When it comes to reading for kids and young adults, you can't get more outrageous than science fiction (sci-fi) books. There are so many cool and creative concepts within the realm of science, and when authors have the freedom of fiction, there is no limit to the excitement in each story!
From alien technology and giant robots to outer space adventures and dangerous experiments, we have the chapter books your kids are dying to get lost in!
1. The City of Ember
Set in a dystopian world, Jeanne DuPrau gives us this 4-book series about Lina and Doon, and their mission to save their city, the last humans on earth (they believe) from total darkness.
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2. The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot
In this vibrant children's book featuring some of our favorite sci-fi life forms, aliens and robots, we watch an epic battle take place. Follow the colorful and out-of-this-world illustrations as these 3 little aliens try to stop a big bad robot from destroying their home planet.
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3. Cog
An endearing life-like robot named Cog was designed to learn and grow like a human boy, until one day he wakes up in an unfamiliar lab without his caretaker Gina. Scared, confused, and about to be taken apart by some scientists, he recruits a few robot friends and attempts a great escape!
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4. Finn and the Intergalactic Lunchbox
Bestselling author Michael Buckley brings us a 3-part action-adventure story that has mystery, aliens, robots, and a rag-tag bunch of kids who have to survive some scary giant bugs!
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5. The Missing Series: Found
Margaret Peterson Haddix gives us this amazing 8-book series that begins with an adopted boy's mysterious past, and a journey that will take him across time and space to discover who he really is.
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6. Voyage of the Dogs
Humans are going to space in search of another planet, and they are not alone. Aboard the spaceship are Barkonauts: special dogs trained to assist astronauts. When something goes terribly wrong with the ship, and all the humans are nowhere to be found, it's up to the Barkonauts to take control!
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7. Attack of the Not-So-Virtual Monsters
The first in the Gamer Squad series, this action story begins with a popular virtual reality game called Monsters Unleashed. When two teens, Bex and Charlie discover an unusual machine in the attic and turn it on, all the virtual monsters escape! Can they find and catch them all?
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8. Zita the Spacegirl
12-year-old girl Zita doesn't exactly know how she ended up being an intergalactic hero, but she knows it started with an alien cult responsible for taking her friend into space. Will her rescue mission lead her back to Earth, or is her adventure just beginning?
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9. The Kid Who Came From Space
When Ethan's twin sister Tammy disappears, he knows something weird is going on. Turns out Tammy was abducted by bad aliens who want to display her in their Human Zoo on their home planet. Can Ethan travel through space to find and rescue his sister?
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10. The Last Human
Time travel to a future where robots run the world and humans are extinct....or so we thought! Told from the perspective of XR, a 12-year-old robot who finds Emma, a human girl, lost and in need of help. Where did Emma come from, and what should XR do with her?
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11. Attack of the Necron
The first book of the Warped Galaxies 6-book middle-grade series is out of this world and into the giant galaxy! Zelia and her mother live in a distant world called Targian when it is attacked by robots named Necrons. In the chaos, she loses her mother and has to find a way off her destroyed planet.
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12. Amari and the Night Brothers
In an epic quest to discover what happened to her brother, Amari sets off on a mission to find out the truth! Starting with a note she finds in his closet from the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs about a summer program, she decides to accept and venture into this new magical world in hopes of finding Quinton.
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13. How to Catch a Star
The first book in a 4-book series is perfect for early readers who are interested in outer space and star-gazing. What happens when a little boy wants to catch his own star and nothing is working? Open your imagination and begin a whimsical journey of hope and adventure!
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14. Scythe
This Arc of a Scythe award-winning series is for an older age range, 7th grade and up. Humanity has conquered all of its woes, and now it is in control of when people die. Those in charge of managing the human population are called scythes, and Citra and Rowan are two unfortunate teens that have been chosen for this purpose.
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15. The Moon Platoon
Zoom into the future with this 4-part action-packed Space Runners series for 10-12-year-old children. Benny and his family could use some good luck, and they get it! After Benny wins a scholarship to tour a fancy resort on the moon, he realizes there are secrets there that might change the Earth forever.
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16. Last Days on Mars
The first book in the 3-part series Chronicle of the Dark Star, begins the adventure of Liam and Phoebe, two of the last humans on Mars, as they discover unlocked secrets of the galaxy.
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17. Sanity & Tallulah
This cooky and clever series about space adventure and friendship starts with two science-loving best friends. They love experimenting and one day their 3-headed kitten creation escapes into the space station. Can they catch her before she destroys anything too important?
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18. Star Scouts
With references to age-appropriate ideas and experiences for a young girl, this fantasy science fiction novel is perfect for tweens! Avani is different than the girls in her flower scout troop on Earth, so when she is taken by a quirky alien star scout named Mabel, she is in for the exciting adventure she's been waiting for!
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19. Geeger the Robot Goes to School
A robot going to human school? How is this going to turn out? Geeger has no idea what he is in for at school, the schedule, the teachers, and the kids are all so unfamiliar. Can he survive his first day, and even make a friend?
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20. Last Gate of the Emperor
This action-packed book for fans of Tristan Strong, shares the courageous journey of Yared and his unlikely team, as they try to uncover the mysterious events following his log-in to an augmented reality game.
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21. The Last Kids on Earth
An epic 8-book battle between a monster apocalypse, and a rag-tag group of teens in a treehouse. Will Jack and his friends be able to survive in a world filling up with zombies and destroy the baddest monster of all, Blarg?
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22. The Wild Robot
How did a single robot end up all alone on a remote island with no memory? Roz cannot remember anything from her past, but that doesn't matter right now. First, she must survive the harsh weather and dangerous animals of this wild place, but as she begins to feel at home, her memories begin to resurface.
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23. Apocalypse Taco
In this exciting sci-fi graphic novel, 3 kids from the theatre group go on a taco run for the crew. What happens on their way will change the world forever. What would you do if your taco tried to eat you?
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24. One Trick Pony
For fans of bestselling author Nathan Hale, this graphic novel stars a robot horse, technology-eating aliens, and one very brave family. Strata and her family must find a way to save themselves, and evidence of human existence, before this strange alien race devours all remnants forever.
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25. Cloud Town
In a world on the edge of the universe as they know it, live two best friends who couldn't be more different. Olive and Pen knew what their roles were in their friendship, Pen, the bold one, and Olive, the thoughtful and kind one. But all of that changes when Olive discovers she can pilot the Care Corp protector machines. The girls may survive the Hurricanes, but will their friendship?
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26. The Proto Project
In this page-turner book for kids, an expensive and high-tech AI goes missing. It just happens to be the invention of Jason's mother, and when "Proto" disappears, so do some people. Can Jason and his neighbor Maya figure out who is behind all of this?
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27. The Train to Impossible Places: A Cursed Delivery
Sci-fi meets fantasy, in this exciting middle-grade novel for imaginative readers. Yesterday, Suzy's life seemed regular and boring, but today the impossible train drove through her mom's living room! Guess it's time to hop on and see what crazy adventures await!
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28. MiNRS
In this 3-book survival series, Christopher and a group of colonists live on a new planet called Perses. Things go from bad to worse, when they are cut off from their home base on Earth, and they are attacked by invaders called Landers. Can Chris and some other kids survive in the mines until help comes?
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29. Aliens Love Underpants
Here's one for the younger kids to enjoy reading on their own or as a bedtime story. The aliens in this picture book are not like the ones you've heard of before. These silly, kinda-cute aliens love human underpants! Follow along with the colorful pictures and ridiculous rhymes.
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30. Runaway Alien
The adventures of a runaway alien named RDex who lands on Earth and meets two teenage humans named Tommy and Hawk. RDex decides to stay for a while in their shed, but soon enough, the boys want to take RDex to middle school. With his disguise on, will RDex be able to fit in with the human students?
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31. Battle Dragons: City of Thieves
A middle-grade novel with some adult-level decision-making. In the first of two books, Abel is a teenage boy hoping to fly dragons someday in the Dragon Battles. One night his sister shows up outside his window with a stolen dragon that is now Abel's responsibility. Can Abel keep his secret from his law enforcement big brother?
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32. Bloom: The Overthrow
When it rains, watch out! In the first book of this 3-part thrilling series, the rain brings some mysterious seeds that bloom fast and devour everything in sight, including humans! There are 3 kids who are unaffected by these alien plants, Anaya, Petra, and Seth. Can they figure out how to kill these invaders before it rains again?
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33. Timeless: Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic
The title says it all, Diego's world is indeed timeless. Past, present, and future are all a part of reality in this universe and it is a harmonious one. Until one day Diego's dad is taken, and Diego realizes he has a special gift that can save him and stop the evil group that wants to mess with this world's delicate balance.
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34. The Danger Gang
Not your ordinary group of teens, the Danger Gang has mysterious powers. It all started one day after Franky moves into a new town and a strange green storm hits. One by one, each kid in town discovers they have magic powers, but the weirdness doesn't stop there, and this gang may be in for some real danger.
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35. The Last Girl on Earth
Li is a human baby raised by an alien family, part of an alien society that took over Earth. Now she is a teenager and knows how to pass in the Abdoloreans world, but when she meets and falls for Ryn, the fate of humanity may be lost along with her deepest secret.
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36. A Problematic Paradox
When Nikola's dad is kidnapped by aliens, her whole life is turned upside down. She ends up a refugee at a mad science school where she discovers she has unique abilities that can either save her school or cause even more chaos in her ever-expanding world.
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37. The Fourteenth Goldfish
Ellie's grandpa Melvin has always been a bit mad about science. So when a new strangely-behaving teenage boy starts hanging around Ellie's house, she realizes he might have done it, invented the elixir of life! What kind of mischief will this duo get into?
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38. Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret
This action-packed 6-book series begins with Cruz, a gifted teen that gets chosen to attend Explorer Academy where the brightest kids get trained to become brave universe explorers. While he is there he uncovers some family history that might put his life in danger. Who can he trust?
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30 Nonfiction Books for Middle Schoolers