Welcome

 

If you are girl, in Years 7-12, and you love adventures in outer-space then this is the blog for you.  Even if you have never read any space adventure before but would just like to give it a try there is definitely something for you.  On the pages of this blog there are ten titles, especially chosen to provide the best reading experience possible.  There is a graphic novel for those of you who enjoy manga, there is an audio-book for easy listening, an ebook for readers of the future, and plenty of print books.  Last, but not least, there is a references page for us responsible young adults and an invitation to a party.

 

Space adventure

Often light-hearted, Space Adventures are notable for their sense of wonder, and are commonly found in classic science fiction. Many books follow a single character or group of characters encountering aliens, strange worlds and curious phenomena. The books can be hard science, but the focus is strongly on romping adventure or an individual overcoming adversity. Unlike Space Opera, it is rare for Space Adventure to revolve primarily around large-scale war, although smaller battles are not uncommon.

 

 

 

Avalon, by Mindee Arnett

13 year-old Lizzie and her 17 year-old brother Jeth, lost their science-loving and doing parents seven years ago when the Interstellar Transit Authority executed them for unspecified treason.  Now Lizzie and Jeth must buy the family's legendary spaceship, the Avalon, from Hammer, escape his despotic reign, and establish a quiet existence away from Hammer and the ITA.  Can they do it, even with the help of a ragtag team of teenage mercenaries, a strange, possibly alien child and a beautiful, fierce, teen scientist who seem to just want to complicate matters?  Can they skirt the line between honour and the law to beat the bad guys and win freedom for themselves?   Would mum and dad be proud?  For girls and boys, in grades 8-11, who love Sci-Fi, read ebooks, and thoroughly enjoy a fast-paced, action-packed space adventure this ebook and recent release is sure to please.  Also available in print. 

Citation: Arnett, Mindee. Avalon. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2014.

Dangerous, by Shannon Hale

For all of you girls in grades 7-10, Hale's sci-fi thriller, with an action-packed, plot-driven storyline and compelling writing style about teens possessed by alien nanotechnology, is a recent release and designed to hit the right notes for blockbuster appeal.  Maisie Danger Brown is a smart, home-schooled, one-handed, half-Paraguayan daughter of scientists and she has always dreamed of being an astronaut.  When she wins a trip to space camp cue a dark, super herolike tale: Friends die, adventures are had, kisses are exchanged, the Earth is saved and there is lots of girl-power. 

Citation: Hale, Shannon. Dangerous. New York: Bloomsbury/Walker, 2014.

Entangled, by Amy Rose Capetta

#1 Entangled series

#2 sequel and conclusion is Unmade.

Via a hologram named Mr. Niven, Cadence a.k.a Cade finds out that she was created in a lab on the planet Firstbloom in 3112 and mixed or "entangled" at a subatomic level with a boy named Xan.  The lab was raided, the scientists were killed and Cade has to keep fighting against the Noise, an invasive force that pervades her consciousness. Armed with her guitar and attitude she goes on an adventure to find Xan.  This is a fast-paced, action-packed, first person narrative set in space with a strong female character who uses similes and metaphors in ways you've never seen before.  And, she plays the guitar.

  Citation: Capetta, Amy Rose. Entangled. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.

Extraction, by  Stephanie Diaz

#1 Extraction trilogy

#2 Expected publication of second book in 2015.  As yet untitled.

In this hugely popular sci-fi adventure book which community reviewers on Goodreads describe as unforgettable, unputdownable, totally addicting, an awesome read for lovers of the Hunger Games and Ender's Game, we meet Clementine who has spent her whole life preparing for her sixteenth birthday, when she’ll be tested for Extraction in the hopes of being sent from the planet Kiel’s toxic Surface to the much safer Core, where people live without fear or starvation. But can she can go to this seeming paradise without Logan, the boy she loves and can she save him from the core's leaders who are planning to exterminate all the surface dwellers?  With urgent writing and fluid dialogue this book is a gripping read sure to entertain girls in the senior grades and leave them wanting more.

Citation: Diaz, Stephanie. Extraction. St. Martin's Griffin, 2014.

Glow, by Amy Kathleen Ryan

#1 Sky chasers series

#2 Spark; #3 Flame

Waverley, aged 15,and her boyfriend Kieran, aged 16, are part of the first generation to be conceived in deep space and are on their way home in the spaceship Empyrean where they are expected to marry young and have children to populate a new planet.  Everything changes when their sister ship, New Horizon, attacks unexpectedly and takes all the girls hostage.  Was the attack and kidnapping really for their own good as argued by Anne, the outwardly sweet, religious leader of New Horizon?  With a unique and vivid outer-space setting that is exciting and easy to imagine, an action-packed, plot-driven storyline, complex characters, and a compelling writing style this very popular audio-book is sure to please teens, grade 7 and up.  Also available in print.

Citation: Ryan, Amy Kathleen. Glow. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2011.

Laddertop, by Orson Scott Card and Emily Janice Card.  Illustrated by Honoel A. Ibardolaza.

#1 Laddertop series

#2 No others published.

Orson Scott card's world-building and Sci-Fi credentials need no introduction.  In this graphic novel, he teams up with Emily Janice Card and others to create a science fiction comic book which is fast-paced, atmospheric in tone, and illustrated in black and white.   A series of alien platforms lands on Earth, extending from the surface out to space, symbolic and actual ladders for humanity to climb out into the wider cosmos. Students Robbi and Azure are selected to be two of many recruits to attempt to understand and perhaps pilot these extraterrestrial enigmas. Can they unravel the true purpose behind Laddertop even though the adults who believe they administer it can not?  A worthy young adult space adventure novel for girls who love their manga well written and illustrated.

Citation: Card, Orson Scott, & Card, Emily Janice.  Laddertop. New York: Tor, 2011.

Larklight: a rousing tale of dauntless pluck in the farthest reaches of space, by Philip Reeve.  Illustrations by David Wyatt.

#1 Art and Myrtle series

#2 Starcross

This award winning book for girls, grades 6-10, is a wildly imaginative sci-fi pirate adventure with tongue-in-cheek humour, social commentary on accepting those who are different, giant spiders, and floating houses in space.  Myrtle Mumsby and her brother live with their father in a huge house called Larklight, which just happens to be traveling through outer space. Soon the kids are off on an adventure, where they will do battle with evil forces in order to save each other and the universe.  Can they survive the changeling Trees of Venus and their poisonous pollen?  What's that idiom again that describes being rescued from giant spiders by a notorious pirate? 

Citation: Reeve, Philip. Larklight: a rousing tale of dauntless pluck in the farthest reaches of space. New York: Bloomsbury, 2006.

Mothership, by Martin Leicht.

#1 Ever-expanding universe series

#2 A stranger thing

 In 2074, Elvie and a group of pregnant teens are on a spaceship to finish high school and give birth.  When the ship is attacked three weeks before Elvie's due date she has to use her mechanical and survival skills to save all of the girls. While doing so they meet the bad aliens who impregnated them and got them sent into space, and good aliens who are hot guys and help rescue the girls.  This is a fast-paced, plot-driven story with a funny, high-drama tone and much slang.   Pure fun and a bit of silly science fiction to relieve the stress which comes with a hectic and heavy work load.

Citation: Leicht, Martin. Mothership. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012.

The Star Thief, by Jamie Grey

 

 #1 The Star Thief chronicles

 

 

 Renna Carrizal is the most notorious thief in the galaxy who just wants is to get out of the business.   After rescuing an injured boy on her final job, she unwittingly becomes ensnared by MYTH, a top-secret galactic protection agency who offer her a choice - either help them on their latest mission, or spend the rest of her life on a prison ship.  Can Renna  pull off the biggest job of her career - saving the galaxy? And maybe even herself?  A fun adventure, with a strong female protagonist, a good mix of contemporary and science fiction, thrilling action, spaceships, thieves, pirates and hot guys. 

 

 

Citation: Grey, Jamie. The Star Thief.  Createspace, 2014.

These broken stars, by Amy Kaufman.

#1 The starbound trilogy.

For girls, grades 6-12, who love space adventures with first person narratives, multiple perspectives and a romantic, suspenseful tone, this Australian fiction will be very pleasing.  The jam-packed plot incorporates telepathy, energy-matter conversion, an unknown life form, an explosion, two cave-ins and a temporary death  When a spoiled socialite and a seasoned soldier are stranded on a mysterious planet after their luxury spaceliner malfunctions and crashes, Major Tarver Merendsen tries to protect Lilac LaRoux, "the richest girl in the galaxy," as they journey across an inhospitable wilderness in search of rescue.

Citation: Kaufman, Amy. These broken stars. New York: Hyperion, 2013.

References list

 

Text

 

Adams Literacy.  Book review of these broken stars.  Publishers Weekly.  Available at: http://library.holroyd.nsw.gov.au/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=LGuw3pfkbN/MERLIB/239060010/123.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Carton, Debbie.  Book review of Glow.  Booklist.  Available at: http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?vid=5&sid=114c6851-be7a-4837-86b1-b04cacd76a17%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92cC1saXZl#db=neh&UI=10024262.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Goodreads.  Summary of the book thief.  Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19146092-the-star-thief?from_search=true.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Goodreads.  Summary of Avalon.  Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17149396-avalon?from_search=true.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Goodreads.  Summary of Extraction.  Available at:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16210411-extraction.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Goodreads.  Summary of Entangled.  Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17165987-entangled?from_search=true.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Jones, Courtney.  Book review of Mothership.  Booklist.  Available at: http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?vid=9&sid=114c6851-be7a-4837-86b1-b04cacd76a17%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92cC1saXZl#db=neh&UI=10132299.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Johnson, Elizabeth, C. Book review of Glow.  School Library Journal.  Available at: http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?vid=5&sid=114c6851-be7a-4837-86b1-b04cacd76a17%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92cC1saXZl#db=neh&UI=10024262.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Krys.  Customer review of Entangled.  Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17165987-entangled?from_search=true.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Hutley, Krista. Review of Dangerous.  Booklist.  Available at: http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?vid=3&sid=114c6851-be7a-4837-86b1-b04cacd76a17%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92cC1saXZl#db=neh&UI=10281929.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Novelist.  Dangerous. Available at: http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?vid=3&sid=114c6851-be7a-4837-86b1-b04cacd76a17%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92cC1saXZl#db=neh&UI=10281929.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Novelist.  Laddertop.  Available at: http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?vid=7&sid=114c6851-be7a-4837-86b1-b04cacd76a17%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92cC1saXZl#db=neh&UI=10003084.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

Novelist.  Mothership.  Available at:http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?vid=9&sid=114c6851-be7a-4837-86b1-b04cacd76a17%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92cC1saXZl#db=neh&UI=10132299.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.
 

Reed Business Information. Book reviews of Larklight.  Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal.   Available at:  http://www.fictionconnection.com/default.asp?c_over=1&q=larklight.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

 Russell, Benjamin. Book review of Laddertop.  School Library Journal.  Available at:  http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?vid=7&sid=114c6851-be7a-4837-86b1-b04cacd76a17%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92cC1saXZl#db=neh&UI=10003084.  Accessed: 8/5/2014.

 

Book covers

 

Avalon.  Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17149396-avalon?from_search=true

 

Dangerous.  Available at: http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafe/jacket.aspx?UserID=ebsco-test&Password=ebsco-test&Return=T&Type=M&Value=9781599901688

 

Entangled. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17165987-entangled?from_search=true

 

Extraction.  Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16210411-extraction

 

Glow.  Available at: http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafe/jacket.aspx?UserID=ebsco-test&Password=ebsco-test&Return=T&Type=M&Value=9780312590567

 

Laddertop.  Available at: http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafe/jacket.aspx?UserID=ebsco-test&Password=ebsco-test&Return=T&Type=M&Value=9780765324603

 

Larklight.  Available at: http://www.fictionconnection.com/default.asp?c_over=1&q=larklight

 

Mothership.  Available at: http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafe/jacket.aspx?UserID=ebsco-test&Password=ebsco-test&Return=T&Type=M&Value=9781442429604

 

The star thief.  Available at:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19146092-the-star-thief?from_search=true

 

These broken stars.  Available at: http://library.holroyd.nsw.gov.au/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=QtGLY127Jm/MERLIB/144780041/123

 

Images

 

Lowe, G. "The full moon".  Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoff-lowe/7485673000/

 

Lowe, G. "The moon in the clouds".  Available at:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoff-lowe/7317754388/in/photostream/

Muttoo, Ian.  "Flying Saucers".  Available at: https://flic.kr/p/7mNtmC.  Viewed: 12 May 2014.

Flying Saucers

Blog Launch

and Party time

 

4.30 to 6.00 pm

 

After a hard day at school come to the Merrylands library for a fun time in outer space (sort of).  There will be a short PowerPoint about the ten titles in the Space adventure collection.  Then lots of fun activities, including making flying saucers, creating book covers and more.  Come dressed as your favourite trekky or just ET if you wish. 

 

 

 

Juices and junk food provided. Oh, and some healthy stuff for all of you that want to live long and prosper.  See you here at Merrylands library.  Come as are if you do not have time to go home and change.