Futuredaze: An Anthology of YA Science Fiction
Frustrated by YA sf that mostly featured lengthy dystopia, editors Strom-Martin and Underwood of Underwords Blog launched the Futuredaze project, inviting submissions for short works, hoping to inject a “burst of rocket fuel” into the YA market. The result is a collection of 21 stories and 12 poems that is as fun and enticing as a bowl of popcorn. The pieces are penned by authors both new and well-known, such as Nancy Holder and Jack McDevitt, and the subjects and subgenres range delightfully from military tech to colony ships to alien invasions. All respond to the underlying sf premise of “What if?” by exploring that question in ways that have been sadly rare in teen books dominated by zombies and Hunger Games look-alikes. The quality of the stories and especially the poetry varies, but even the least well done is entertaining, and each leaves the reader eager to sample the next bite. Standout stories include “Spirk Station,” by Chuck Rothman, in which a space-station Valley Girl learns a lesson; “A Voice in the Night,” by Jack McDevitt, featuring a youthful Alex Benedict; and a novel solution to bullying in “Me and My Army of Me,” by Katrina Nicholson. All of the stories are refreshingly short, 10 pages or fewer, encouraging readers to read the next and the next until the book is gobbled down. Fun for fans familiar with adult sf, and an enticing gateway for those new to the genre. Grades 8-12. --Lynn Rutan