# Reading Suggestion - 14 year old girl - SciFi/Dystopian **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 15, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269 "2017-03-15T22:47:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/21 "2017-03-16T07:09:47Z")
[The Last Man on Earth Club](https://www.amazon.com/Last-Man-Earth-Club-ebook/dp/B00520977U)was pretty good. The Greatwinter trilogy starting with [Souls in the Great Machine](https://www.amazon.com/Souls-Great-Machine-Greatwinter-Trilogy/dp/0312870558/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489647997&sr=8-1&keywords=souls+great+machine)is worth a look. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/22 "2017-03-16T07:16:38Z")
Gah, I came in to say _1984_ and _Hunger Games_; should’ve guessed my fellow Dopers would beat me to it. Um, how about _11/22/63?_ ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/23 "2017-03-16T08:42:27Z")
How about some Vernor Vinge? _Fire Upon the Deep/Deepness in the sky_ are good strong SF stories with dystopian elements (eg “the Emergency”) but ultimately quite optimistic - and one of the chief heros of AFUtD is a fourteen year old girl. _The Peace War/Marooned in Realtime_ are post-apocalyptic trying-to-get-society-back-on-track books (_Marooned in Realtime_ is a post-post-Apocalyptic detective story, and you don’t see many of them about ) Light on the sex and violence, but pretty philosophically deep. If you don’t mind going “dated” again (well, I don’t find his writing dated, but 60s mores do pop up now and again. Of course, if you don’t want to go overboard on sex and violence, there’s plusses to that…), John Brunner pretty much owns “dystopian SF” and if she did get into his books you wouldn’t have to worry about new reading matter for about a year 😉 - I’d suggest\* Polymath (Castaway’s World)\* and\* The Infinitive of Go\* as testers. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/24 "2017-03-16T08:47:57Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I would not give\* the Sparrow\* to a 14 y.o if sexual violence is a concern, as the OP indicates… > > The repeated alien butt rape of the priest and his mutilation isn’t exactly glossed over Oh hell yeah. _The Sparrow_ left me an emotional wreck, and I was about thirty when I read it. It’s awful. I mean, wonderful. But awful. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/25 "2017-03-16T09:13:01Z")
I’ll tack on some John Christopher - YA, and perfectly acceptable for young folks, but still decent. There’s the Tripods trilogy, of course: _The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire_, but I like the Sword of the Spirits trilogy better. That’s _The Prince In Waiting, Beyond the Burning Lands, and The Sword of the Spirits_. Still suitable for teens, but with a harder edge to it. The protagonist has flaws - lots of them. Only way it may not be suitable is that these are very “boy” - centered books. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/26 "2017-03-16T09:42:57Z")
[Aurora](https://www.amazon.com/Aurora-Kim-Stanley-Robinson/dp/0316098094) by Kim Stanley Robinson. It’s SF, not exactly dystopian but not entirely a happy ending either. More bittersweet. Female protagonist. Beautifully written. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/27 "2017-03-16T10:05:54Z")
Add my support to Octavia Butler. Beautiful writing and ideas. How about **Snow Crash**? Jeez it’s a classic by now :(. IIRC, the girl YT is pretty much a good female lead. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/28 "2017-03-16T10:26:32Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > stranger in a strange land by robert heinlein (or anything else by him) > the man in the high castle or do androids dream of electric sheep by philip k dick. _Stranger in a Strange Land_ isn’t a dystopia, and _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep_ is a pretty weak book–a rare case where the movie is 37,923 percent better than the book. (eta: and any parent that would subject their child to _anything_ by Ayn Rand doesn’t deserve to be a parent.) ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/29 "2017-03-16T12:25:03Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > _Stranger in a Strange Land_ isn’t a dystopia, and _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep_ is a pretty weak book–a rare case where the movie is 37,923 percent better than the book. > > (eta: and any parent that would subject their child to _anything_ by Ayn Rand doesn’t deserve to be a parent.) There’s probably some Heinlein that would work, but agreed that Stranger isn’t it. Problem is, I don’t know of anything that I’d suggest to a non-Heinlein reader that’s also somewhat dystopian. Maybe Job. Otherwise give her the juveniles and collections of short fiction if just sci-fi is enough. And yes, I think some Dick could be in the reading pile, but I agree that probably not Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Again, the problem is I’m not sure what novels to really suggest. I’d think more along the lines of a good anthology of his short work–there’s a reason most of the movies based on Dick’s writing is his short stories and novellas. It’s surprisingly hard to come up with additional good dystopias. At least in the classic sense. More apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic is easier. Lots of writers have done some of that. In the really somewhat silly vein is John Ringo with his Council Wars and Black Tide Rising series. How about Earth Abides? Tell us about 1984 vs Brave New World if she makes it through both. My gut instinct, having read both those books at about that age (but as a boy), is that Brave New World will be liked somewhat better and will be considered far less of a slog than 1984. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/30 "2017-03-16T21:50:15Z")
Well, there’s the **[City of Ember](http://a.co/91mu2kC)** series, by Jeanne DuPrau, which she may have encountered already and might be a little young for her. There’s the **[Matched](http://a.co/7QUoPya)** trilogy. I lost interest halfway through the second book, but that may have been because they’re very teen-girlish. Another possibility is the **[Forest of Hands and Teeth](http://a.co/5Zxe8AJ)** series, which is very zombie-apocalypseish. For something somewhat more grounded, there’s the [\*\*Life As We Knew It](http://a.co/5nJxW7V)\*\* series. An asteroid hits the moon, throwing it into a different orbit and causing global chaos. Another more realistic one: the seven-book **Tomorrow** series, starting with **[Tomorrow, When The War Began](http://a.co/967uwmF)**. The female protagonist is an Australian high school student. She and her friends go camping deep into the Australian wilderness, but when they return, Australia has been overrun and conquered by a nameless nearby nation. Do they give themselves up, hide, or fight? One sci-fi series that might be a possibility is the **Lorien Legacies** , starting with **[I Am Number Four](http://a.co/4i4ITGz)**. The gist: when their home planet is invaded, nine children from the world’s elite Garde are sent to Earth with protectors so that they can mature and return. They are Charmed in a way that they cannot be killed but in a specific order. The first three are dead, and the book follows Number Four. And finally, a series I cannot recommend highly enough: **Chaos Walking** , which starts with **[The Knife of Never Letting Go](http://a.co/cvJ9Z1a)**. Seriously awesome. Todd is growing up on a world infected by the Noise germ, which killed all the women and causes everyone’s thoughts to constantly be broadcast to everyone nearby. Todd and his dog make to escape their town, but they stumble upon something strange: a patch of silence, with a girl at the middle. The story is very gritty, and takes surprising twists and turns. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/31 "2017-03-17T01:28:00Z")
Has anybody here read Sinclair Lewis’s _It Can’t Happen Here_? Is it worth a read? ---
**Author:** ![May\_20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@May\_20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/May_20)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/32 "2017-03-17T01:44:41Z")
_Earth Abides_ is a good choice. I suggest _Alas, Babylon_. It might be a little dated - aftermath of a nuclear war - but it’s definitely a good read. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/33 "2017-03-17T17:41:25Z")
As a 14 year old girl interested in sci-fi, I read and enjoyed David Brin (_Earth_, especially – basically predicted the internet) Jonathan Barnes (some sexual content) _Neuromancer_ _Heinlein’s Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ I did not care for \*Stranger in a Strange Land Brave New World \*Kim Stanley Robinson Take that for what you will… ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/34 "2017-03-17T18:03:18Z")
A 14-year-old should not have any trouble reading adult literature. Any book is well within her grasp. You are not doing her a favor by limiting her exposure to Young Reader titles, or books that adults think are “easy”. If it’s a well-received book in the genre with good general reviews, she will read it and enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/35 "2017-03-17T18:54:50Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > A 14-year-old should not have any trouble reading adult literature. Any book is well within her grasp. You are not doing her a favor by limiting her exposure to Young Reader titles, or books that adults think are “easy”. I would tend to agree, but realize that, realistically, someone who chooses a username that spells out “gospel” might possibly be a bit more conservative about such things. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/36 "2017-03-17T19:01:49Z")
She might like [Babel-17](https://www.amazon.com/Babel-17-Empire-Star-Samuel-Delany/dp/0375706690). ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/37 "2017-03-17T19:59:25Z")
I’m mobile, so can’t/won’t provide a lengthy defense of my choice, but I nominate Hugh Howey’s Silo series. Cause mobile, also can’t make pretty link > **[Silo (series)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silo_(series))** > > Silo is a series of post-apocalyptic science fiction books by American writer Hugh Howey. The series started in 2011 with the short story "Wool", which was later published together with four sequel novellas as a novel with the same name. Along with Wool, the series consists of Shift, Dust, three short stories, and Wool: The Graphic Novel. > Howey began the series in 2011, initially writing Wool as a stand-alone short story. He published the work through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing system, ch... ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/38 "2017-03-17T20:09:35Z")
How about Unwind, Unstrung, and Unwholly by Neal Shusterman. I know a couple of years ago it was very popular with the young teen crowd. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/39 "2017-03-17T20:16:30Z")
I recently read and enjoyed [The Girl With All The Gifts](https://www.amazon.com/Girl-All-Gifts-M-Carey-ebook/dp/B00CO7FLFG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489781663&sr=1-1&keywords=girl+with+all+the+gifts+book) > [@](#): > > Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her “our little genius.” > > Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh. StG ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269/40 "2017-03-17T20:41:14Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I recently read and enjoyed [The Girl With All The Gifts](https://www.amazon.com/Girl-All-Gifts-M-Carey-ebook/dp/B00CO7FLFG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489781663&sr=1-1&keywords=girl+with+all+the+gifts+book) > > StG Hmmm. I see movie of that On Demand. I’ll have to take a look. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-suggestion-14-year-old-girl-scifi-dystopian/782269.md?page=3)