YA Space Opera recommendations?

From the bullets it sounds like Ender's Game meets Predator. I've personally never read anything quite like that. Have several agents given you that same response, or was it just the one?

Phoebe North's STARGLASS and Beth Revis's ACROSS THE UNIVERSE both have the generation space ship leaving earth forever angle, but "Ender's Game meets Predator" sounds awesome. Maybe you could just make the query play up aspects that make yours sound more like that?

There probably is not another book out there with the exact plot you describe. But all of those themes are pretty common. Basically you have - girl snoops around spaceship uncovering secrets. There have been many books with that basic premise. That's not to say it's a bad plot, but yes, you will need to make it stand out. The fact that the secret is a monster that threatens humanity, or whatever, is not enough.

I would definitely read Ender's Game meets Predator.

Personally I found Across the Universe very weird and didn't end up finishing it. But from what I did read of it, it doesn't sound like your concept.

Is it possible that your main character is too much like the MC of other popular YA SciFi because the concept itself doesn't sound like something that is over done. YA SciFi hasn't really hit a huge trend yet so I can't see it being a concept problem.

Maybe it would help including your query so we could see if it is the query itself that sounds too generic.

I'm not convinced there is a great deal of space-based sci-fi in YA. Across the Universe is really more dystopia than "space opera" or generic spaceship sci-fi.

Starglass is more like a thriller than space opera/space sf, too. Really, the ship mostly seems to provide a limited environment for the plot.


The Lunar Chronicles is much closer to non-dystopic space-based SF.


That's it for the major players I can think of.

I suppose you have the re-marketed Edner's Game, although only one book in the series really was remarketed or even could be, and then the Ender's Shadow series.

Seconding THE LUNAR CHRONICLES as great books in general and the closest thing to a YA "space opera" I can think of.

There is not tons of YA set on spaceships, so reading all you can will help. GLOW by Amy Kathleen Ryan is something of a drama set on a spaceship. ALIENATED by Melissa Landers has a similar "exchange program" element, but with aliens, and it's somewhat fluffy but reading it (and the reviews) gave me some great pointers on writing aliens, if you have those. I haven't read SALVAGE by Alexandra Duncan but it was recommended to me. THESE BROKEN STARS is the only other one I've read, which doesn't have much superficial similarities to yours, but would be good to read to know what has sold (it's spoken of as Titanic...in space!! but it's actually largely a survival story on an alien planet)

As far as the agent's comment, I would consider two things: (1) sci-fi never officially trended and died, but it's also not in super high demand, so the agent's comment may have been somewhat of an excuse to pass based on genre/not liking the concept in general and (2) because it's not in super high demand, your query will really have to pull out what about the story would grab an agent. What's super unique about the spaceships in your story? What twists are you putting on the concepts? Do the query and first pages make your main character sound like every other YA main character?* I think in this case drawing out some really unique details, as well as making sure your writing is very superior, will really help.

Like I said, genre odds are a bit stacked against you, but there is hope for sci-fi writers who are querying--I know someone who wrote a space-related book who got lots of requests, and her query drew out the uniqueness of her story very well. (I'll link you to it if you like!)

*does she have red hair? pretty sure three of the MCs in the books I mentioned do

Maramoser said:

*does she have red hair? pretty sure three of the MCs in the books I mentioned do

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As much as I love red hair, I have been getting tired of it being played as "exotic" but for white people. And they always have "creamy" skin and no trouble with the sun, and only freckles when it's cute. Ugh.



Although, this thread is sort of depressing re: my retro anime YA space opera series I work on when I get stuck on my real WIPs. Why can't sci-fi be a thing in YA? John Scalzi's Zoe's Tale was well-received, although it's a spin-off from an adult space opera series. You can have all sorts of awesome "first time" stuff in sci-fi. There's tons of adventure. Plus LASER GUNS! Why doesn't it sell? *melts into a puddle of tears*

Liosse de Velishaf said:

Although, this thread is sort of depressing re: my retro anime YA space opera series I work on when I get stuck on my real WIPs. Why can't sci-fi be a thing in YA? John Scalzi's Zoe's Tale was well-received, although it's a spin-off from an adult space opera series. You can have all sorts of awesome "first time" stuff in sci-fi. There's tons of adventure. Plus LASER GUNS! Why doesn't it sell? *melts into a puddle of tears*

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My trunked novel weeps with you.

Note also that although Zoe's Tale by all rights should be labeled YA, it generally is not. It gets shelved with the rest of his Old Man's War series.

A couple of other YA space titles: Losers in Space, by John Barnes, and Apollo's Outcasts, by Allen Steele.

Liosse de Velishaf said:

Although, this thread is sort of depressing re: my retro anime YA space opera series I work on when I get stuck on my real WIPs. Why can't sci-fi be a thing in YA? John Scalzi's Zoe's Tale was well-received, although it's a spin-off from an adult space opera series. You can have all sorts of awesome "first time" stuff in sci-fi. There's tons of adventure. Plus LASER GUNS! Why doesn't it sell? *melts into a puddle of tears*

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Right? *pokes a long time wip*

Could you just imagine a YA of The Fifth Element? Firefly? Galaxy Express 999? Outlaw Star? Cowboy Bebop? Shoot even Bodacious Space Pirates was more space opera than most of the YA in space. Or something the size of Ender's Shadow without OSC attached! *sigh*

YA/Firefly = my SNI. It's in revision. I've got my fingers crossed that other people feel the same desire for something like it to exist

No laser guns, but they do make everything better.

Space Opera is one of those sub genres that people (like me!) like to split hairs over. The most succinct way I can think to describe it is "epic fantasy in space". Though that's a little too simple.

TVTropes has a pretty decent space opera page (warning for link to the internet vortex!) and I agree with most of their assessment. Space Opera is a romantic (in the classical sense, not the modern sense) with big plots, big characters, big themes, huge stakes, etc. it's more than just being set in space.

TV gets a little different and most shows set in space are considered space opera. Why? Beats me, though they tend to fall more along those lines over a series arc than not.

KateSmash-- I would totally read a bodacious space pirates YA space opera. Anime/manga/light novels has one of the strongest space opera traditions of any media, really.

Crest/Banner of the Stars which started in the mid 90s is one of my favorite space opera environments of all time, although part of that might just be nostalgia. Legend of the Galactic Heroes was a lovely and archetypal space opera anime that was popular in the early 80s. Heroic Age is one of my favorite anime space operas of all time.


As far as modern western novels, Peter F. Hamilton, Charlie Stross, Iain M. Banks, David Brin, and Alistair Reynolds have written popular examples of the genre. (There's a thread on Space Opera in the SFF forum, from maybe a week ago that covers a lot of this.)


Amadan, Scalzi himself has called it YA, but considering his rabid following, it makes more business sense to shelve if with his other books in the store.



I'd call Space Opera the epic fantasy of science fiction. It tends to feature huge scopes with lots of political action and incredibly advanced technologies. So yes, those three titles you mentioned, lotta, are space operas. It used to be that most space operas lacked hard sf elements. You could basically techno-babble your way through stuff like FTL travel, or even ignore its impossibility entirely.

Whereas stuff like The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, though set in space in the future is just general science fiction, possibly hard science fiction. Often, stuff mostly including the Moon and Venus/Mars with no aliens and lacking ftl is written. Or, Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series is not really space opera, for example. Some near-future SF figures space into the equation, but it's generally too small in scope to be considered space opera.