In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature #ownvoices authors, or authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity, as much as possible. For January, we’ll start off with science fiction books, including adventures in outer space, humanoid robots, and questions about the multiverse.

Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Grades 9 and up
OverDrive; Library Catalog
I added this book to my To Read list as soon as I ordered it for the library’s YA collection, and I was interested to see “science fiction–alien contact” in the subject listing. Artemisia (Sia) Martinez’s mother, who was undocumented, was deported years ago at the behest of the local sheriff. After repeated attempts to immigrate and rejoin her family, she is presumed dead after trying to cross the Sonoran desert on her own. The desert has become a special place for Sia, so she’s initially upset when Noah, a new kid at school, shows up there and intrudes on her solitude. I was just starting to wonder when the science fiction part would come in… until the night Sia and Noah see mysterious blue lights zipping across the desert sky. This book combines elements of magical realism and realistic fiction in addition to science fiction. The writing is beautiful throughout, but after the wild twist in the middle, I couldn’t put this book down.

Skyhunter by Marie Lu
Grades 9 and up
OverDrive; Library Catalog
“When the Karensa Federation invaded Basea a decade ago, Talin Kanami and her mother fled north to Mara. Now 18 and using sign language due to emotional and vocal cord scarring from that night, Talin is a Striker, the sole refugee on an elite squadron deemed ‘the last defense Mara has against the Federation.’ Strikers battle Ghosts, formerly human ‘monstrous war beasts’ whose bites inflict transformation. Despite rampant xenophobia, Talin is determined to protect ‘the last free nation on this side of the sea.’” –Publisher’s Weekly

The Art of Saving the World by Corinne Duyvis
Grades 9 and up
OverDrive; Hoopla; Library Catalog
“On her sixteenth birthday, Hazel is ripped away from her party and tasked with saving the world—along with three other versions of herself, who appear through the interdimensional rift near her home. Since her birth, she has needed to stay near the rift to keep it from causing chaos in the universe. Now, shy, anxious Hazel must team up with Red-Dress Hazel, Rainbow Hazel, and Hazel Four to learn more about her connection to the rift and how to close it—if she even should.” –Booklist

Everything I Thought I Knew by Shannon Takaoka
Grades 9 and up
OverDrive
“During fall track training, senior Chloe passes out and wakes to a diagnosis that indicates she needs a new heart. Following her transplant, Chloe feels unable to connect to her previous life, and she is plagued by blood-soaked nightmares and fragmented memories of unfamiliar people and places. While finishing classes in summer school, Chloe researches post-transplant experiences, discovering the possibility of cellular memory. She fuses this with her interest in multiverses and wonders if this could be the key to her post-transplant self.” –Booklist

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
Grades 9 and up
OverDrive; Library Catalog
“Emmett Atwater is in need of a great deal of money to help his mother. So when Babel Communications offers him a fortune and a once-in-a-lifetime deep-space experience, he jumps at the opportunity. Now he and 10 other broken and desperate recruits are fighting for the right to mine a planet that humanity does not know exists. But are they just competing against one another, or is there more to Babel's plans?” –School Library Journal

The Disasters by M. K. England
Grades 9 and up
OverDrive; Hoopla; Library Catalog
“After washing out of the Ellis Station Academy on day one, Nax Hall is on the shuttle back to Earth with three other students who did not make the cut. This saves their lives when Ellis Station is invaded by Earth First forces and also positions them as the sole witnesses. The group is able to steal the shuttle to escape, but they quickly find themselves being blamed for the attack. Soon the bunch is on the run through space as they uncover a terrorist plot to take over Earth and its colonies.” –VOYA

Sword in the Stars by Amy Rose Capetta and Cory McCarthy
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog
“A band of heroes travels through time to put an end to King Arthur's tragedy and save their future from corporate corruption. In this second and final installment of a science-fiction reimagining of Arthurian legend, Ari, Merlin, and their friends crash into the past to steal a magic chalice from Camelot. They are guided by their quest to set the spirit of King Arthur free from his cycle of reincarnation and put a stop to Mercer, a murderous mega-corporation.” –Kirkus Reviews
Note: This is the sequel to Once & Future (OverDrive; Library Catalog.)

Rebel Sisters by Tochi Onyebuchi
Grades 9 and up
OverDrive
“Ify and Uzo are connected by more than sharing an oppressive, war-torn country; they cross paths when Ify returns on a vital mission in this sequel to War Girls (2019). It has been five years since the Biafran War ended, and Ify–in the Alabast Space Colony–isn't eager to look back. She has climbed her way to the top and, at only 19, is set to become a doctor and assistant director, overseeing care for incoming refugees. When synths–humanoid machines that are given human memories–and cyberized refugee children suddenly lapse into comas after receiving deportation orders, Ify desperately wants answers.” –Kirkus Reviews
Note: Find the first book, War Girls, here: OverDrive; Library Catalog.