There’s been a weird sort of mini-trend among YA science fiction lately: teenagers competing to travel to outer space. I’ve noticed three that have all published within six months of each other. In each example, a shady organization run by shady people needs to send teenagers to complete a secret mission, or a mission that is not what it seems, in outer space. The only thing is, there are a limited number of spots available – not enough for the number of candidates vying for the jobs. What follows is a fierce – possibly deadly – competition as the teens strive to outfight and outwit each other for the opportunity to attain glory, wealth, and affordable health care for their families. The books focus wholly on the competition; expected sequels will likely focus on the completion of the mission itself. Each book has a different, potentially believable, reason for the need to send teenagers and not grown, trained astronauts.
I’ve read the first two out of the three below and thought both were quite good. They’re packed with action and a ton of fun details about what the future will look like (it’s not great). Despite their similarities in plot, the tone of each is different, as is the narrative voice. Each author has also devised their own set of unique tests to put their competitors through. The casts of characters are diverse and distinct from each other. Still, the competition aspect makes them seem very, very similar. I’m interested to read The Final Six to see how it deviates (or doesn’t) from the other two. To be honest, I love this trope so much I probably wouldn’t get tired of reading a dozen stories featuring it. Then again, I’m also a huge fan of space travel in general and am thrilled to see so many books featuring it hitting the shelves recently.
Synopses are from Goodreads.
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
Emmett Atwater isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family.
Forever.
Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden—a planet that Babel has kept hidden—where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe.
But Babel’s ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won’t forever compromise what it means to be human.
Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski
The rules are simple: You must be gifted. You must be younger than twenty-five. You must be willing to accept the dangers that you will face if you win.
Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Gupta’s entire life has been leading up to this—the opportunity to travel to space. But to secure a spot on this classified mission, she must first compete against the best and brightest people on the planet. People who are as determined as she to win a place on a journey to the farthest reaches of the universe.
Cassie is ready for the toll that the competition will take; the rigorous mental and physical tests designed to push her to the brink of her endurance. But nothing could have prepared her for the bonds she would form with the very people she hopes to beat. Or that with each passing day it would be more and more difficult to ignore the feeling that the true objective of the mission is being kept from her.
As the days until the launch tick down and the stakes rise higher than ever before, only one thing is clear to Cassie: she’ll never back down . . . even if it costs her everything.
The Final Six by Alexandra Monir
When Leo, an Italian championship swimmer, and Naomi, a science genius from California, are two of the twenty-four teens drafted into the International Space Training Camp, their lives are forever altered. After erratic climate change has made Earth a dangerous place to live, the fate of the population rests on the shoulders of the final six who will be scouting a new planet. Intense training, global scrutiny, and cutthroat opponents are only a few of the hurdles the contestants must endure in this competition.
For Leo, the prospect of traveling to Europa—Jupiter’s moon—to help resettle humankind is just the sense of purpose he’s been yearning for since losing his entire family in the flooding of Rome. Naomi, after learning of a similar space mission that mysteriously failed, suspects the ISTC isn’t being up front with them about what’s at risk.
As the race to the final six advances, the tests get more challenging—even deadly. With pressure mounting, Naomi finds an unexpected friend in Leo, and the two grow closer with each mind-boggling experience they encounter. But it’s only when the finalists become fewer and their destinies grow nearer that the two can fathom the full weight of everything at stake: the world, the stars, and their lives.