What YA' Reading: Sci-Fi Romance
If you follow YA Lit trends, you'll know that Fantasy is the top genre and has been for the past several years, with Sci-Fi lagging behind. You'll also know that Romantasy has recently taken over, lighting up bestseller lists and our checkout stats. However, Romansci-Fi (Romance and Sci-Fi, a portmanteau I'm pretty sure I just coined) is definitely a thing, and may be the movement to get the Sci-Fi genre back to prominence.
Whether you're a Sci-Fi fan looking for some recommendations, a Romantasy reader who's read every one there is and don't know where to go from there, or are curious about the Sci-Fi genre and want some easier reads to get started on it, here are some Sci-Fi books with strong romance plots.
Under This Forgetful Sky by Lauren Yero
In this dystopian novel privileged Rumi has spent his entire life in St. Iago, whose armored walls keep citizens safe from the dangerous wasteland outside. But when rebels infect his father with a deadly virus, he doesn't hesitate to venture outside its protective walls to find a cure. He meets Paz, who agrees to serve as his guide and is, unbeknownst to Rumi, spying on him for the rebels. As their feelings for each other grow, they must both confront and reconcile them with their opposite pasts.
This novel is a great entry point to the Sci-Fi and romance genres because of its use of reliable tropes that will feel familiar to YA readers. The dystopian setting is a fixture of the YA genre at this point because of stand-by titles like The Hunger Games and The Giver. The enemies-to-lovers trope is well established in romance stories. Within these tropes the story focuses on timely and relevant themes such as class privilege, political corruption and a divided society. The true value of the Sci-Fi genre is it can hold up a speculative future for us to consider our current course. Then we can decide if that's a direction we want to go.
"The fully fleshed-out characters and their distinctly human connections juxtapose the delicately crafted sci-fi world." –Publishers Weekly
If you're looking for more Romansci-Fi enemies-to-lovers plots, get on the holds list for Red Star Rebels by Amie Kaufman (which is coming soon) or look for The Do-over by Lynn Painter if you need a less futuristic Sci-Fi novel. If you dig Romansci-Fi and enemies-to-lovers but want a queer lens for your romance stories, check out Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid or The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer.
Skipshock by Caroline O'Donoghue
Margo is headed to Dublin to attend boarding school when her train stops in a tunnel and she has a panic attack. Once she recovers, she finds the train is completely different. She's also been joined by a new passenger, Moon, who doesn't seem familiar with the real world. He's a traveling salesman and Margo learns she must pass herself as one too if she wants to survive.
Margo is now in New Davia one of many worlds connected by a tightly controlled railroad. If she travels in one direction the days will get shorter, and so will her life. If she travels in the other, her days, life and youth will stretch out longer. But in this world time is privilege and Margo's appearance suggests there is another world. The Southern Guard wouldn't hesitate to kill to keep that knowledge from getting out, and the rebels would pay a fortune for the knowledge and Margo. They'd pay enough that Moon wouldn't have to risk dying from the title affliction that often kills the salespeople who travel between worlds. Margo just wants to get back home. Will Margo and Moon's blossoming love survive these dilemmas?
If you're a fan of Romantasy, this is the book to get you into Romansci-Fi. Its world-building will feel a little more akin to Fantasy worlds, though the mind-blowing implications of them are unmistakably Sci-Fi. It's also got a rapid pace to it, making it perfect if you're looking for a quick or compelling read. Like most good YA and Sci-Fi literature, this book has some insightful commentary on wealth and privilege, and it also tours important topics like colonialism and immigration.
If you're into the lovers' dilemma and ready to get a little harder into the Sci-Fi, find Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh. If you find you enjoy O'Donoghue's work, check out her other books: The Rachel Incident if you want a more grounded and complicated love story or All Our Hidden Gifts, the first in an urban fantasy adventure trilogy.
Sea Change by Susan Fletcher
Turtle is a Mer, her genes were illegally altered pre-birth to have gills as well as lungs. She lives on an abandoned cruise ship with her fellow Mers. Turtle is close to the water she needs to survive and she loves being part of this close-knit group. One day she saves a Normal named Kai while exploring a drowned town. Turtle feels an attraction that's totally new to her. She begins to sneak away from her friends to spend more time with Kai on shore, and Turtle reconnects with her sisters who are not Mer.
To complicate the situation scientists discover a way to revert the gene hacking that made Mers. Turtle must make an impossible choice. Should she give up the freedom of her life at sea and her beloved Mer community, or lose the guy she's falling for and her family?
This Sci-Fi retelling of The Little Mermaid is another highly accessible route for newcomers to the Sci-Fi genre, especially if you enjoy retellings (another commonplace feature of the YA lit scene). The familiar plot and story elements will make it easier to take in the Sci-Fi aspects, as this novel explores family (both genetic and found) and the huge questions that come with advanced technologies, as well as the consequences of climate change.
If you like the romance in a speculative future and post-disaster setting, look for The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold. If you appreciate the Sci-Fi adaptation of a classic fairy tale and want more, check out Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Brave New Girl by Rachel Vincent and House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer are good next reads if you're interested in Sci-Fi stories centered around DNA editing or cloning.
