Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Science Fiction Fantasy for YA

This seems to be one of the fastest growing sub genres for teens.  I'll be honest. It is not my favorite. This is a sub genre of fantasy. Readers are asked to suspend their beliefs. Magic, time travel, and super human powers, are common elements.  The societies present in these stories still have rules and sometimes class systems among characters. In these books, it is stressed that rules are followed. That is usually how the conflict or plot begins; someone is breaking the rules.

Science Fiction is divided even more. The first category is hard science fiction which are books that are stringent on being scientifically accurate. Soft science fiction is the other category. The themes in these books are more about humanity and social interactions in an alternate world.

The sub genres of science fiction are:

  • Apocalyptic and post apocalyptic
  • Steam punk, bio punk,and cyber punk
  • Dystopia
  • Extra sensory perception
  • artificial intelligence
  • robots, cyborgs,  and androids
  • time travel and parallel universe
  • virtual world
  • gaming
How this will affect how I read and evaluate  Science Fiction

I must remember to not take it too seriously, to let go of what is naturally known and common to mankind.  There is an audience for this so it is important to understand why they enjoy it. Teens are looking for an escape from their reality; schoolwork, nagging parents, jobs, curfew, rules, etc... these books provide it.  I must look to see if the author includes characters who are going through normal issues such as love, relationships, friendships, and those listed above but in an alternate setting. Issues and problems do not change. The world around us and how they are conquered are. Giving teens a chance to escape and enjoy a new scene is the ultimate purpose of this genre. 

Do the books teach readers how to work with human race and how changes in  technology can improve or harm our society? Do they allow readers to escape but still have something they and identify with such as a character or theme? That's what should be looked for while reading science fiction. 

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