Top Young Adult Science Fiction Books of 2024
The Mercy of Gods (Released: January 2024)
Author(s): James S. A. Corey
Ratings and Reviews from Hardcover
Rating: 4.21 (122 Ratings, 13 Reviews)
Pages: 422
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Expanse comes a spectacular new space opera that sees humanity fighting for its survival in a war as old as the universe itself. How humanity came to the planet called Anjiin is lost in the fog of history, but that history is about to end. The Carryx—part empire, part hive—have waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy. Now, they are facing a great and deathless enemy. The key to their survival may rest with the humans of Anjiin. Caught up in academic intrigue and affairs of the heart, Dafyd Alkhor is pleased just to be an assistant to a brilliant scientist and his celebrated research team. Then the Carryx ships descend, decimating the human population and taking the best and brightest of Anjiin society away to serve on the Carryx homeworld, and Dafyd is swept along with them. They are dropped in the middle of a struggle they barely understand, set in a competition against the other captive species with extinction as the price of failure. Only Dafyd and a handful of his companions see past the Darwinian contest to the deeper game that they must play to survive: learning to understand—and manipulate—the Carryx themselves. With a noble but suicidal human rebellion on one hand and strange and murderous enemies on the other, the team pays a terrible price to become the trusted servants of their new rulers. Dafyd Alkhor is a simple man swept up in events that are beyond his control and more vast than his imagination. He will become the champion of humanity and its betrayer, the most hated man in history and the guardian of his people. This is where his story begins.
Genre(s): Science fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Space, War, Fantasy, Aliens, Dystopian, Young Adult, Science
A Sorceress Comes to Call (Released: January 2024)
Author(s): T. Kingfisher
Ratings and Reviews from Hardcover
Rating: 4.19 (85 Ratings, 15 Reviews)
Pages: 336
*The hardcover edition features a foil stamp on the casing and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.* Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers. When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. But Cordelia feels at home for the very first time among these people, and as her mother's plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family.
Genre(s): Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Science fiction
Service Model (Released: January 2024)
Author(s): Adrian Tchaikovsky
Ratings and Reviews from Hardcover
Rating: 3.88 (67 Ratings, 12 Reviews)
Pages: 342
Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time. To fix the world they must first break it, further. Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service. When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away. Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose. Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming.
Genre(s): Science fiction, Young Adult, Adventure, Fantasy, Space, Dystopian, Fiction
When Among Crows (Released: January 2024)
Author(s): Veronica Roth
Ratings and Reviews from Hardcover
Rating: 3.82 (57 Ratings, 12 Reviews)
Pages: 176
"We bear the sword, and we bear the pain of the sword." Pain is Dymitr’s calling. His family is one in a long line of hunters who sacrifice their souls to slay monsters. Now he’s tasked with a deadly mission: find the legendary witch Baba Jaga. To reach her, Dymitr must ally with the ones he’s sworn to kill. Pain is Ala’s inheritance. A fear-eating zmora with little left to lose, Ala awaits death from the curse she carries. When Dymitr offers her a cure in exchange for her help, she has no choice but to agree. Together they must fight against time and the wrath of the Chicago underworld. But Dymitr’s secrets—and his true motives—may be the thing that actually destroys them.
Genre(s): Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Science fiction, LGBTQ, Dystopian, Deals, Young Adult