This adult science fiction novella tells the story of a crew of robots who awaken from being turned off to find that the restaurant they had been working in has been abandoned. The world around them has changed too with more destruction and fewer other stores in the area. As the four robots begin to think about what they want for themselves and their own future, they decide to open a biang biang noodle shop. Along the way, they face more than their share of anti-robot hatred but they also learn that they have created a larger community willing to stand with them.
With its focus on robots and found family, this novella will resonate with an older YA or new adult audience. The length is enticing and the cover is a colorful riot of noodles, San Francisco and robots. The book has lots of heart, almost no violence and is set in a vivid world of conscious legal contracts, sentient robots with limited civil rights, and a colorful cast of human and robot characters.
A cozy SF novella food, family and San Fran. Appropriate for ages 16+.
The winners of the 2024 Nebula Awards have been announced by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. Here are the winners and shortlisted titles for Novel, Novella and the Norton Award for best YA. You can find the entire list at Locus.
Aboard the HMS Fairweather, bodies are disposable but minds last forever until one day that all changed. Dorothy, one of the ship’s detectives, awakens in a body that isn’t hers just as the ship is going through magnetic storms that mess with its systems. Dorothy must figure out why she is in an unfamiliar body but even more importantly why someone else aboard the spaceship has been murdered! What she does know is that part of this predicament is due to her nephew Ruthie who may be smart but is also chaotic. But he also may have just saved her mind from being erased forever.
The answer to what happens when you mix a great mystery with a science fiction setting, this teen-friendly adult novel is great fun. Told in a novelette format, the book is only 100 pages long and whizzes readers along introducing marvelous characters, including the sentient ship itself. With lots of inclusive characters, many of whom are part of the LGBT community, the book makes the most of the unique characteristics of a ship in space and virtually unkillable people. A grand mystery among the stars, here’s hoping that we will visit again soon.
Great fun for older teen readers, this jaunt of a science fiction mystery is highly recommended. Appropriate for ages 14+.
Tao travels alone with her mule and wagon across the land, making sure that she only tells insignificant fortunes so she won’t attract the attention of the mage guild. She is an immigrant to the country having lost her father and come with her estranged mother. Even if she’s lonely, she makes sure she is safe. Soon though, she finds herself helping a reformed thief and a warrior to find a lost little girl. They are also joined by a baker looking for adventure and an aloof magical cat. With these new companions come new friendships but also new dangers.
This cozy fantasy is as warm and lovely as I imagine Tao’s wagon to be. The friendships develop organically on the page and the adventures the group has culminate in a very fulfilling ending that addresses much of Tao’s past. The writing is spry and great fun thanks to Leong infusing the entire read with a lot of humor and joy.
A grand adventure just right for adults and teens alike, particularly those not looking for a romance just good fun. Appropriate for ages 14+.
JieJie lives with her little brother in a barren wasteland that they trek across for water and to reach the phone that lets when call their mother who works in a far off city. One day, the children discover the broken parts of a robot in a trash heap. JieJie uses skills her mother taught her to fix the robot and her little brothers asks the robot to be his mom. The AI boots into mother mode and soon the three of them are living a better life together, but what will happen when their real mother returns?
Done in pencil illustrations that capture the dark desolation, this graphic novel looks towards the light. Color is introduced only sparingly, offsetting the darkness but never taking it fully away. The story is hauntingly told, the answers are never easy and the humanity of robots and humans alike is the center of the tale.
Another simply beautiful read from this author. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
Haley loves Gothic romances and has turned in four English papers on Wuthering Heights. So when she sees someone drowning in the river, she knows just what to do. After rescuing the drowning man, Haley awakens to find herself in Willowweep, a manor filled with characters who are Gothic novel tropes. There is the housekeeper who looms and lurks, the three brooding brothers, and even a ghost who haunts the manor. But there is more happening in Willowweep. The external features of the manor hide the fact that this is a pocket universe, created to keep two larger universes from colliding: a universe full of evil and Earth. Willowweep’s defenses are beginning to crack and crumble, allowing the evil to enter the Gothic world. It is up to Haley to figure out how to use her deep knowledge of Gothic novels to stop the evil invasion.
This uproariously funny graphic novel plays beautifully upon Gothic tropes. Haley serves as the voice of the reader, exclaiming as each new trope becomes apparent. The twist of being in a decaying pocket universe works really well with the Gothic overlay. The clockwork style of the universe’s inner workings are a delight as is the solution worked out in the ending. Add in that all beings must stay in the Gothic style, and the evil monk who arrives is perfection. It’s all a very funny yet great adventure with a well-read smart heroine at its center.
The illustrations are a delight as well, leaning into the Gothic elements like the looming housekeeper, the ghost only Haley can see, and the three brothers. The green glowing eyes of those taken in by the evil add to the marvelous joy of the book.
A delight of a graphic novel that mixes Gothic and science fiction into something new and wonderful. Appropriate for ages 12-16.
The Locus Science Fiction Foundation has announced the top ten finalists in each of their categories for the 2021 awards. The winners will be announced on June 26, 2021. There is a young adult category and here is the Top Ten:
The finalists for the 2021 Hugo Awards have been announced. Amid many categories celebrating the best in science fiction for adults, there is also an award for the best YA book. Here are the finalists in that category:
There are only a few people who survived the devastation of the Fly Flu, a combination of an infectious flu carried by ravenous modified bees who will eat any living thing they can find. Nico has grown up in a house with her parents, surviving from one delivery of food to the next. But her mother recently died after losing her mental capabilities and her father appears to have the beginnings of the same problem. Nico’s father has told her tales of caring for a bell that will open a portal in another town, days away. Now Nico must hope that there is truth to her father’s stories as she leaves the shelter of their home and heads into the wilds with her dog. A young person named Kit also survived the Fly Flu. He lives with his mother and adopted siblings in an old movie theater. They grow their own food and try to reach out via radio to other survivors. Kit’s mother also starts to fail, sweating and confused. Now he and his siblings must leave their shelter as well to find a new way to survive. Deliverer is the person who delivered supplies to Nico’s home. Protected by a special suit, they work to try to have as many as possible survive the flu, no matter how many tries it takes.
Arnold has written a complex and layered science fiction novel. With moments of pure horror, the book dances that fine line between sci fi and horror beautifully with the bloodthirsty swarms of insects and the dangerous humans as well. It also incorporates time travel in a way that is delicately threaded through the book, showing up in glimpses and hints before being fully revealed. The writing is exquisitely done, offering clues and puzzles that click together into a whole by the end of the book.
The characters are well written and a pleasure to spend time with. Unique and interesting, they all are fully drawn, even the secondary ones. Nico is a strong character, driven by growing up without others around, she soon finds herself sharing her journey with others. Kit manages to draw others to him naturally, often serving as the bond that holds different groups together. Arnold writes his characters with empathy, care and yet never loses sight of the dangers he is placing them in.
Terrifying, joyous and full of opportunity, this apocalyptic book is never easy or simple. Appropriate for ages 14-18.
Reviewed from copy provided by Viking Books for Young Readers.
Stella’s hair was not doing what she wanted at all. It was the day of the Big Star Little Gala, so Stella wanted her hair to be special. Her mother suggested that Stella visit her Aunt Ofelia who lived on Mercury for a special style. So Stella hopped onto her hoverboard and headed over. Aunt Ofelia gave her a soft and elegant style, but Stella wasn’t sure it worked for her. Next she visited Aunt Alma on Venus, who created a straight lion’s mane style that took up too much space. Then she tried Aunt Rubi on Mars who gave her a crown of hair that was a bit too much for Stella. Auntie Cielo on Jupiter splashed around while Aunt Iris on Saturn gave Stella space buns. On Uranus, her twin aunts, twisted and braided. Neptune’s visit got her waves. Finally, Stella ended up with her Aunt Solana near the sun, who encouraged her to see her wild hair as a positive. Stella finally incorporated all of the elements of her aunt’s styles into her own plus some of her very own curls too.
Full of positivity, this book celebrates the many, many ways that Black hair can be styled with real flair. It’s great to see a science fiction picture book that focuses on a Black girl exploring the universe and visiting Black women for support. The ending with a focus on individuality and self-expression sets just the right tone of encouragement too. Turn to the back of the book for some information on the different planets in our solar system.
The art is bright and vibrant with the various Black women characters wearing their hair in all sorts of colors and styles. It’s great and funny to see them each style Stella in their own preferred style, until she reaches the final aunt who tells her to be herself.
Inclusive and vibrant, this book explains that we all need to simply be proud of who we are and what our hair does. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Waking Brain Cells 