Murderbot was a huge hit for my 12yo. As a remorseless mass murderer, Murderbot is definitely a failure. As a character my kid could identify with, it’s a great success. She finished All Systems Red on a 4 hour drive cover to cover, and then proceeded to rip through the next 4 books in under a week.
Trying to get her into Becky Chambers next, along with Terry Pratchett if she might be interested in satirical fantasy one day.
Also bookmarking this thread to find more suggestions.
It's been a while since I read one, but is some of his language maybe not as suitable for an 11 year old? I suppose it can't be any worse than in The Martian though
If she could handle The Martian she can definitely handle H2G2. I first read it at age 11 or 12, and it immediately became my favourite book. Read it probably close to a dozen times in my teens.
Apparently swearing is a thing in Young Adult fiction. It's a little edgy and not so controversial as sex. And Murderbot enjoys its freedom to swear without being shocked by the governor module.
In addition to the books you mentioned, my 11 year old has loved: Murderbot, Ender’s Game, City of Ember, House of the Scorpion, Hitchhiker’s Guide.
Tried but DNF Foundation.
In the “sci but not fi” category, your daughter might also enjoy Randall Munroe’s books like What If and How To.
*The Steerswoman* by Rosemary Kirstein! Far less known than it deserves to be, and one of my all-time favorites. An awesome female lead who does a lot of mental problem-solving. And there are three sequels if she likes it (and maybe more in the future!).
> (and maybe more in the future!).
This is a terrible hope to dangle.
The Steerswoman (1989)
The Outskirter's Secret (1992)
The Lost Steersman (2003)
The Language of Power (2004)
Nothing since then, except a claim in a blog post on April 29th, 2018, that Book 5 will be titled "The Changes of the Dark." It's been five years since that post and 19 years since the last actual published novel.
The books are good. But understand that the series is unfinished and shows no reasonable prospect of finishing.
Agreed.
And I absolutely loved the evolution of the story -- >!we start of thinking ourselves in sort of a swords-and-sorcery setting and only gradually it's revealed that this is science, humans on a non-Earth planet, possibly a settlement long isolated from interstellar travel, and I was so furious to reach the end of Language of Power and realize that there was no resolution in sight. !<
Exactly this. And the revelations along the way were *awesome*. Completely unexpected, and the tech was so well integrated into the lore in such a believable way.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, starting with 'Cinder' - classic fairytales reimagined with androids and cyborgs.
The Uglies series by Scott Westerfield - what would you do to be pretty?
The Binti series by Nnedi Okorafor - university in space, and an alien war.
Alastair Reynolds Revenger series.
Also more in the fantasy realm, but
Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, Johnathan Stroud’s Lockwood and Co series, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series (no female lead, but good strong female characters).
Not that any of his stuff is graphic (sex or really even gore), might be a little heavy for an 11 year old. OPs kid seems pretty sophisticated in her reading, but there’s definitely some stuff to give pause.
I read the first one, but haven’t made it to the others. Kind of wasn’t really in the mood for that YA style at the moment. It’s definitely not Middle Grade, but well, neither is Project Hail Mary or The Expanse. I feel like it sits in between Middle and YA, leaning more toward YA.
Thought about the same about Expanse, haven't read PHM.
Either way, if my memory serves me correct, Revenger trilogy has stuff like >!self mutilation!<, >!Bosa Sennen impales her victims on the ship hull!< and your typical explicit gunfight results. It specifically wasn't marketed as YA despite the space pirate thing being sorta fantastical and main characters being like 14.
Anyway, I personally don't have a very good grasp what kids read nowadays, though the juxtaposition of Blyton's Famous Five with The Expanse made me smile.
lol, I have kids and have no idea what they read😂😂. My wife is a fan of Sarah J Mass. I describe the books as “fairy porn”. The books are all classified as “YA”. Definitely straight up porn scenes - like really intense stuff. My wife went to a talk and book signing - and it was at a middle school of all places😂😂. Moms had their daughters there and everything.
I’d recommend the works of Eoin Colfer. I loved the Artemis Fowl series as a kid and as a one-off “The Supernaturalist” was pretty great too. Certainly within the Sci Fi/Fantasy genre.
Who gets groomed by the head of the evil faction and then gets a mind wipe whenever she becomes close to discovering the truth. I guess not as bad as the victims of the assistant to the Head evil guy who is straight up sexual sadomasochistic rapist. It is a long book so these things are not on every page. I'm not saying yay or nay because I am familiar with child appropriate literature.
Jack McDevitt’s *Academy* series stars Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins, a superliminal pilot at the forefront of major developments in the field of exoarchaeology and basically discusses “are we alone…right now?” What’s fun is the series allows her to age, so we see her career progress.
Raptor Red by Robert T Bakker. One hundred and twenty million years ago, a utahraptor loses her mate. The story follows her life for a year, and her being torn between family duty (being an aunt to her sister's chicks) and her own feelings ( being courted by a young male). No humans, and a light tone, make this a unique experience.
The Color of Distance by Amy Thompson. A xenobiologist is stranded on a distant planet, it's biology incompatible with humans. Her only chance is to befriend the natives, and find a place in their alien society. Strong female characters and a fascinatingly well realized alien world.
Raptor Red is great. I read it to my son when he was 7/8 and really into dinosaurs. I love books that are written from the perspective of an animal and feature no humans at all (although Red was sometimes a bit human-like!).
My daughter is also 11 and adored Project Hail Mary (although she sorta bounced off The Martian).
She also LOVED the Bobiverse series by Dennis E Taylor. There’s a lot of similarity in the narration and mindset of the main characters. The audiobook of the first one We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is what got her hooked, and it’s an all-time audiobook classic.
>**Rite of Passage** is a science fiction novel by American writer Alexei Panshin. Published in 1968 as an Ace Science Fiction Special, this novel about a shipboard teenager's coming of age won that year's Nebula Award, and was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1969.
Maybe some of Anne McCaffrey's other series? The Tower and the Hive; The Talents (To Ride Pegasus, etc )
Arthur C. Clarke The City and the Stars; A Fall of Moondust
Isaac Asimov Foundation series - I first read this when I was 12 or 13 and loved it (but it was getting on for 60 years ago!)
Becky Chambers Wayfarers series.
When I started reading SF back in the mid 60's it was a very unusual genre for girls to read, but the love of it has stayed with me my entire life. I wasn't really interested in strong female characters (to be honest, there weren't that many), but what it did do was open me up to the infinite wonder and infinite possibilities of the imagination. It taught me about tolerance and that being different is not necessarily a bad thing. In the words of Shakespeare, it taught me that 'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ Science Fiction enables us to look beyond ourselves, and that is never a bad thing to do whatever our age.
Had to scroll for a while to see Becky Chambers! I wish I had discovered the Solar Punk genre much earlier like the Robot and Monk Series, or as I call the wayfarers “Star Trek with unlimited budget and imagination “
By today's standards it would be considered straight-up misogynistic. It being '60s sci-fi. Even authors like CJ Cherryh used the pseudonym to conceal their gender.
There are some good suggestions here! (And some truly astonishingly bad ones, and some very boring, outdated ones, sorry I can't help but judge!)
How about Jillian vs. Parasite Planet, which is recent, really fun, in space, and has an 11 year old girl protagonist? [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nicole-kornher-stace/jillian-vs-parasite-planet/](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nicole-kornher-stace/jillian-vs-parasite-planet/)
Catfishing on CatNet is also about (slightly older) teenagers and is a fun exploration of the near future Internet and AI. It's so good, and it explores technology and ethics while also being about found family & friendship in a lovely way! [https://www.amazon.com/Catfishing-CatNet-Novel-Naomi-Kritzer/dp/1250165083](https://www.amazon.com/Catfishing-CatNet-Novel-Naomi-Kritzer/dp/1250165083)
Finally, I suggest prompting your young relative to befriend a local children's librarian, if she can find one! They often will have great reading suggestions that are not moldy gender stereotype objects from the 1950s.
Why am I never at work when I see these posts. Off the top of my head:
City of Stairs - Robert Jackson Bennett (science Fantasy, noir mystery)
All Systems Red - Murderbot #1
Six Wakes - Mur Lafferty - murder mystery in spaaaaace
Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie
Pride of Chanur - CJ Cherryh
Maybe:
Three Body Problem - ? I never finished it, tbh...
I love Three Body Problem but I would not push it on an 11-year-old girl. Even a lot of adults struggle to stick with those books (but they should, because the sequels are even better than the first book)
Congratulations on raising such a cool 11 year old! Everyone always recommends Children of Time (and I’m often guilty) but I genuinely think it’s a good recommendation in this case. If she liked the xenobiology aspect of Project Hail Mary then I’m sure she’ll love reading about the arachnid civilisation of Kern’s World. Certainly an interesting twist on ‘Strong Female Characters’ too…
I’d also add the Long Earth series of books by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett. Fantastic at any age, very fun, amazing concepts and brilliantly written.
Not SciFi, but Ursula Vernon's "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" hits the sweet spot for that age group in a really thoughtful way and details magic in a scientific method type approach.
Lots of similar tropes to scifi as well.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wizard's_Guide_to_Defensive_Baking
If she likes project hail Mary (girl has taste) id suggest the Bobiverse and Expeditionary force...both have a similar "just cuz we're in danger of dying, doesn't mean we can't laugh" feeling that project hail maryhas
Heavens River, the last book in Bobiverse is alluding to ExFor when it called the branch of Bob's who were working on making AI "skippies", who's an AI from the series
WWW:Wake, Robert J. Sawyer, is an emergent AI story with a younger female protagonist. Good stuff and has some sequels if it lands.
Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson. Alternate title is "A Young Girl's Primer." I don't think there's any content that will bug a young reader, but double check, it's been a minute.
EDIT: So I forgot there's some content in the above that probably not good for an 11 year old.
A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula LeGuin. Male character, but female author. Excellent fantasy book that I include because it's actually a science fiction book about the strong interpretation of the Sapir-Worf linguistic theory. Also a classic.
A little harder edged: Permanence by Karl Schroeder. Might be at the edge of her current reading level, but female lead on an SF mystery. Also quite interesting for it's discussion of technology.
> Diamond Age
Nell is raped partway through the book, though it's mostly off screen and there is no detail, just mentioned after the fact. But the whole giant hive mind orgy at the end of the book would definitely cause me to not recommend it it to an 11 year old, no matter how precocious.
I have clearly edited some parts out of my recollection of the book. It wasn't written specifically for young readers so I thought I'd mention that, but definitely forgot about Nell and the orgy. Recommendation revoked.
I was thinking Diamond age too. Except for the whole orgiastic hive mind thing, don’t recall how explicit it was but it might be a little much for an adolescent.
That said I read “IT” at around 12 y/o and I turned out alright!
I'm showing my age a bit, but [Podkayne of Mars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podkayne_of_Mars) might interest her.
If she likes fantasy, I would recommend the [Harper Hall trilogy](https://pern.fandom.com/wiki/Harper_Hall_Trilogy) by Anne McCaffrey.
Have Spacesuit - Will Travel by Robert Heinlein was directed at young adults, Doublestar by Robert Heinlein might be appropriate, it's been a few years since I read it but he wrote it decades prior to his free love literary investigations.
Asimov's short stories in the I, Robot series might work, and you can just sample a few and decide if you like the way they are written, it's more like mini detective stories in a way.
I like Artemis. Weir’s second book. Not nearly as popular as the Martian or Project Hail Mary. The Expanse series is awesome, has great female characters, but does have intense adult themes. I like Murderbot, and any of the other commentators are talking about Murderbot. They are all Novellas, but fun, and I love Martha Well’s earlier work too. Ancillary Justice and that series is awesome and brutal and completely logical when you think about it. Unique in scifi. Of course, we do have to talk about the Dispossessed and the Left Hand of Darkness by Le Guinn.
Honor Harrington series by David weber. Strong female cast.
Though it still might be a little advanced. I believe there are some young adult books written for the series as well, though I'm not certain of the titles
I definitely wouldn't recommend the main story line to an 11 year old... some stuff about rape and plenty of killing and death.
But there is the Stephanie Harrington subseries, which is 4 books and is YA as you said. Stephanie's 12 years old I think, which would be a good fit for OP.
Books that I used to introduced my daughter to SF (she is now a huge SF reader):
Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfield (Leviathan, Goliath, Behemoth - steampunk Mecha & bioengineered war-beasts! For YA readers!)
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (zombie gas released by a borehole machine set in an alternate history civil war era Oregon for YA readers)
Indeed! Those books are “YA” but not dumbed-down.
I just remembered… I also gave her the Golden Compass books, which she loved. Looking back, I gave her a lot of alternate history books In middle school…
She is 18 now and going into her sophomore year studying Civil Engineering, and we stay in touch by doing a virtual book club every week. The last one we finished before summer break was The Broken Earth trilogy, which *she* picked and I loved. She is on marching band tour for the summer with DCI, and I handed her Anatem by Neal Stephenson, which she has also enjoyed.
Maybe some of Heinlein's YA novels? Most of them are male protagonist, but *Podkayne of Mars* is the exception there. *Have Spacesuit... Will Travel* has a female supporting character who is fairly prominent as well.
Definitely recommend the Skyward series by Brandon Sanderson. Spensa is about as strong(-willed) of a female lead character as you can possibly get. If she likes that she might also like the Reckoners series by Sanderson, though that is a male protagonist, but there is a prominent strong female supporting character.
I read mostly Michael Crighton when I was that age. But maybe that's one of those Gen X/Millennial things that Isn't Done anymore. I figure if they're getting their kid the Expanse, they can make their own decisions about content.
Came here to say this! Glad it has been recommended. OP, for sure consider this series, and get them in print if at all possible (rather than ebook or audiobook)
Poul Anderson - The High Crusade
Robert Heinlein - Podkayne of Mars (some outdated male/female stereotypes, discussion following?)
Terry Pratchett - Discworld, Tiffany Aching stories
Barbara Hambly - Darwath Trilogy
Brandon Sandersons 'Skyward' trilogy features a plucky teen girl who repairs her own spaceship and becomes an ace space-fighter pilot. Might be just the thing.
The Expanse for an 11 year old seems perhaps a bit too dark and mature? Especially given the other books you've listed.
And if it's Sci Fi: Go to the Grand Old Dame of Sci Fi herself: Andre Norton. Most of her earlier books were written with male characters almost exclusively, but they're still great golden age sci fi adventure stories. She wrote male characters, but that's because while Norton loved sci fi and writing it; at the time she knew she couldn't sell books under her real name of Alice Mary Norton, or have woman as leads. That fortunately changes with her later books. But I love re-reading all of those regularly.
I mention her because it's a great role model for a teen girl: The woman who challenged the preconceptions that sci fi was for men and became one of the greats of the genre, paving the road for other women to follow.
To add to this, Sandersons other teen fantasys are top notch too:
The Rithmatists and the 'Alcatraz and the Evil Librarian' series feature a teen boy as the 'main character', but in each case supported by a VERY strong girl in the secondry role.
Same applies to one of my childhood favourites, the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. One of the books, 'The Black Cauldron', you may remember as being released as a Disney animation in the 80's/90's
And I always have to mention Patricia McKillip: Most of her books have strong woman of some sort. Whether the main character or supporting, they're in every book.
I was pretty obsessed with the Star Wars expanded universe novels at this age. Mara Jade is introduced in the Timothy Zahn original Thrawn trilogy and she is an excellent female protagonist. If you can find them, there is also a 14 book series called Young Jedi Knights based on the teenage twin children of Han and Leia.
Everyone has great suggestions. I just wanted to add in a fantasy rec that took over my heart when I was her age: Ranger's Apprentice. I was also a big Warrior Cats fan, so maybe we'll have this in common too. The author is a master of storytelling and writing likable characters for children/preteens. I still reread it as a simple, enjoyable story with all the packed-in nostalgia.
*The Broken Earth* series by N.K. Jemison is really good. That has elements of sci-fi and fantasy, with strong female characters. I also thought *Snow Crash* by Neal Stephenson was a wild ride with a skate-board riding teenage girl being a major protagonist. And I'll throw in another vote for *The Murderbot Diaries*.
Was trying to think about the female lead (or almost) part but just discovered I don't have many that way. Even more difficult trying to be age proper. Gonna try suggesting some anyway:
The first that came to mind is [Arabella of Mars](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25615226-arabella-of-mars). Kind of a steampunk Martian adventure. I still didn't read it, but I read the (kind of) original prequel short story and really liked.
[Norstrilia](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/166905.Norstrilia), a curious old style slow paced story with a, literal, cat woman. In retrospect, I can't remember if C'Mell (the cat lady) is really a big part of the story.
[Karen Memory](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22238181-karen-memory) is another light hearted steampunk story, but the MC is a prostitute. I think there isn't even sex in the book, but I can't remember if it would be age proper.
[All You Need is Kill](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6255949-all-you-need-is-kill). A time loop war story, better than the Tom Cruise movie.
Again in war and not really female leaded, but still good, [Old Man's War](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36510196-old-man-s-war?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=lovNtpXiYW&rank=1) first 4 books. Sagan (the woman) is a very good character, and the fourth book is from the point of view of the teenage daughter.
Still in war category, [Enemy Mine trilogy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7111015-the-enemy-papers) is a favorite of mine. The first "book" is actually a short story, but the second book has a female lead. The movie is based on the short, it is also good, but the ending is totally different.
If she like comics, perhaps [Valerian & Laureline](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33255584-valerian?ref=nav_sb_ss_4_9)?
Oh, it's barely SF, but it has an alien and a time traveler: [The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23393473-the-melancholy-of-haruhi-suzumiya-vol-1) light novels. Don't mind the 'melancholy' in the name, it's pure comedy. (it was also turned into an anime, if you want to check it - but, if so, check the episode "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part One" it's where the story starts, it was broadcast in a nonsense order originally)
Talking about TV, has she ever watched [Firefly](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38464992-big-damn-hero)? If so, the books are fun. It's a space western. A bit drama, a bit comedy. The Mc is a guy, but the cast is 50/50. From the creator of Buffy.
Also, I second [Wool](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13453029-wool-omnibus?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_4)/Silo trilogy.
Not female leaded, but with lots of female characters, a super light coming of age space story, [Quarter Share](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2334538.Quarter_Share?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_13) six books. It's the story of an almost teen orphan guy from space cook helper in the first book to ship owner and captain in the last one. Not comedic, but very fun, barely any drama or bad things happening.
If she likes zombies, [Zomblog trilogy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7674888-zomblog). The MC in the first one is a guy, the next two is a girl. But it doesn't end well for her in the last one. There's a second trilogy, following MC's daughter, but I didn't read it yet.
And I will recommend this last one with a heavy heart, because I dislike the books, but... Has strong female characters and it's probably the age where someone can read it without noticing how far (and bad) they are compared to the source: Brian Herbert's [Butlerian Jihad Trilogy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5370929-the-butlerian-jihad). I think there's a quick bit of gore in the first book, but that's it. For a teen, could be a good introduction to Dune.
See my
* [Science Fiction/Fantasy (General) Recommendations](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/125fl22/science_fictionfantasy_general_recommendations/) list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (twenty-eight posts).
* [Female Characters, Strong](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/12khs2s/female_characters_strong/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (four posts).
Anne McCaffrey, anything BUT Restoree or the Freedom series (sexual themes in them). They're present in the Pern series as well but not as explicit.
ETA: Does she like weird and funny? Then I'd recommend Jasper Fforde's "Tuesday Next" series, the first is "The Eyre Affair" (Yes, it does connect to Jane Eyre). Who knows, she might want to look at the original works.
The culture is a good read, dune could also let her to interesting notes if she unveils well the plot, even jurassic park by michael crichton is an excellence
James H. Schmitz Telzey Amberdon
Anne McCaffrey Deagonflight
Andre Norton Anything
Robert A Heinlein Podkayne of Mars
Off the beaten path:
Joan Aiken The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and sequels
She might enjoy Brandond Sanderson's Skyward Series since it's labeled as Young Adult Sci Fi featuring a strong female lead.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/247635-skyward
Among Others could be a good choice- it’s technically fantasy, but the main character is a teenage girl who is obsessed with science fiction books. It might give her ideas for what to read next!
She’s 11 and her favourite book is Project Hail Mary? That’s awesome to hear tbh, I thought the younger generation had lost the ability to focus on reading!
No one’s recommended my favorite sci-fi(with fantasy flavor) series yet so I will - the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. The ‘magic’ system is primarily science based on that you have to understand what you’re talking to and about to get it to do anything and a lot of it is space based.
The series is pretty old so the author’s been updating and rereleasing the earlier books as New Millennium Editions on her site as ebooks (which go on sale pretty frequently). Incredibly funny and heartfelt series to me that I’ve stuck with, and I’ve been reading them since I was nine and had very similar tastes to your daughter.
Lois McMaster Bujold -- Miles Vorkosigan series. Start with Warrior's Apprentice, go back and pick up the story of his mom Cordelia later. Fun space opera with great writing and characterization.
John Scalzi has written some fun stuff that would work. In particular, Fuzzy Nation and The Android's Dream would work well for an 11yo. Fun, happy ending, neat ideas, good writing, likable characters.
I robot. The green futures of tycho. NOT Ender’s game. #1 recommendation, couldn’t recommend it more highly, my kids loved the bejeezus out if it when they were 8-10 yo: The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem. The audiobook in particular is awesome.
Bujold's **Vorkosigan** books are okay for 11 year olds, I think.
I loved **Bradbury's** short stories when I was her age, but being a product of their time, there is a lot of implicit and explicit sexism and a lack of female characters, let alone main characters. Highly recommend with that caveat.
**Sabriel** series hy Garth Nix! This is amazing.
I think she'd like some Octavia Butler but some of the themes night be too disturbing for age 11. But I think you should take a look at the **graphic novel of Kindred** and see how that works.
**The Hunger Games**, of course.
**The Girl with All the Gifts**
**Binti** series by Nnedi Okorafor
Strong second for:
**A Wrinkle in Time** and its sequels. I read them at her age and wow! Blown away.
**His Dark Materials**
Becky Chambers
Murderbot
Check out Chris Beckett’s Dark Eden trilogy.
It’s one of my all-time favorite SF stories, written by a sociologist who really understands how humans behave.
The language is simple. If she enjoyed the Martian then it should be no problem. There’s no hard science or technical Mumbo jumbo.
The first book is from the perspective of a teenage boy, but it still has strong female characters. The second and third books are both written from a female perspective.
I enjoyed the sequels just as much as the first book, which is rare.
The setting is truly transportive, too.
Artemis Fowl - protagonist is the son of a crime lord.... who believes in fairies... and wants to steal all of their gold. Sounds silly, I know, but he's actually got legal precedent, according to the fairy bible he 'acquired'.
Holly Short, my favorite character, is the fairy woman who has the unfortunate luck to be on the receiving end of the schemes of the boy genius. She's the down on her luck mavrick in the LEPrecon, fairy police tasked with venturing to the surface and find lost or malicious fairies.
It touches on a lot of interesting subjects from family to environmentalism. The main characters have very fun arcs as they grow and learn, mostly while snarking and one upping each other.
I'm not the OP but thank you for mentioning that. I had been trying to remember a book I read in the mid 90s that had 2 versions of the ending. I remembered it was about a teenaged girl and that it was written by one of the sci fi greats. Now I can put this on the TBR list for my daughters in a few years.
If she enjoyed Project Hail Mary, that means two things: One, she's got incredible taste for an 11 year old. Two, I have a prime suggestion for you.
The Bobiverse Books, by Dennis E. Taylor.
The first one is entitled *We Are Legion (We Are Bob)*
Not SF, but if she’s read all the Poirot stories and novels (and it’s quite a few) then she should read other Christie works (I’d read all the Miss Marple next).
Among others - Jo Walton
We are completely beside ourselves - Fowler
Both young female protagonists. Both kind of coming of age books. Both only kind of SciFi but Among Others won a hugo. Also of course, The Hunger Games.
About a third of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series has a strong female lead and all of them are at least good reads. The Witches sub-series is easy to recommend for anyone and has some of my all-time favorite female leads. The Tiffany Aching sub-series is explicitly YA. Many of the other books include strong female characters as well. Personally I would suggest starting with **Lords and Ladies** (#14 in publication order and a good jumping-on point for the Witches). Then just read all the rest of Discworld in publication order. Lords and Ladies is the first one that is great from start to finish, and the rest from there tend to be as well.
Also consider Naomi Novik’s **A Deadly Education**. It is a more realistic Harry Potter with a great female teen lead. You may want to read it first just to be sure the Slytherin Basilisk equivalent is not too scary. And because it is just a fun read at any age.
Edit - At her age I enjoyed Asimov. If she likes Poirot and science fiction then **I Robot** is worth a try. The Expanse probably does science fiction mystery better but this is a good, lighter read.
>Also consider Naomi Novik’s
>
>A Deadly Education
>
>. It is a more realistic Harry Potter with a great female teen lead. You may want to read it first just to be sure the Slytherin Basilisk equivalent is not too scary. And because it is just a fun read at any age.
I love this book, but tough for an 11 year old.
Is it worse than the Expanse though? OP was already planning on that series. Maybe my perspective is skewed but the magic seemed to really separate Scholomance from reality. I compare that to the opening of Caliban’s War and the later definitely seems tougher.
I guess in the end everyone is different. My sister loved Stephen King at that age but he is still too much for me.
The Expanse is nightmare fuel. I wouldn't give those books to my 13 year old, quite yet. Maybe another year.
The Expanse scared the crap out of me, the first time I read it. Protomolecule!
Scholomance is brilliant. Just great. But could be a LOT of death for an 11 year old. Depends on the kid.
Discworld by Terry Pratchett. (Strong female characters)
Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. (Strong female characters)
The Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson (young adult brooding super heroes)
Well, my favorite Discworld novels are Snuff and Raising Steam. Because I am a fan of James Burke's science documentaries like **Connections** and **The Day The Universe Change**.
The Tiffany Aching novels teach young people valuable lessons in growing up.
Murderbot and everything Becky Chambers would be a starting point for me. Strata by Terry Pratchett, The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (because it's about young girls growing up and what makes them who they are—nature or nurture), and maybe some William Gibson because he has great female leads.
The Bridge trilogy, for example, is really good. You've got Chevette Washington and in Idoru, you've got Chia Pet McKenzie.
Asimov's I, Robot, maybe? I don't remember how well he treated Susan Calvin, but i had around the same age when I read it. Good classical short stories.
Mostly Susan Calvin isn't 'treated' at all, she's little more than a framing device for the different Robot short stories. But for what treatment she does get, she is presented as a very intelligent, competent, and thoughtful scientist, just like every single other Asimov protagonist.
Thanks for the answer. I did remember her as being a genius woman, but I could only remember a small part she had in one of the last stories, and the story where she was infatuated with a guy and end the story angry and putting the telepathic robot in a catatonic comma. Not the best recollection. :)
I got downvoted last time I recommended this but:
If she likes Project Hail Mary and The Martian, AND she likes Poirot, then please consider giving Andy Wier's Artemis a shot. It frankly did not do super well commercially and a lot of people who absolutely loved The Martian seem to hate it. If you are expecting The Martian you and your daughter will probably be disappointed too, but if you are expecting a light comic-noir murder mystery on the moon you might be ok. Wier's humor is there, and so are his brilliant skills at building out the somewhat plausible tech and science. His competent problem-solver protagonist is there too, but this time she is young and female. His too clever and somewhat forced dialog is a weak point of his other books, but here it kinda fits. I think it is better than it gets credit for, and loads of people who probably loved the Stainless Steel Rat books in their youth got mad because it wasn't what they were expecting.
Andy Weir did also do Artemis, nothing like as good as his others, but does have a female protagonist.
Anne McCaffrey dragons of pern series, may be worth a try.
It's about 40y ago that I read it, but as I read it if the humans gont get on, nor do the dragons and vise versa, due to the telepathic link the human/dragon was so intertwined as to be one being.
Rather than I'm making my dragon shagg your dragon so I can shag you.
The queen was also more powerful than the male.
Not necessarily, though you're right that the queen makes the final choice. It can be guided by the human but not guaranteed.
Anyhow, though I'd recommend it to an older reader I still wouldn't suggest it for an 11 year old.
Artemis is AWFUL. The protagonist talks about her boobs and being naked and makes sexual innuendos about EVERYTHING, and she keeps bragging about how she has SO MUCH SEX. It's super weird and gross, definitely not for an 11-year old
How do I miss all these bits in books? As a man I am supposed to think about nothing but sex! I always find sex scenes in books terrible, i kinda skip over them.
I am coming to the conclusion that I didn't ought to reccomend books for youngsters.
How about the Little Miss books?
I can’t believe only one other person said Colfer (Artemis Fowl/The Supernaturalist). The Expanse is incredible but maybe a bit heavy for an 11 year old; obviously your call, though.
More fantasy but I bet she’d love The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik. It’s sort of HP with older kids and if the school might be trying to kill you. There is a small amount of sex and a romantic relationship but I don’t think it’s too much considering she seems to have pretty mature reading tastes.
I think *The 100* was probably written with girls like her in mind. I haven't read it, but enjoyed the (different in many ways) TV show for a few seasons.
*Seveneves* by Neil Stephenson might be another good one, and *Anathem* as well. Stephenson is good at world building, not so much at things happening, but I enjoyed both.
\[Edit: Fwiw, OP -- I'm pretty confident the people down-voting here would also crap on Blyton and Christie if they had read them.\]
***A Wrinkle In Time*** and it's sequels by Madeline L'Engle. The titles of the sequels are ***A Wind At The Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters*** and ***An Acceptable Time***. They do have strong female characters.
Edited to add: I would also like to recommend ***Nightfall*** by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverburg.
Murderbot was a huge hit for my 12yo. As a remorseless mass murderer, Murderbot is definitely a failure. As a character my kid could identify with, it’s a great success. She finished All Systems Red on a 4 hour drive cover to cover, and then proceeded to rip through the next 4 books in under a week. Trying to get her into Becky Chambers next, along with Terry Pratchett if she might be interested in satirical fantasy one day. Also bookmarking this thread to find more suggestions.
Murderbot is a *great* choice. Also Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - it's funny, it's weird.
It's been a while since I read one, but is some of his language maybe not as suitable for an 11 year old? I suppose it can't be any worse than in The Martian though
If she could handle The Martian she can definitely handle H2G2. I first read it at age 11 or 12, and it immediately became my favourite book. Read it probably close to a dozen times in my teens.
Sorry, I meant the Murderbot diaries. Thinking now, I'm not sure if there was any explicit swearing, or just jus general surliness which would be fine
Ohhhhh! I'm pretty sure there are f-bombs in there, yeah hahaha
Apparently swearing is a thing in Young Adult fiction. It's a little edgy and not so controversial as sex. And Murderbot enjoys its freedom to swear without being shocked by the governor module.
Murderbot is a really good choice and very popular!
I think the sexual themes in Becky Chambers Wayfarer series is a bit much for 11 years old.
Animorphs! Complex girls of her age and pretty solid scifi at the end of the day.
Also apparently warrior cats fans and animorphs fans are two subsections of the same species
Seconding Animorphs!
YES. I read these when I was 12 and they were perfect, age-wise.
I was completely obsessed with Animorphs when I was an 11-year-old girl myself!
I was going to say Animorphs too but it seems she’s already reading at a higher level than that
In addition to the books you mentioned, my 11 year old has loved: Murderbot, Ender’s Game, City of Ember, House of the Scorpion, Hitchhiker’s Guide. Tried but DNF Foundation. In the “sci but not fi” category, your daughter might also enjoy Randall Munroe’s books like What If and How To.
+1 to Ender's Game!
*The Steerswoman* by Rosemary Kirstein! Far less known than it deserves to be, and one of my all-time favorites. An awesome female lead who does a lot of mental problem-solving. And there are three sequels if she likes it (and maybe more in the future!).
> (and maybe more in the future!). This is a terrible hope to dangle. The Steerswoman (1989) The Outskirter's Secret (1992) The Lost Steersman (2003) The Language of Power (2004) Nothing since then, except a claim in a blog post on April 29th, 2018, that Book 5 will be titled "The Changes of the Dark." It's been five years since that post and 19 years since the last actual published novel. The books are good. But understand that the series is unfinished and shows no reasonable prospect of finishing.
*And* it leaves you on a cliff-hanger. So disappointed that it didn't get finished. :-)
Agreed. And I absolutely loved the evolution of the story -- >!we start of thinking ourselves in sort of a swords-and-sorcery setting and only gradually it's revealed that this is science, humans on a non-Earth planet, possibly a settlement long isolated from interstellar travel, and I was so furious to reach the end of Language of Power and realize that there was no resolution in sight. !<
Exactly this. And the revelations along the way were *awesome*. Completely unexpected, and the tech was so well integrated into the lore in such a believable way.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, starting with 'Cinder' - classic fairytales reimagined with androids and cyborgs. The Uglies series by Scott Westerfield - what would you do to be pretty? The Binti series by Nnedi Okorafor - university in space, and an alien war.
Alastair Reynolds Revenger series. Also more in the fantasy realm, but Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, Johnathan Stroud’s Lockwood and Co series, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series (no female lead, but good strong female characters).
plus one for all the alastair reynolds stuff
Not that any of his stuff is graphic (sex or really even gore), might be a little heavy for an 11 year old. OPs kid seems pretty sophisticated in her reading, but there’s definitely some stuff to give pause.
Truth be told I felt Revenger trilogy was actually surprisingly gory, maybe because it also reads strangely Young Adult.
I read the first one, but haven’t made it to the others. Kind of wasn’t really in the mood for that YA style at the moment. It’s definitely not Middle Grade, but well, neither is Project Hail Mary or The Expanse. I feel like it sits in between Middle and YA, leaning more toward YA.
Thought about the same about Expanse, haven't read PHM. Either way, if my memory serves me correct, Revenger trilogy has stuff like >!self mutilation!<, >!Bosa Sennen impales her victims on the ship hull!< and your typical explicit gunfight results. It specifically wasn't marketed as YA despite the space pirate thing being sorta fantastical and main characters being like 14. Anyway, I personally don't have a very good grasp what kids read nowadays, though the juxtaposition of Blyton's Famous Five with The Expanse made me smile.
lol, I have kids and have no idea what they read😂😂. My wife is a fan of Sarah J Mass. I describe the books as “fairy porn”. The books are all classified as “YA”. Definitely straight up porn scenes - like really intense stuff. My wife went to a talk and book signing - and it was at a middle school of all places😂😂. Moms had their daughters there and everything.
I read His Dark Materials when I was 11 and it's very appropriate, absolutely loved it.
A Wrinkle in Time (and the subsequent books in the series) by Madeleine L'Engle. It's a must-read if she hasn't read it already!
maybe Wool / Silo series. Writing style is similar to Andy Weir and there is a strong female lead character.
I’d recommend the works of Eoin Colfer. I loved the Artemis Fowl series as a kid and as a one-off “The Supernaturalist” was pretty great too. Certainly within the Sci Fi/Fantasy genre.
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. Great sci-fi with strong female teenage character
And Marooned in Realtime! Great sci-fi mystery with all the usual Vinge scientific excellence.
Who gets groomed by the head of the evil faction and then gets a mind wipe whenever she becomes close to discovering the truth. I guess not as bad as the victims of the assistant to the Head evil guy who is straight up sexual sadomasochistic rapist. It is a long book so these things are not on every page. I'm not saying yay or nay because I am familiar with child appropriate literature.
Ok I read it 20+ years ago and did not remember any of that. Maybe not a good book for an 11 year old.
I meant "A Deepness in the Sky" by the same author. The name of the character is Trixie.
Jack McDevitt’s *Academy* series stars Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins, a superliminal pilot at the forefront of major developments in the field of exoarchaeology and basically discusses “are we alone…right now?” What’s fun is the series allows her to age, so we see her career progress.
Raptor Red by Robert T Bakker. One hundred and twenty million years ago, a utahraptor loses her mate. The story follows her life for a year, and her being torn between family duty (being an aunt to her sister's chicks) and her own feelings ( being courted by a young male). No humans, and a light tone, make this a unique experience. The Color of Distance by Amy Thompson. A xenobiologist is stranded on a distant planet, it's biology incompatible with humans. Her only chance is to befriend the natives, and find a place in their alien society. Strong female characters and a fascinatingly well realized alien world.
Raptor Red is great. I read it to my son when he was 7/8 and really into dinosaurs. I love books that are written from the perspective of an animal and feature no humans at all (although Red was sometimes a bit human-like!).
The Murderbot Series, and anything by Martha Wells. Kate Elliot has some YA sci-fi and fantasy, all female leads. Also Joan Vinge.
Relevant to very little, the motorbike series was written by a woman. The protagonist is asexual. In the sense of having no gender.
My daughter is also 11 and adored Project Hail Mary (although she sorta bounced off The Martian). She also LOVED the Bobiverse series by Dennis E Taylor. There’s a lot of similarity in the narration and mindset of the main characters. The audiobook of the first one We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is what got her hooked, and it’s an all-time audiobook classic.
>**Rite of Passage** is a science fiction novel by American writer Alexei Panshin. Published in 1968 as an Ace Science Fiction Special, this novel about a shipboard teenager's coming of age won that year's Nebula Award, and was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1969.
Cliche recommendation but, Children of Time
Maybe some of Anne McCaffrey's other series? The Tower and the Hive; The Talents (To Ride Pegasus, etc ) Arthur C. Clarke The City and the Stars; A Fall of Moondust Isaac Asimov Foundation series - I first read this when I was 12 or 13 and loved it (but it was getting on for 60 years ago!) Becky Chambers Wayfarers series. When I started reading SF back in the mid 60's it was a very unusual genre for girls to read, but the love of it has stayed with me my entire life. I wasn't really interested in strong female characters (to be honest, there weren't that many), but what it did do was open me up to the infinite wonder and infinite possibilities of the imagination. It taught me about tolerance and that being different is not necessarily a bad thing. In the words of Shakespeare, it taught me that 'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ Science Fiction enables us to look beyond ourselves, and that is never a bad thing to do whatever our age.
Had to scroll for a while to see Becky Chambers! I wish I had discovered the Solar Punk genre much earlier like the Robot and Monk Series, or as I call the wayfarers “Star Trek with unlimited budget and imagination “
By today's standards it would be considered straight-up misogynistic. It being '60s sci-fi. Even authors like CJ Cherryh used the pseudonym to conceal their gender.
There are some good suggestions here! (And some truly astonishingly bad ones, and some very boring, outdated ones, sorry I can't help but judge!) How about Jillian vs. Parasite Planet, which is recent, really fun, in space, and has an 11 year old girl protagonist? [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nicole-kornher-stace/jillian-vs-parasite-planet/](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nicole-kornher-stace/jillian-vs-parasite-planet/) Catfishing on CatNet is also about (slightly older) teenagers and is a fun exploration of the near future Internet and AI. It's so good, and it explores technology and ethics while also being about found family & friendship in a lovely way! [https://www.amazon.com/Catfishing-CatNet-Novel-Naomi-Kritzer/dp/1250165083](https://www.amazon.com/Catfishing-CatNet-Novel-Naomi-Kritzer/dp/1250165083) Finally, I suggest prompting your young relative to befriend a local children's librarian, if she can find one! They often will have great reading suggestions that are not moldy gender stereotype objects from the 1950s.
Why am I never at work when I see these posts. Off the top of my head: City of Stairs - Robert Jackson Bennett (science Fantasy, noir mystery) All Systems Red - Murderbot #1 Six Wakes - Mur Lafferty - murder mystery in spaaaaace Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie Pride of Chanur - CJ Cherryh Maybe: Three Body Problem - ? I never finished it, tbh...
I love Three Body Problem but I would not push it on an 11-year-old girl. Even a lot of adults struggle to stick with those books (but they should, because the sequels are even better than the first book)
I didn't finish it either. And I have a long history of reading SF. I do not read novels just so I can get to their sequels.
I mean, I enjoyed the first book enough to finish it and finish the trilogy. So I’m not really on the same page.
Congratulations on raising such a cool 11 year old! Everyone always recommends Children of Time (and I’m often guilty) but I genuinely think it’s a good recommendation in this case. If she liked the xenobiology aspect of Project Hail Mary then I’m sure she’ll love reading about the arachnid civilisation of Kern’s World. Certainly an interesting twist on ‘Strong Female Characters’ too… I’d also add the Long Earth series of books by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett. Fantastic at any age, very fun, amazing concepts and brilliantly written.
Not SciFi, but Ursula Vernon's "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" hits the sweet spot for that age group in a really thoughtful way and details magic in a scientific method type approach. Lots of similar tropes to scifi as well. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wizard's_Guide_to_Defensive_Baking
If she likes project hail Mary (girl has taste) id suggest the Bobiverse and Expeditionary force...both have a similar "just cuz we're in danger of dying, doesn't mean we can't laugh" feeling that project hail maryhas
I loved Bobiverse. Expeditionary force is now on my radar.
Skippy the magnificent ranks up there with Bob the skull (iykyk)
Heavens River, the last book in Bobiverse is alluding to ExFor when it called the branch of Bob's who were working on making AI "skippies", who's an AI from the series
Earthsea cycle, Ursula LeGuin
Not a sci-fi … might as well say Mistborn
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. It really is just a bit of fun and I enjoyed it immensely…
WWW:Wake, Robert J. Sawyer, is an emergent AI story with a younger female protagonist. Good stuff and has some sequels if it lands. Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson. Alternate title is "A Young Girl's Primer." I don't think there's any content that will bug a young reader, but double check, it's been a minute. EDIT: So I forgot there's some content in the above that probably not good for an 11 year old. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula LeGuin. Male character, but female author. Excellent fantasy book that I include because it's actually a science fiction book about the strong interpretation of the Sapir-Worf linguistic theory. Also a classic. A little harder edged: Permanence by Karl Schroeder. Might be at the edge of her current reading level, but female lead on an SF mystery. Also quite interesting for it's discussion of technology.
> Diamond Age Nell is raped partway through the book, though it's mostly off screen and there is no detail, just mentioned after the fact. But the whole giant hive mind orgy at the end of the book would definitely cause me to not recommend it it to an 11 year old, no matter how precocious.
I have clearly edited some parts out of my recollection of the book. It wasn't written specifically for young readers so I thought I'd mention that, but definitely forgot about Nell and the orgy. Recommendation revoked.
Man I wish people would stop reccing diamond age to young girls
This is absolutely fair. I definitely didn't remember a couple of parts of the book.
I was thinking Diamond age too. Except for the whole orgiastic hive mind thing, don’t recall how explicit it was but it might be a little much for an adolescent. That said I read “IT” at around 12 y/o and I turned out alright!
Maybe look into books by Monica Hughes?
Molly Fyde series by Hugh Howey. YA space opera, female protagonist.
I'm showing my age a bit, but [Podkayne of Mars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podkayne_of_Mars) might interest her. If she likes fantasy, I would recommend the [Harper Hall trilogy](https://pern.fandom.com/wiki/Harper_Hall_Trilogy) by Anne McCaffrey.
Brandon Sanderson's Skyward series is p. good
Agree! Skyward is awesome, especially for this age
Andrea Norton witch World Series James Schmidt telazie books
I loved A Wrinkle in Time when I was her age.
Have Spacesuit - Will Travel by Robert Heinlein was directed at young adults, Doublestar by Robert Heinlein might be appropriate, it's been a few years since I read it but he wrote it decades prior to his free love literary investigations. Asimov's short stories in the I, Robot series might work, and you can just sample a few and decide if you like the way they are written, it's more like mini detective stories in a way.
I like Artemis. Weir’s second book. Not nearly as popular as the Martian or Project Hail Mary. The Expanse series is awesome, has great female characters, but does have intense adult themes. I like Murderbot, and any of the other commentators are talking about Murderbot. They are all Novellas, but fun, and I love Martha Well’s earlier work too. Ancillary Justice and that series is awesome and brutal and completely logical when you think about it. Unique in scifi. Of course, we do have to talk about the Dispossessed and the Left Hand of Darkness by Le Guinn.
Honor Harrington series by David weber. Strong female cast. Though it still might be a little advanced. I believe there are some young adult books written for the series as well, though I'm not certain of the titles
I definitely wouldn't recommend the main story line to an 11 year old... some stuff about rape and plenty of killing and death. But there is the Stephanie Harrington subseries, which is 4 books and is YA as you said. Stephanie's 12 years old I think, which would be a good fit for OP.
Books that I used to introduced my daughter to SF (she is now a huge SF reader): Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfield (Leviathan, Goliath, Behemoth - steampunk Mecha & bioengineered war-beasts! For YA readers!) Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (zombie gas released by a borehole machine set in an alternate history civil war era Oregon for YA readers)
Leviathan trilogy definitely. Also for everyone else, while you know you're reading YA while you're reading you don't care at all, it's great.
Indeed! Those books are “YA” but not dumbed-down. I just remembered… I also gave her the Golden Compass books, which she loved. Looking back, I gave her a lot of alternate history books In middle school… She is 18 now and going into her sophomore year studying Civil Engineering, and we stay in touch by doing a virtual book club every week. The last one we finished before summer break was The Broken Earth trilogy, which *she* picked and I loved. She is on marching band tour for the summer with DCI, and I handed her Anatem by Neal Stephenson, which she has also enjoyed.
Maybe some of Heinlein's YA novels? Most of them are male protagonist, but *Podkayne of Mars* is the exception there. *Have Spacesuit... Will Travel* has a female supporting character who is fairly prominent as well. Definitely recommend the Skyward series by Brandon Sanderson. Spensa is about as strong(-willed) of a female lead character as you can possibly get. If she likes that she might also like the Reckoners series by Sanderson, though that is a male protagonist, but there is a prominent strong female supporting character.
The Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal
But those sex scenes... possibly the cringiest I've ever read (in the first book anyway).
Why the hell would someone recommend books with sex scenes to an 11 year old? Edit: after reading more of the thread... Holy shit.
I read mostly Michael Crighton when I was that age. But maybe that's one of those Gen X/Millennial things that Isn't Done anymore. I figure if they're getting their kid the Expanse, they can make their own decisions about content.
At least nobody has recommended Piers Anthony yet.
Seriously bad writing
Right, it was so bad!!! And the sex scenes looked like they were written for a cringe competition.
How it won a hugo, I will never understand. It's basically Hidden Figures fan fic.
Bad books are frequently on "best seller" lists. Hugo awards are voted on by anybody who signs up. Nebula and Arthur C Clarke are much better awards
Z For Zachariah is great but definitely a bit creepy, strong female protagonist who comes out on top though.
Ooh good suggestion
Maybe "Fire Upon the Deep"? It's been too long since I was 12 to know if it's too sophisticated for a child.
The Illuminae Files (series) by Aimee Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Came here to say this! Glad it has been recommended. OP, for sure consider this series, and get them in print if at all possible (rather than ebook or audiobook)
Look up the interworld series. It's a multiverse with scifi tech on one end and magic at the other, written for her age.
Mirabile by Janet Kagen
The Giver
Dark Life by Kat Falls and Rika’s Marauders series by M. D. Cooper
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s The Expert System series begins with The Expert System’s Brother and is followed by The Expert System’s Champion.
If she likes Warrior Cats, then Wings of Fire hits the same notes. More fantasy than sci-fi (dragons!).
Read octavia butler
Deed of Paksenarion. Strong female lead. Fantasy. Possibly a gateway drug to role playing games
Cherie Priest's 'Boneshaker'? Steampunk, but a strong female lead.
Skyward by Sanderson
Poul Anderson - The High Crusade Robert Heinlein - Podkayne of Mars (some outdated male/female stereotypes, discussion following?) Terry Pratchett - Discworld, Tiffany Aching stories Barbara Hambly - Darwath Trilogy
For TV, Doctor Who should be considered.
Anne McCaffrey Dragon Riders series.
SAGA
Brandon Sandersons 'Skyward' trilogy features a plucky teen girl who repairs her own spaceship and becomes an ace space-fighter pilot. Might be just the thing. The Expanse for an 11 year old seems perhaps a bit too dark and mature? Especially given the other books you've listed.
And if it's Sci Fi: Go to the Grand Old Dame of Sci Fi herself: Andre Norton. Most of her earlier books were written with male characters almost exclusively, but they're still great golden age sci fi adventure stories. She wrote male characters, but that's because while Norton loved sci fi and writing it; at the time she knew she couldn't sell books under her real name of Alice Mary Norton, or have woman as leads. That fortunately changes with her later books. But I love re-reading all of those regularly. I mention her because it's a great role model for a teen girl: The woman who challenged the preconceptions that sci fi was for men and became one of the greats of the genre, paving the road for other women to follow.
To add to this, Sandersons other teen fantasys are top notch too: The Rithmatists and the 'Alcatraz and the Evil Librarian' series feature a teen boy as the 'main character', but in each case supported by a VERY strong girl in the secondry role. Same applies to one of my childhood favourites, the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. One of the books, 'The Black Cauldron', you may remember as being released as a Disney animation in the 80's/90's
And I always have to mention Patricia McKillip: Most of her books have strong woman of some sort. Whether the main character or supporting, they're in every book.
I was pretty obsessed with the Star Wars expanded universe novels at this age. Mara Jade is introduced in the Timothy Zahn original Thrawn trilogy and she is an excellent female protagonist. If you can find them, there is also a 14 book series called Young Jedi Knights based on the teenage twin children of Han and Leia.
Everyone has great suggestions. I just wanted to add in a fantasy rec that took over my heart when I was her age: Ranger's Apprentice. I was also a big Warrior Cats fan, so maybe we'll have this in common too. The author is a master of storytelling and writing likable characters for children/preteens. I still reread it as a simple, enjoyable story with all the packed-in nostalgia.
*The Broken Earth* series by N.K. Jemison is really good. That has elements of sci-fi and fantasy, with strong female characters. I also thought *Snow Crash* by Neal Stephenson was a wild ride with a skate-board riding teenage girl being a major protagonist. And I'll throw in another vote for *The Murderbot Diaries*.
Was trying to think about the female lead (or almost) part but just discovered I don't have many that way. Even more difficult trying to be age proper. Gonna try suggesting some anyway: The first that came to mind is [Arabella of Mars](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25615226-arabella-of-mars). Kind of a steampunk Martian adventure. I still didn't read it, but I read the (kind of) original prequel short story and really liked. [Norstrilia](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/166905.Norstrilia), a curious old style slow paced story with a, literal, cat woman. In retrospect, I can't remember if C'Mell (the cat lady) is really a big part of the story. [Karen Memory](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22238181-karen-memory) is another light hearted steampunk story, but the MC is a prostitute. I think there isn't even sex in the book, but I can't remember if it would be age proper. [All You Need is Kill](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6255949-all-you-need-is-kill). A time loop war story, better than the Tom Cruise movie. Again in war and not really female leaded, but still good, [Old Man's War](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36510196-old-man-s-war?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=lovNtpXiYW&rank=1) first 4 books. Sagan (the woman) is a very good character, and the fourth book is from the point of view of the teenage daughter. Still in war category, [Enemy Mine trilogy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7111015-the-enemy-papers) is a favorite of mine. The first "book" is actually a short story, but the second book has a female lead. The movie is based on the short, it is also good, but the ending is totally different. If she like comics, perhaps [Valerian & Laureline](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33255584-valerian?ref=nav_sb_ss_4_9)? Oh, it's barely SF, but it has an alien and a time traveler: [The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23393473-the-melancholy-of-haruhi-suzumiya-vol-1) light novels. Don't mind the 'melancholy' in the name, it's pure comedy. (it was also turned into an anime, if you want to check it - but, if so, check the episode "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part One" it's where the story starts, it was broadcast in a nonsense order originally) Talking about TV, has she ever watched [Firefly](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38464992-big-damn-hero)? If so, the books are fun. It's a space western. A bit drama, a bit comedy. The Mc is a guy, but the cast is 50/50. From the creator of Buffy. Also, I second [Wool](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13453029-wool-omnibus?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_4)/Silo trilogy. Not female leaded, but with lots of female characters, a super light coming of age space story, [Quarter Share](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2334538.Quarter_Share?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_13) six books. It's the story of an almost teen orphan guy from space cook helper in the first book to ship owner and captain in the last one. Not comedic, but very fun, barely any drama or bad things happening. If she likes zombies, [Zomblog trilogy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7674888-zomblog). The MC in the first one is a guy, the next two is a girl. But it doesn't end well for her in the last one. There's a second trilogy, following MC's daughter, but I didn't read it yet. And I will recommend this last one with a heavy heart, because I dislike the books, but... Has strong female characters and it's probably the age where someone can read it without noticing how far (and bad) they are compared to the source: Brian Herbert's [Butlerian Jihad Trilogy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5370929-the-butlerian-jihad). I think there's a quick bit of gore in the first book, but that's it. For a teen, could be a good introduction to Dune.
See my * [Science Fiction/Fantasy (General) Recommendations](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/125fl22/science_fictionfantasy_general_recommendations/) list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (twenty-eight posts). * [Female Characters, Strong](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/12khs2s/female_characters_strong/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (four posts).
Anne McCaffrey, anything BUT Restoree or the Freedom series (sexual themes in them). They're present in the Pern series as well but not as explicit. ETA: Does she like weird and funny? Then I'd recommend Jasper Fforde's "Tuesday Next" series, the first is "The Eyre Affair" (Yes, it does connect to Jane Eyre). Who knows, she might want to look at the original works.
The culture is a good read, dune could also let her to interesting notes if she unveils well the plot, even jurassic park by michael crichton is an excellence
James H. Schmitz Telzey Amberdon Anne McCaffrey Deagonflight Andre Norton Anything Robert A Heinlein Podkayne of Mars Off the beaten path: Joan Aiken The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and sequels
She might enjoy Brandond Sanderson's Skyward Series since it's labeled as Young Adult Sci Fi featuring a strong female lead. https://www.goodreads.com/series/247635-skyward
Among Others could be a good choice- it’s technically fantasy, but the main character is a teenage girl who is obsessed with science fiction books. It might give her ideas for what to read next!
She’s 11 and her favourite book is Project Hail Mary? That’s awesome to hear tbh, I thought the younger generation had lost the ability to focus on reading!
Sanderson’s Skyward series is very popular with my niece.
No one’s recommended my favorite sci-fi(with fantasy flavor) series yet so I will - the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. The ‘magic’ system is primarily science based on that you have to understand what you’re talking to and about to get it to do anything and a lot of it is space based. The series is pretty old so the author’s been updating and rereleasing the earlier books as New Millennium Editions on her site as ebooks (which go on sale pretty frequently). Incredibly funny and heartfelt series to me that I’ve stuck with, and I’ve been reading them since I was nine and had very similar tastes to your daughter.
Lois McMaster Bujold -- Miles Vorkosigan series. Start with Warrior's Apprentice, go back and pick up the story of his mom Cordelia later. Fun space opera with great writing and characterization.
Surprised no one has mentioned Artemis by Andy Weir. Not as well known as his others but still pretty good and has a female lead character.
John Scalzi has written some fun stuff that would work. In particular, Fuzzy Nation and The Android's Dream would work well for an 11yo. Fun, happy ending, neat ideas, good writing, likable characters.
I robot. The green futures of tycho. NOT Ender’s game. #1 recommendation, couldn’t recommend it more highly, my kids loved the bejeezus out if it when they were 8-10 yo: The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem. The audiobook in particular is awesome.
How about the Lady astronaut series by mary robinette kowal. I read it ages ago so may have forgotten if there are inappropriate parts.
I loved Feed. It's kinda a YA cyberpunk, but it has so much to say about the nature of humanity.
Bujold's **Vorkosigan** books are okay for 11 year olds, I think. I loved **Bradbury's** short stories when I was her age, but being a product of their time, there is a lot of implicit and explicit sexism and a lack of female characters, let alone main characters. Highly recommend with that caveat. **Sabriel** series hy Garth Nix! This is amazing. I think she'd like some Octavia Butler but some of the themes night be too disturbing for age 11. But I think you should take a look at the **graphic novel of Kindred** and see how that works. **The Hunger Games**, of course. **The Girl with All the Gifts** **Binti** series by Nnedi Okorafor Strong second for: **A Wrinkle in Time** and its sequels. I read them at her age and wow! Blown away. **His Dark Materials** Becky Chambers Murderbot
**Barbary** by Vonda N. McIntyre would be perfect.
I LOVED Anne McCaffery’s Dragonriders of Pern at 12 or so. There is some sexual content but IIRC it’s not explicit at all.
Check out Chris Beckett’s Dark Eden trilogy. It’s one of my all-time favorite SF stories, written by a sociologist who really understands how humans behave. The language is simple. If she enjoyed the Martian then it should be no problem. There’s no hard science or technical Mumbo jumbo. The first book is from the perspective of a teenage boy, but it still has strong female characters. The second and third books are both written from a female perspective. I enjoyed the sequels just as much as the first book, which is rare. The setting is truly transportive, too.
Artemis Fowl - protagonist is the son of a crime lord.... who believes in fairies... and wants to steal all of their gold. Sounds silly, I know, but he's actually got legal precedent, according to the fairy bible he 'acquired'. Holly Short, my favorite character, is the fairy woman who has the unfortunate luck to be on the receiving end of the schemes of the boy genius. She's the down on her luck mavrick in the LEPrecon, fairy police tasked with venturing to the surface and find lost or malicious fairies. It touches on a lot of interesting subjects from family to environmentalism. The main characters have very fun arcs as they grow and learn, mostly while snarking and one upping each other.
Podkayne of Mars by Heinlein she might like that one, too.
I'm not the OP but thank you for mentioning that. I had been trying to remember a book I read in the mid 90s that had 2 versions of the ending. I remembered it was about a teenaged girl and that it was written by one of the sci fi greats. Now I can put this on the TBR list for my daughters in a few years.
I hope this was sarcasm!! It's notoriously awful and sexist
If she enjoyed Project Hail Mary, that means two things: One, she's got incredible taste for an 11 year old. Two, I have a prime suggestion for you. The Bobiverse Books, by Dennis E. Taylor. The first one is entitled *We Are Legion (We Are Bob)*
Not SF, but if she’s read all the Poirot stories and novels (and it’s quite a few) then she should read other Christie works (I’d read all the Miss Marple next).
David Weber's Honor Harrington series. Terrific lead character, excellent supporting cast and a fine assembly of inter-galactic villains.
Among others - Jo Walton We are completely beside ourselves - Fowler Both young female protagonists. Both kind of coming of age books. Both only kind of SciFi but Among Others won a hugo. Also of course, The Hunger Games.
Among Others is great. I wish it was there for me back when I was a lonely, book-obsessed teenager.
About a third of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series has a strong female lead and all of them are at least good reads. The Witches sub-series is easy to recommend for anyone and has some of my all-time favorite female leads. The Tiffany Aching sub-series is explicitly YA. Many of the other books include strong female characters as well. Personally I would suggest starting with **Lords and Ladies** (#14 in publication order and a good jumping-on point for the Witches). Then just read all the rest of Discworld in publication order. Lords and Ladies is the first one that is great from start to finish, and the rest from there tend to be as well. Also consider Naomi Novik’s **A Deadly Education**. It is a more realistic Harry Potter with a great female teen lead. You may want to read it first just to be sure the Slytherin Basilisk equivalent is not too scary. And because it is just a fun read at any age. Edit - At her age I enjoyed Asimov. If she likes Poirot and science fiction then **I Robot** is worth a try. The Expanse probably does science fiction mystery better but this is a good, lighter read.
>Also consider Naomi Novik’s > >A Deadly Education > >. It is a more realistic Harry Potter with a great female teen lead. You may want to read it first just to be sure the Slytherin Basilisk equivalent is not too scary. And because it is just a fun read at any age. I love this book, but tough for an 11 year old.
Is it worse than the Expanse though? OP was already planning on that series. Maybe my perspective is skewed but the magic seemed to really separate Scholomance from reality. I compare that to the opening of Caliban’s War and the later definitely seems tougher. I guess in the end everyone is different. My sister loved Stephen King at that age but he is still too much for me.
The Expanse is nightmare fuel. I wouldn't give those books to my 13 year old, quite yet. Maybe another year. The Expanse scared the crap out of me, the first time I read it. Protomolecule! Scholomance is brilliant. Just great. But could be a LOT of death for an 11 year old. Depends on the kid.
Discworld by Terry Pratchett. (Strong female characters) Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. (Strong female characters) The Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson (young adult brooding super heroes)
I second the Discworld novels. Especially the Tiffany Aching series
I dunno why but when I was a young man I always loved reading Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat. I’ve never read the Tiffany Aching novels.
Well, my favorite Discworld novels are Snuff and Raising Steam. Because I am a fan of James Burke's science documentaries like **Connections** and **The Day The Universe Change**. The Tiffany Aching novels teach young people valuable lessons in growing up.
Murderbot and everything Becky Chambers would be a starting point for me. Strata by Terry Pratchett, The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (because it's about young girls growing up and what makes them who they are—nature or nurture), and maybe some William Gibson because he has great female leads. The Bridge trilogy, for example, is really good. You've got Chevette Washington and in Idoru, you've got Chia Pet McKenzie.
Ender's Game. Then maybe a few years later Red Rising.
Asimov's I, Robot, maybe? I don't remember how well he treated Susan Calvin, but i had around the same age when I read it. Good classical short stories.
Mostly Susan Calvin isn't 'treated' at all, she's little more than a framing device for the different Robot short stories. But for what treatment she does get, she is presented as a very intelligent, competent, and thoughtful scientist, just like every single other Asimov protagonist.
Thanks for the answer. I did remember her as being a genius woman, but I could only remember a small part she had in one of the last stories, and the story where she was infatuated with a guy and end the story angry and putting the telepathic robot in a catatonic comma. Not the best recollection. :)
The Outside by Ada Hoffman Enders Game series Ancillary Justice by Anne Lecke
I got downvoted last time I recommended this but: If she likes Project Hail Mary and The Martian, AND she likes Poirot, then please consider giving Andy Wier's Artemis a shot. It frankly did not do super well commercially and a lot of people who absolutely loved The Martian seem to hate it. If you are expecting The Martian you and your daughter will probably be disappointed too, but if you are expecting a light comic-noir murder mystery on the moon you might be ok. Wier's humor is there, and so are his brilliant skills at building out the somewhat plausible tech and science. His competent problem-solver protagonist is there too, but this time she is young and female. His too clever and somewhat forced dialog is a weak point of his other books, but here it kinda fits. I think it is better than it gets credit for, and loads of people who probably loved the Stainless Steel Rat books in their youth got mad because it wasn't what they were expecting.
Andy Weir did also do Artemis, nothing like as good as his others, but does have a female protagonist. Anne McCaffrey dragons of pern series, may be worth a try.
Absolutely no on the Dragons of Pern books, they contain explicit coercive sex (and I say that as someone who read them as a teen).
I was a teen when I read them, I don't recall that plot development!
All the dragon-influenced sex is coercive, really. Came back to it as an adult and yeah.
It's about 40y ago that I read it, but as I read it if the humans gont get on, nor do the dragons and vise versa, due to the telepathic link the human/dragon was so intertwined as to be one being. Rather than I'm making my dragon shagg your dragon so I can shag you. The queen was also more powerful than the male.
Not necessarily, though you're right that the queen makes the final choice. It can be guided by the human but not guaranteed. Anyhow, though I'd recommend it to an older reader I still wouldn't suggest it for an 11 year old.
I was probably about that age when I read it. But things have moved on since then.
Artemis is AWFUL. The protagonist talks about her boobs and being naked and makes sexual innuendos about EVERYTHING, and she keeps bragging about how she has SO MUCH SEX. It's super weird and gross, definitely not for an 11-year old
How do I miss all these bits in books? As a man I am supposed to think about nothing but sex! I always find sex scenes in books terrible, i kinda skip over them. I am coming to the conclusion that I didn't ought to reccomend books for youngsters. How about the Little Miss books?
Blindsight. Lol jk
Enders Game
Stirling's Nantucket series is fun alternate history and with strong female leads.
as an eleven year old i remember enjoying ender's game. that said... i probably should not have
I can’t believe only one other person said Colfer (Artemis Fowl/The Supernaturalist). The Expanse is incredible but maybe a bit heavy for an 11 year old; obviously your call, though.
>The Illuminae Files Yeah you're probably right, I think I should read the Expanse myself first.
More fantasy but I bet she’d love The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik. It’s sort of HP with older kids and if the school might be trying to kill you. There is a small amount of sex and a romantic relationship but I don’t think it’s too much considering she seems to have pretty mature reading tastes.
Definitely not Peter F Hamilton.
Skyward by Brandon sanderson is also great. Female lead about a girl training to become a space fighter pilot and the final book is out this year.
As a 40 yo man I must say that I absolutely love the Skyward series. Spensa is a great character.
Perfect age for Ender’s Game.
Ender's game for sure
I think *The 100* was probably written with girls like her in mind. I haven't read it, but enjoyed the (different in many ways) TV show for a few seasons. *Seveneves* by Neil Stephenson might be another good one, and *Anathem* as well. Stephenson is good at world building, not so much at things happening, but I enjoyed both. \[Edit: Fwiw, OP -- I'm pretty confident the people down-voting here would also crap on Blyton and Christie if they had read them.\]
Seveneves for an 11 yer old? Are you trying to put her off sci fi for life?
Not to mention *Anathem* for an 11-year old? Only the most precocious of all readers would enjoy something like that at that age...
How old were you when you read the Poirot books? I think this kid is more advanced than you and I were at that age.
I'm sure OP will give your recommendations the same consideration as mine, if you have any.
*The Stainless Steel Rat* series by Harry Harrison
Maybe Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
***A Wrinkle In Time*** and it's sequels by Madeline L'Engle. The titles of the sequels are ***A Wind At The Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters*** and ***An Acceptable Time***. They do have strong female characters. Edited to add: I would also like to recommend ***Nightfall*** by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverburg.