back to you later with some complaints.
I'd suggest a book gift card, but I really hate gift cards.
Since your UID is smaller than mine, I can only conclude that you're trolling. -s20451 (410424)
Perhaps not all of the Dragonrider books are going to be good, but certainly the Harper Hall trilogy, about Menolly, would be better, I think. Lessa is, well, annoying, really, though admirable. Nerilka's Story and Moreta's Ride are good stories, too. And lots of other McCaffrey stories are good. The Pegasus books, the Rowan books are all good stuff. I'd avoid the most recent Pern books, but that's just me. Up to around Dolphins of Pern is a good collection, though.
:)
The Telzey books by Schmitz (Schmidt?) would likely be good. The classic Witches of Karres has been reprinted, I think, and I believe there's also a sequel (written by another author, of course), though I could be wrong about that.
I see someone else has already suggested Mercedes Lackey's Arrows of the Queen books. Those are great, and much easier for a younger person to get through than the other Valdemar novels.
You might also look at some stuff by Patricia Wrede, the Enchanted Forest books are great fun, and not just for younger folks, either. Talking to Dragons is my favourite of the series.
Books by Tamora Pierce would be really good stuff. Multiple series by her - lots of good stuff.
If you want more of the science fiction, then space opera is always easier for younger kids to get into.
Scott Westerfeld is a newish author who has written some stuff that may work well. I especially liked Peeps.
If you're into Heinlein, then I can always suggest the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. That'll always get them thinking, though ya gotta be careful - many people mistake this story as an endorsement of Libertarianism. Still - ya gotta love Professor de la Paz's philosophy, Rational Anarchy. And Manny is a funny guy. Certainly reading the novel Starship Troopers will give a whole new perspective on things that the movie 'based on' the bok didn't.
The Honor Harrington novels by David Weber could certainly be appreciated by younger folks, as long as they're prepared to wade through all the 'technical' details. It's the same way you have to read Tom Clancy. Just let your eyes glaze over until you get to the story, which is always good stuff. I wish these two had editors with balls of steel and an eagerness to snip, but oh well - it's generally not wise to mess with success, and they are both very successful, indeed.
There's always the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony (Xanthony), though that series has gone on _waaaay_ too long.
There's the Myth Adventures books by Robert Aspirin, at least the first several; another series that's long since outlived its entertainment value.
The Belgariad/Mallorean books by David Eddings is good high fantasy, and has fantastic characters.
Okay, this is harder to do off the top of my head than I would've thought.
The various "Ship Who Sang" series - written by Anne McCaffrey and others.
Elizabeth Moon has some good military-oriented space opera. Much like Weber, but without the extraneous technical details.
Space Angel by John Maddox Roberts
Healer by F. Paul Wilson
Eridahn by Robert F. Young
Hmm.
I'm sure I'll think of several dozen other things on the way home from work. Maybe I'll post more later. Always a favourite topic.
forgot to add, most fans seem to be female, and in the teenage range. A fansite (which I will NOT link, but can be found on google easily) had a poll and it is at 9-2 girls favor right now (small community)
AC = no karma whoring
Okay, it's fantasy, not science fiction, but Diane Duane's "Young Wizards" series is excellent. It starts with "So you want to be a wizard".
Under all circumstances, more Heinlein: You can add the other "juveniles" first, the gradually increase the amount of "adult situations" over the years. Heinlein gives a few excellent examples of societies built upon different social systems and moral ideas (My own views were heavily influenced by his depictions of relationships in "Time enough for love", which I read first at the age of 13, I think. Don't if you don't want them to end up like Lapis & Lazuli, personality-wise, though :-P )
If you want you can try leaving a few copies of John Norman's Gor around when they're teenaged, they helped me discover and understand my BDSM side (Bugger if they don't have any or aren't bright enough to differentiate fantasy from reality!). This advice is not for the faint of heart, though (Still, I'm thankful for my father having these on his library board, where I was free to read since aged about 12).
Later again I can recommend the RGB-Mars series by Kim Stanley Robinson, which offers a few great examples of scientific thinking along with idealism vs. realism, but the reading is quite dry, so wait till they're 16 or so.
From the top of my head I can also think of these (Don't consider them "recommended", though. They were simply the ones I read...), that I liked quite well then (but then, I am male, though I doubt reading preferences are much more than behavior adopted from the surrounding society): The "Riverworld" series by Philip Jose Farmer, "The ragged astronauts" series ("Wooden spaceships" & "The Fugitive Worlds" are the other two, I believe) by Bob Shaw, the "Omega 2" books by Bo Anders (were particularly intersting when I was younger still (8,9?), so you might want to check them out. The author is german, so they might be difficult to find), "Hellstroms Hive" by Frank Herbert (A lot easier to comprehend than "Dune", but grizzly nonetheless) and finally "House of stairs" by William Sleator (Rather easy to read as well, certainly a "juvenile")
When I was a preteen girl I loved books by William Sleator. It was only years later that I realized how technologically/scientifically advanced they were-- at the time I just loved the stories. My favorites were The Boy Who Reversed Himself (which to this day shapes how I think about 4+ dimensional geometry) and House of Stairs (which I forgot about completely until I was in Psych 101 and then had to track it down and reread it), though they were all good; great plots and characters and cool SciFi. I can't vouch for anything written after about 1990.
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Xenogenesis by Octavia E. Butler is a compilation of 3 of her books Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago. They are in my opinion some of the best science fiction I have ever read.
Wrinkle in Time... Wind in the Door... Many waters...
Quite good books that appeal heavily to both genders. Edges a bit more into the fantasy than Sci-Fi... but great stories all the same.
Telcos have alot of dark fibre in the States. Most people assume that's optical fibre...but it's actually moral fibre.
Have they asked for science fiction? (Disregard if so). Or shown any interest in reading it, in the least? It seems clear you are into it, and that's pretty awesome. But maybe you should aim to buy something that your nieces and nephews really enjoy. Something you know they will enjoy, based on their tastes, not yours. Not something that will collect dust on their shelves. You don't want to be the weird uncle (I'm assuming you're male due to the nature of your question) who always gives dopy books none of them like.
Probabilistically, what are the odds that they are all interested in sci-fi/fantasy? Nothing is "essential" as you put it, it's all a matter of taste. I read some growing up, but disliked a lot of it. So even if they are studious or like to read (an assumption right there, maybe a CD is what they would really appreciate) the topics could be as far ranging as biography, architecture, 18th century literature.
Giving the same genre across the board doesn't speak to any of them personally, and showcases what you think they should be interested in, not what they actually seek out themselves.
And, I believe, the season of giving is about selflessness and doing for others. Perhaps, rethink your strategy?
And if not, all these other suggestions here are good too.
Why would this automatically be different to SciFi stories for Teenage Boys?
My twelve-year-old is a huge HP fan (all of my kids are) but she also enjoyed the Narnia series, Ender's Game, and Wrinkle in Time. She read the Hobbit, but said it was hard to finish (it does kinda drag in the middle). Another consideration in this age bracket is Accelerated Reader. If the lids you're buying for have Accelerated Reader at school, then you get bonus points for any book that's on the AR list.
I am not your blowing wind, I am the lightning.
The Deed of Paksenarrion - by Elizabeth Moon
It is in the Tolkein genre, but more personal, less "grand armies crashing". It's more accessible than Tolkein, but still grand. The hero is an -ine, which makes it a little more appropriate for the nieces. Everyone I have introduced to the book has loved it, including my in-the-Marines brother. And all of my sisters.
If they are in the Christian-way, I can also recommend the Stephan R Lawhead books: The Dragon King trilogy and the Empyrion saga.
My other favorites are more mainstream, and have probably already been mentioned.
One more book to consider is The Count of Monte Cristo. Long, but oh so good. I first read it when I was in sixth grade with a five-day flu, and it has been on my top 5 list ever since.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts.
AFAIK most of the Big-Extended-Foundation-Saga heroes are girls. Including the girl-robot-Hari-Seldon-wife (R. Dors Venabili)
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, IMO, is a good book to give to young girls as covers a lot of things which may be useful later in their lives. It's not easy to find, but definitely worth it.
I would highly reccommend anything in the "His Dark Materials" series by Philip Pullman. It's age-appropriate, both genders appreciate it, and the story is absolutely beautiful and really unlike anything else in the genre.
That said, I think you're going in the right direction with Pratchett and Gaiman.
Tolkien's always worthwhile as well, but i'm sure you already know that. If you have any relations you particularly dislike or want to intimidate, you can always give them the Silmirillion.
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
I don't mean to troll the "Ask Slashdot" deal here, but this bugs me. It's the holiday season, where you're buying gifts for loved ones - it seems to me that you're gifting them with stuff that YOU want, not giving them stuff that THEY want. I know that getting them a Barnes & Noble gift card (or $localbookstore gift card, whatever) is a bit impersonal, but they're teenagers - let them choose stuff that they'll like. And if you want to recommend sci-fi books to them, then by all means, do so, but don't try and make them like what you like. Everyone ends up happier this way, and that's the point of the holidays anyway - sharing joy.
"What do you think?" "I think 'What, do you think?!'"
Just because I'm a teenage _girl_ I'm supposed to have some strange taste in books? Why not mention their personalities, what kind of characters appeal to them, how hard (or soft) they like their science fiction?
I'm partial to Knight and Polk but I've only encountered them in short stories so far...
The sci-fi/fantasy genre is pretty large, so you should get your hints from the reader, not from the peanut gallery. Blasters vs. unicorns, dragons vs. starships. Space Opera, satire, philosophy: the scope is just too large.
When I was in college I tried to get various people hooked on the genre and I had the most luck with the Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh trillogy by Daley. The first one (Requiem for a Ruler of Worlds) did the trick. And for some reason, Moorcock's Elric never had much success. Go figure.
Although you do mention Pratchett in your queston, I have to bring up _Wee Free Men_. It was a fun read, the protagonist was a girl "coming of age", and was targetted to the pre-adult reader. And to agree with many of the earlier posts, LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy was another excellent choice.
- doug
PS, I'm sorry....
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Expendable (first one I read I suggest this one first) is very interesting, most of his books are except i didn't really like Trapped (he tried to blend sci-fi and Fantasy, didn't work).
After expendable there is Hunted, Radiant, Vigilant, and Trapped. The books don't really have an order but they use they same settings (and one character).
I don't preview or spellcheck.
Taflak Lysandra and Brightsuit McBear are a couple of his works that are written expressly for the young reader. You will likely have to get them from AbeBooks. I can also recommend his Lando Calrisian trilogy, it's quite readable and in a known "universe".
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http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults
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Bob-
The Ludwig von Mises Institute. The reasoning individuals economics
_Treason_ is my first choice when recommending scifi to somone who hasn't yet explored the medium. It would be a good book for teenage girls. Unfortunately it is out of print and is difficult to find in used bookstores.
Religion is poison to rationality, and we lose sight of that at our own peril. -- Lurker2288
The Mammoth Hunters, and etc, the series. Girls should like it a lot, woman author, female protagonist, adventure and romance.
Man that's a good one. I had to special order it from a used bookstore last time I wanted to read it.
Do you mean the original version (1979, A Planet Called Treason) or his rewritten version? (1988)
An information overview page
Review of the first DVD
A general review.
- -- Truth addict for life.
Science Fiction and fantasy aren't the only sort of mind-expanding literature. Mysteries are good for the mind, also. Therefore the classic Nancy Drew books are equally worthy.
These might technically be considered "fantasy" rather than sci-fi but whatever.
I am surprised nobody has mentioned Roger Zelazny's "Amber" series of books. I would highly recommend those to anyone's niece.
I would also like to re-raise the suggestion of Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy (starting with "The Crystal Caves"). One of the best fantasy series ever.
My regards for a very thoughtful gift-giving tradition.
-zack
Good god, Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age is perfect for teenage, but possibly not pre-teen, girls. Most of the rest of the stuff that's been mentioned, I'm sorry to say, is really more in the juvenile category and would be an insult to any decently intelligent, moderately read young lady
"Secrecy is the Beginning of Tyranny" "No intelligent man has any respect for an unjust law" -Robert Heinlein
There have been many good suggestions. However a warning is important: go for the early stuff the authors wrote, not what they write after they quit their day job. A few (Andre Norton comes to mind) managed to continuously write quality books. However many authors do not. (Mercedes Lackey) Those latter authors often get worse and worse over time.
I wish publishers had the nerve to stand up to established authors and tell them that this garbage would never have been printed if they were new, so why inflict it on fans now? Then demand they spend another year or so turning it into a great book. (Sadly there is no money in that)
I keep going back to names I love, only to be disappointed. I try new names once in a while, but that is no better (the quality might be better, but it isn't the type of book I want).
I know I'll be modded a troll or off-topic, but I'm being sincere. Why focus on science fiction? These are those girl's formative years. Why not give them a novel that will help them form a realistic conception of themselves and their relationship to the rest of the world? "Nausea" by Sarte and most of Camus' corpus is all terrific. "The Trial" by Kafka is another great book, and ends with a surreal chapter that leaves you breathless.
After all, I am strangely colored.
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman:
L. Ron Hubbard:
Depending on their reading habits that should last them at least a 20 days, and hopefully more like a few monts. I read the Mission: Earth Series in a week when I read it because it was that good IMO.
If they have not read them yet, there is of course Douglas Adams' Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy. It is too bad The Movie sucked the sweat off a dead man's balls, because the books were GREAT
You might also consider som Isaac Asimov such as I, Robot and/or Foundation
Just my $.02...Hope it helps, because I am now being forced by slashdot to add more characters to this post because apparently creating a good list with appropriate links is a bad idea here.
Just ignore the rest below here:
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+(norad) if you rearrange the letters in mother in law, you get woman hitler
I was never a teenage girl (and I don't play one on TV), but you might consider something by Marion Zimmer Bradley. In particular, I was thinking of The Firebrand. It's a heavily fictionalized (can a myth be fictionalized?) retelling the story of Troy, from the perspective of a young Kassandra. Might be too long for a preteen, but an older child would probably enjoy it. The novel has some great strong female characters.
Stasis is death. Embrace change.
Anything by Kim Wilkins, Freda Warrington, Storm Constantine or even Starhawk should be fairly interesting to anyone who's interested in depth to their characters. The genre is (mostly) "Dark Fantasy".
Yes, I've got a girlfriend, who, growing up, loved Orson Scott Card way more than I do, and Madaline L'Engel (or however you spell her name), and the old Heinlein with their female protagonists. She loves Phillip Pullman, and Ursula K. LeGuin, and Margret Atwood, too.
I guess the more important question is, what do your nieces love? Why not mix it up with a little Jane Austin, or some Isak Dinesen? Or get 'em some poetry- Emily Dickinson or Edna St. Vincent Millay? (Or get some cool non-fiction...)
I'm cheating by just listing female authors- of course, they may just as well love books by men.
There's plenty of really wonderful stuff out there, and as the kindly nerd uncle, you have the opportunity to expand their horizons in all kinds of directions.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned "Rite of Passage" by Alexei Panshin. It's a great story for any preteen, but especially girls. Heck, it's a good read for adults, too.
There is also a prequel called "When the Tripods Came" (I think).
Other essential John Christopher:
* Empty World
* Guardians
Anyone who enjoys those should also like:
* The Chrysalids (John Wyndham)
* Futuretrack 5 (Robert Westall)
It's all the Foundation series (unless it doesn't fit).
Since Susan Calvin until the Second Foundation.
Susan Calvin -- amongst other stuff, creates mentalic-powers robot for the first time (Liar!) and destroys it.
Jessie Baley was a fundamentalist.
The Solarian woman (Gladia Delmarre) that was a murder suspect. Her Nemesis, Vasilia Aliena, super-roboticist, created R. Giskard Reventlov.
Valona (the girl that saves the Earthman's ass) in the Currents of Space.
You mentioned Arkady Darrell and R. Dors Venabili, but you forgot Raych's wife (Manella -- saved Hari Seldon's ass, too), Raych's daughter (Wanda, important psychohistorian and had telepathic powers like Arcadia)
All those woman had important, in-the-20th-century-male-only jobs (except for Gladia, who was a plastic artist, and Valona, who was an agro-worker). And if they (except for R. Dors) were not "fierce", it was because the Old Doctor was always a romantic.
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
My vote is for the "The People" series of short stories by Zenna Henderson. It's usually regarded as fantasy, but I've always considered it firmly in the sci-fi camp.
The backdrop of the stories is a spaceship of human-looking aliens ("The People") that crash-lands in the American Southwest, scattering individuals and groups over a large area. The aliens have certain abilities not usually seen in the Southwest (telekinesis, etc.), but have to try to blend in with the local population nevertheless. Not only are the stories largely concerned with interpersonal relationships (the loneliness of feeling different from everyone else and the desire to fit in with the group is a strong theme, something I expect will resonate with early teenage girls), the protagonists are often teenage girls as well.
The stories were collected in a 1995 book, "Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson" (also available at Amazon et al.), and it's a great read. I've always felt that the best introduction to the series is the short story "Ararat," but YMMV.
...looks very promising. ;)
This is more fantasy, not Sci Fi, but the Redwall Series were fascinating when I was younger. Written very well, in depth, detailed and very interesting to all sorts of teens. Start with Redwall, and if they like it, the series has like 10 books now I think.
-"Those who fought today will die tommorow."-
Well, there's a lot to choose from, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea is a good place to start. But I'd like to mention:
"Burning Chrome" and "Virtual Light" by William Gibson. Or maybe "Islands in the Net" by Bruce Sterling. Be aware that you might have to buy a carbon-frame bicycle next.
A lot of people have mentioned "Diamond Age" by Stephenson -- but if the kids like computers "Snow Crash" might be a good suggestion. My 9 year old niece enjoed being read Pullmans "His Dark Materials Thrilogy".
But don't forget other classic books that inspiere the imagination, like "Treasure Island" by Stevenson.
That's Chevette not Yvette. Doh.
I could never understand the mentality that some books are made for girls and others for boys, especially once they hit the teen years. I can see as children pink based books for girls and blue for boys, ones about dolls, the other about cars, but later in life, books need to stop having a gender associated with it. I guess teenage girls are more interested in stories about relationships, or positive female roll models, but if you know a girl that loves science-fiction, getting one aimed at girls is probably an insult. I am sure there are those authors that cater to the idea that girls want stories about relationships, so fit that in some guise as a SF novel, but in general, I think any SF should appeal to someone interested in the genre. I guess it is difficult to find books not written in the male dominated genres like SF, which may focus more on male characters rather then being a little less sexist. But then, isn't it sexist to believe that girls need to be pandered too by only letting them read books by female authors or about female heroines. I think you have given them a good start of some of the many essential classics that any SF fan should read, a few more then I have read for that matter, but to cater to some tired myth that girls are only interested in girly stuff might insult your neices. If they don't like the books you have been giving them, then the may not be interested in SF as much as you think. Having said that, one suggestion not mentioned in your list is the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, and while he has essentially written a soap opera with now 11 books in the series, the first 6 are very well written and offer a good balance of male and female characters that should appeal to girls. This is more Fantasy then SF, but you did mentioned books by Tolkein and Ann McAffrey and such which are being lumped into the SF genre wrongfully. Terry Goodkind and his Sword of Truth series is also good, as is Melanie Rawn and Sunrunner's series.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
If you are looking for female protagonists, why hasn't anyone mentioned "Friday"?
Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.
- W. Wriston, former Citibank CEO
As a former teenaged girl, I really enjoyed the Dragonlance series as well as Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time series.
Esther Friesner edited two short story collections that I think a young woman would enjoy: Chicks in Chainmail and Did You Say Chicks?
I also recommend anything by Terry Pratchett. I recently read The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper, a YA book, and I wish I had it when I was younger.
I would find out first what the person likes and focus not on the gender but the *person*. Do they like comedy? Drama? Insightful philosophical debates? Technology? What-ifs regarding the future? If you're not certain, get a little of everything. I'd also find out what reading level they're at so that you're neither boring them nor getting them a book that they don't understand. Buy a few classics and mix them with contemporary books. That way they get to sample a little of everything and decide on their own what they like and don't like.
Do not disturb. Already disturbed. http://www.teaaddictedgeek.com
Did a quick find and didn't see her name, but she's a fantastic author. She's written more sci-fi that I enjoy than all the other female scifi authors I've found so far put together. I suggest starting with the Chanur cycle, which is four books long (the first three are available in one volume.) Also quite excellent is the Morgaine cycle, which is also sci-fi, and also four books IIRC. She's one of my favorite authors and has been since I was in Junior High or so.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
There have been a LOT of good suggestions in this thread. I don't think I've seen anyone mention C.J. Cherryh, but she was one of my top-notch favorite authors from 5th grade through mid-highschool. She focuses a lot on alien cultures in her different series, and as far as I can recall, they are very 'clean'.
:) Authors like Andre Norton and most particularly Piers Anthony tend to be a little racier although not completely smutty (well, except for SOME anthony books. The Xanth books chalk everything up to the 'Adult Conspiracy' which is never explicitly discussed, but there is a LOT of blatent sexual flirting. Some of his other books have explicit scenes).
Some of the suggested authors have varying levels of 'clean'ness. McAffrey was typically quite clean in her earlier Pern novels, with the exception of a reference to the unf-unfing in the very first book. I read that when I was around 10, and I didn't pick up on it, so it wasn't explicit
I'd vote for the Ender's Game books, even if the lead character is male. I thought they were absolutely fantastic, and dealt with some serious social issues in an easily read format (doesn't all good science fiction?). If the girls are interested in scifi/fant, I'd say get them anything classic and/or dealing with younger characters, and try not to worry too much about whether the main character(s) are female. That's just silly. I would be careful with the level of adult content (maybe read the books yourself first? That's what my parents did for me until I was around 15), especially since they aren't YOUR kids. There's a decent amount of evidence out on the net that explicit stories have more of an effect on young preteen/teen girls than they do on boys (I don't think so, but hey, there you go).
If they are very good readers and have patience, get them some Neal Stephenson (especially Cryptonomicon). I've decided he has a mental block against writing any sort of sex scenes (he only writes the foreplay, and then the characters always fall asleep or something).
You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
(The Beatles)
As the father of two daughters, the younger still technically a teenager at 19, I have a couple of recommendations. First, Frank Baum's Oz books. There are many more than the well-known Wizard of Oz. You can probably find a good boxed set of paperbacks for a reasonable price. My daughters loved them. Second, Watership Down. Third,The Wind In the Willows. These last two are not really SF but fantasy/talking animal books.
A great thing you can do that will be remembered by them later is to read to them, particularly the pre-teens. I read all of the above, plus Tolkien, Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Nancy Drew books to my girls. If you are only around them a bit for the holidays, read something short, like The Polar Express or one of Jimmy Buffet's juveniles.
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
Hardcore SF has of course nothing to do with pr0n.
Some authors sometimes write SF that is on the far-end to space opera.
They try to write mostly in line with scientific values and heroes with realistic features.
My list in alphabetic order:
Asimov, Isaac: I, Robot (Fundation series a space opera)
Brin, David: Glory Season, Startide Rising (even some of his other novels)
Brown, Fredric: What Mad Universe
Brunner, John: Shacokwave Rider, CAtch a Falling Star (more)
Card, O.C.: Ender's Game (some others too)
Cherryh, C.J.: Downbelow Station, Rider at the Gate (more - less HCFS, more fantasy, but very good, exevt a few fantasy with ludditistic features)
Clarke, A.C.: RAMS-series (and many others)
Clemens, Hal: The Essential 3 volumes (quality HCFS!)
Franke, Herbert W.: Orchid Cage
Godwin, Parke: Waiting for the Galactic Bus
Heinlein: Star Beast (his best novel, the rest is too much space opera imho)
LeGuin, Ursula K.: Earthsea Quartett, Roccanon's Planet (and many others, some SF, some fantasy but the personalities are real)
Lee, Tanith: Unicorn series (and many other both SF and fantasy)
Lem, Stanislaw: Pirx-series, Fiasco, Cyberiada (and more - my favourite)
McIntyre, Vonda, N.: Dreamsnake
Pratchett, Terry: Bromeliad-, Johnny-, and Discworld-series
Russel, Eric Frank: Next of Kin, Wasp (He is fun!)
Sheckley, Robert: Dimension of Miracles
Simak, Clifford D: Special Delivery, City, Cemetery World
Stableford, Brian: Hooded Swan-, Daedalus-, Genesys-series, Journey to the Center (Less known author but one of the best!)
Vance. Jack: Tschai-, Dying Earth-series (almost space opera, but still very good)
Varley, John: Titan-series (a bit more for teens than pre-teens)
White, James: Sector General-series (another fine HCFS writer!)
White, T.H.: Sword in the Stone, Book of Merlyn, Once and Future King (historic fantasy full of fun)
Personally I sort Anne McCaffrey and Marion Z. Bradley space opera authors for girls - and I don't like Barbie-stories at all. No real personalities, easy to see the end etc. They are popular now, but imho without any real content, just boooring.
I was have to exclude e.g. Michael Moorcock's "Dancers at the End of Time" trilogy and Fred Saberhagen's Berserk series, Jack Vance "Demon Princes" and Stanislav Lem's "Return from the Stars" Vonda N. McInyte's "Starfarers"-series because this listing is a recommendation for (pre-)teens boys and girls. - Imho girls should be treated just as well as boys to became equals to boys.
Have fun!
Or wait a sec.. females+/. ....
{head explodes}
This sentence contradicts itself - no actually it doesn't.
Probably because she joins a group marriage including her rapist? That is the most strong Heinlein I've ever read (and one of the weakest story-wise), so I'm not going to suggest it alongside the juveniles, wait till readership is ready for it (I'd say 15 at earliest, but YMMV)
It's not science fiction, but since you mention CS Lewis, I thought I'd recommend Till we have Faces. It's not as well known as some of his other books (the space trilogy, Chronicles of Narnia, etc...) but is very good. It is a retelling of the story of Psyche and Cupid from greek mythology, from the point of view of Psyche's sister.
I still believe that the really good SF was to be found in the short stories. Lots of really good writers (Theodore Sturgeon, for example) wrote hundreds of great short stories, but only a few, often flawed, novels.
I don't know what SF short stories look like today, though.
it's hard for me to say what might be appealing to a girl specifically. But relative to age range, I would suggest some stuff like:
1. the Madeline L'Engle "Wrinkle in Time" books
2. The Chronicles of Narnia
3. Some of the more sci-fi'ish "Choose Your Own Adventure" books
4. Any of the Tom Swift / Tom Swift Jr. adventures
5. The Mad Scientists Club
6. Any of the Doctor Who novelisations.
7. and while not exactly sci-fi, how about some of the "The Three Investigators" stories?
// TODO: Insert Cool Sig
On the same topic, I've seen no mention of "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" either. I think that a 15yo should be able to handle either. They'd at least spark some thought and discussion.
Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.
- W. Wriston, former Citibank CEO
Fourth is pretty bad, and is where I stopped (according to Amazon, there are at least seven in the series). At one point in #4, IIRC, the main woman was mid-morph between human and horse (or something), and, well, let's just say that she had to plead with the main character to "service" her, lest she have to avail herself of a nearby stallion.
One quick (and somewhat enviable) spell later, our hero was able to accomodate her. I don't recall it being very explicit, but it's still probably not something I would advocate for a pre-teen.
ceci n'est pas un sig.
I meant the rewritten version which was just called _Treason_.
Religion is poison to rationality, and we lose sight of that at our own peril. -- Lurker2288
Written by Paul Preuss, it ties together multiple Arthur C. Clarke short stories. The story centers on Sparta, a young woman who lost her memory. It doesn't get as into relationships and such as some of Heinlein's books, but it does explore what it means to be human.
No where near the content of Gor (mentioned by someone else) or even Heinlein's Time Enough For Love, it's not a prude-safe book either. Some drug use, alternative religions. And you could probably expect the nephews to steal the books for the cover art. Havn't gotten to book 6 yet, no one here has it and Amazon-patent-fiend can rot without my money.
Other sci-fi, McKiernan's Caverns of Socratese. I think that's the title, I don't own a copy right now. Takes Plato's arguement and applies it to the real world. The kids will either find it amusing, or be afraid to play video games ever again. It does have big words and a dose of philosophy, so again, not for the really young crowd.
Joan D. Vinge's Psion and the rest of the series. Dark, lots of drugs and sex. Good primer for reading William Gibson later in that regard. Most libraries stack it in the kids section, so it can't be all bad, right?
Fantasy, I'd say McKiernan's Mithgar series. I recomend Dragon Doom, because it's a sad love story in a very detailed world. All the mini series are self contained, you can read The Silver Call duology without knowing what happened earlier in this world's time. However, all the books do intertwine, with the events of one influencing the rest.
Also, Tad William's "Tailchaser's Song" think Watership Down with cats. Cute, and simple story. I read it to my younger sister when we were little. Might be scary at times for the youngest of readers, but still a good book for any age.
Seriously, just give them good sci-fi novels, and let them read.
:-)
Some of my favourite female authors & their works:
Marion Zimmer Bradley's _The Mists of Avalon_, or just about anything else she's written.
Jennifer Roberson's _Lady of The Forest: A tale of Sherwood_ (the Robin Hood legends recast as a historical drama, written from Maid Marion's point of view), and her _Sword Dancer_ series ( two sword masters, one male and one female, adventure together for four good books until the series goes bad (in book five) )
Andre Norton, if she's still young enough to enjoy it
The Pern novels, by Anne McAffery
Ursula K. Le Guin: Just about anything this woman writes is deep, often deeper than it seems at first blush. Read her.
_The Hero and the Crown_ by (I think) Robin McKinley was a good childrens' book when I was in grade 8
Madeline L'engle's _A Wrinkle in Time_ is sci-fi for the very young (the age where the notion of 4 dimensions is still a new concept)
The Sword and Sorceress anthologies were well worth a read.
As for general sci-fi/fantasy, go for the obvious classics, regardless of who wrote them.
Tolkien's _Lord of the Rings_, Heinlein's _Stranger in a Strange Land_, Robert E. Howard's _Conan_, Kipling's _The Jungle Book_, H.G. Well's _The Time Machine_, H.P. Lovecraft's C'thulu mythos, _Tarzan_, _Robin Hood_, _King Arthur_, _Ivanhoe_ , LLoyd Alexander's _The Black Caudron_ series (based on Welsh mythology), Greek Mythology, Norse Mythology, Sumerian Mythology, and Native Indian mythology (including childrens' books such as "The Red Feathers").
Pick up something that's worth reading for an adult: a child of reasonable intelligence will probably like it. A child of lesser intelligence probably needs to read more; get them to read it anyway.
Don't worry too much about the gender stereotypes; books are only "for" a given audience because we presume that they are. I read "girl's books", "boys books", "adult books" and "children's books" as a child; it made my reading more interesting and more diversified. Don't limit your children; let them read, and learn for themselves.
is a Cylon! She's currently locked up in the improvised brig, so that might be why you can't find her.
Lasers Controlled Games!
I'd consider practically anything by Spider Robinson to be a reasonable choice. The Callahan's books are a great place to start, but his other stuff is also very good. The fundamental theme behind many of his stories is that shared pain is lessened and shared joy is increased. The Callahan Chronicals collects the first three Callahan's books in one paperback edition.
His books are scaled and plotted for kids, but without talking down to them. Highly recommended. He's written some adult stuff too, which is also very good, but he's worth checking out for his teen books.
The Iron Dragon's Daughter [http://www.michaelswanwick.com/revan/daughter.htm l, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380730464/002-93 45583-9077633?v=glance&n=283155%5D will probably be much more suitable to adults, but reading it as a boy was like peering into a secret world adults would never like me to see until I was their age.
Orson Scott Card is one I would have liked to read when I was that age but I didn't get into anything "hard science fiction" when I was that young. I spent more time on military and military sci-fi (and I wouldn't recommend David Drake for that age group). I didn't dive further into sci-fi until college because I spent so much time on actual science probably. And Asimov bored me to tears when I was younger.
What would Richard Feynman do, if he were here right now? He'd do some math and he'd follow through!
Here are some outstanding examples which appear to have been passed over (heck, my only comment on SD and I found the story two days late!)
James H Schmitz: arguably one of the finest science fiction writers, most of his stories involve female protagonists, dealing with crises intelligently and efficiently. All of his work was recently reprinted by Baen books. There's a website about him too: http://24.98.108.193:8080/Schmitz/
David R Palmer: 'Emergence'. Another strong female protagonist: an emergent super-human girl survives a bio-nuclear holocaust and sets out to search for others like herself. The writing style echoes her intelligence - takes a bit of effort to get into, but it's priceless! Unfortunately, I don't think this or his (one!) other novel are in print any longer, but they're WELL worth searching out.
John Wyndham's females always were ahead of their time, and his books are some of the best science fiction to be found anywhere. The Chrysalids, Trouble With Lichen, The Kraken Wakes, The Secret People...
Zenna Henderson: 'The People' stories. Maybe a bit sentimental for some, but they have an atmosphere all their own...
Good, solid stories with a strong female presence are pretty difficult to find in science fiction. Notice the gender imbalance in hard sciences and mathematics? Well, try introducing girls to some decent, readable, INTELLIGENT science fiction and this situation might start to change. This from someone who spent the last ten years teaching and working with teenage girls...
See the amazon page for more info. Great as a Christmas gift. Also Hannukah, New Years, and even National Pie Day (December 2nd in the US).
I18N == Intergalacticization
Diana Wynne Jones Deep Secret]
Anything by C J Cherryh.
Gene Wolfe's writing, his stories and prose, is of such quality that I think it transcends any gender gap. His work is part of the syllabus of many college english and humanities classes, including a humanities class at the University of Chicago (just google "Gene Wolfe syllabus"). Michael Swanwick (SF author) is quoted on the wikipedia article about Gene Wolfe saying "Gene Wolfe is the greatest writer in the English language alive today. Let me repeat that: Gene Wolfe is the greatest writer in the English language alive today!" Perhaps your relatives would enjoy one of his novels.
Note sometimes the fantasy and science fiction overlap
For fantasy
Marion Zimmer Bradley, sword and sorceress series, and her darkover series.
MZB taught Mercedes Lackey (who I recommend too - though she can get a bit too much into child abuse issues for my taste)
Anne McAffrey - does they like dragons, and mental telepathy?
For Science fiction
I second:
Lois McMaster Bujold - especially Cordelia's Honour and the Warrior's Apprentice series - a lot of these have been "omnibussed" ie two novels in one, so check what you are buying so you don't overlap.
Elizabeth Moon - lots of stuff except the Blood Trillium stuff sucked big time. I like her Heris Serrano series (start with "Hunting Party") - though the last books get a bit gruesome. And I like "the speed of dark".
and add
John Wyndham - his stuff is part of the cultural understanding of the world
Neil Stephenson - Snow Crash, Diamond Age (how much does your tribe like Maths and Computers?)
David Brin - Sundiver series (six books in total) or his other books stand alone. David Brin is one of the only authors in the genre that write single book stories. For girls I highly recommend "Glory Season", but my favourite is "Earth".
Julian May - how can she be left off. Her many coloured land is a hybrid sci-fi fantasy and I loved them.
RA MacAvoy for a bit of the celtic fantasy/sci fi
Isobelle Carmody, Philip Pullman, Sara Douglass - all a bit derivative (like you've read something just like it before) but readable anyway. Important - do not read Philip Pullman after Isobelle Carmody and do not read her stuff (or his stuff) after 16 or so Mercedes Lackey books. You will be really disappointed.
Harry Harrison
Stainless Steel rat series - great fun
And his West of Eden series - more serious but also fun, Jurassic Park should have pinched this to improve their plot.
And in order to be able to understand older geeks
Douglas Adams - Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy series.
also check out http://www.baen.com/ which has a free library, often contains the first hard to get novels of long running series by popular authors. http://www.baen.com/library/
And they have a "young adults" list too. The list is a little incomplete but it gives you author names you can feed to Amazon.
-- it must be true, it's on the internet.