Future Tense

With the dawn of a new year upon us, what better time to introduce a collection of books that explore the future. These books are about the future. And some of them are tense (read: big, heavy subjects).

• True stories and (science) fictional tales.
• Subjects rooted in the last century, and some in dimensions beyond ours.
• Good guys and bad tech, as well as good tech and bad guys.
• Phenomenal advancements and unintended consequences.
• Topical themes and opportunities for discussion.

Yes, this list has it all. From picture book to poetry and nonfiction to hands-on activities. There’s something for every reader to explore. 

A book included in this list doesn’t imply anything about its eligibility for a CYBILS Award, nor is it an endorsement.

This post contains buy links which earn the CYBILS Awards advertising fees through Bookshop.org and Amazon Associates. 

Book covers link to Goodreads. Blurbs extracted from Goodreads.

Dalmartian: A Mars Rover’s Story

A visitor from outer space comes to Stephen’s yard one night. It may look like a Dalmatian, but it certainly doesn’t act like one. At first, Stephen and the visitor get off on the wrong paw. They quibble over kibble, debate sleeping arrangements, and must abandon earth dogs’ approach to bathroom breaks altogether to keep the peace. Is a shared love of bacon a strong enough foundation for this ordinary earth boy and extraordinary out-of-this-world canine to learn to live in harmony?
Fiction Picture Book nominee, 2024

The Dividing Sky

In 2364, eighteen-year-old Liv Newman dreams of a future beyond her lower-class life in the Metro. As a Proxy, she uses the neurochip in her brain to sell memories to wealthy clients. Rookie Forceman Adrian Rao believes in order over all. After discovering that a renegade Proxy’s shady dealings are messing with citizens’ brain chemistry, he vows to extinguish the threat. As Liv and Adrian navigate the world beyond the Metro and their growing feelings for one another, they grapple with who they are, who they could be, and whether another way of living is possible.
YA Speculative Fiction submission, 2024

Future Tense: How We Made Artificial Intelligence—and How It Will Change Everything

Human history has always been shaped by technology, but AI is like no technology that has come before it. Unlike the wheel, combustion engines, or electricity, AI does the thing that humans do think. While AI hasn’t reproduced the marvelously complex human brain, it has been able to accomplish astonishing things. acclaimed author and teacher Martha Brockenbrough guides readers through the development of this world-changing technology, exploring how AI has touched every corner of our world, including education, healthcare, work, politics, war, international relations, and even romance.
High School Nonfiction nominee, 2024

Grief in the Fourth Dimension

In life, high school classmates Caroline Davison and Kenny Zhou existed in separate universes. ut after their deaths, they find themselves thrown together as roommates in a mysterious white room—one that seems to exist outside of time and space, shows them their loved ones’ lives on a large hi-def TV, and grants their wishes with a sardonic sense of humor. As Caroline and Kenny watch life continue to unfold back on Earth, they realize they can influence events through radio signals, psychic mediums, and electromagnetic interference. In their efforts to console their families, they also start to understand the tragic depth of how their lives and deaths were connected and how to help their families—and themselves—heal from the losses.
YA Speculative Fiction nominee, 2024

 

Hotelitor: Luxury-Class Defense and Hospitality Unit

When a giant alien attacks the ship, Hotelitor's surviving guests and staff find themselves stranded in deep space. There, 18-year-old intern Anna Greene must take charge. Alongside her fellow entry-level service workers, she'll try to control the chaos while rival factions emerge, wealthy VIPs seize hotel resources, and the musician-in-residence develops a literal cult following. As Anna and her friends search for a way home, shocking discoveries about Hotelitor's owners await them―if another giant alien doesn't smash the crew first.
Young Adult Graphic Novel submission, 2024

 

How We Became Intergalactic Superheroes

All his life, twelve-year-old Ben Grishop has been practically nonexistent. Hardly anyone knows who he is, he’s not good at anything no matter how hard he tries, and he blends into all chairs and benches. But when he and his friends Joe and Dana are abducted by aliens one fateful summer night, they have the chance to become famous for saving the universe. That is, if they can survive a planet full of giant, man-eating, French-speaking crabs, a pair of tuxedoed, gibberish-spouting men with handlebar mustaches, and the mysterious “immensely powerful, evil force from The Realm Beyond.”
EMG Speculative Fiction submission, 2024

 

The Inventor, Vol. 1: The Dangerous Discovery

Discover the vibrant island of Mata-Mata with long-time residents Cobalt Cogg and his grandfather, Alfred. Cobalt wants to grow up to be like his grandpa - an inventor! But when he and his friend, Linnea, get into an accident with one of Alfred’s inventions, all hopes for creating seem lost. Can Cobalt recover and move forward with his friends and family? learn about Alpha-Energy and all the ways it can help! And is there something more to this mysterious energy source?
EMG Graphic Novel submission, 2024

 

Meet Me in the Fourth Dimension

NASA has assured everyone the passage of rogue planet Malachite will be safe, but Crosby's been getting other messages―from a fortune teller and Malachite truther message boards. She tries to prepare her friends and family to leave their bodies behind and raise their frequency by changing their diets, wearing the right crystals, and moving into her friend’s bunker before it’s too late. But no one is listening. The more time she spends trying to talk her roommate and her quirky friends into her apocalypse plans, the more Crosby is forced to face the cracks in everything she believes to be true.
Poetry Novel in Verse nominee, 2024

 

Moonstorm (Moonstorm Trilogy, #1)

Now, 16, Hwa Young a citizen of the very empire that made her an orphan six years ago. Desperate to shake her rebel past, Hwa Young dreams of one day becoming a lancer pilot, an elite group of warriors who fly into battle using the empire’s most advanced tech—giant martial robots. Lancers are powerful, and Hwa Young would do anything to be the strong one for once in her life. But training is nothing like what they expected, and secrets—like the fate of the fleet’s previous lancer squad and hidden truths about the rebellion itself—are stacking up. And when Hwa Young uncovers a conspiracy that puts their entire world at risk, she’s forced to make a choice between her rebel past and an empire she’s no longer sure she can trust.
YA Speculative Fiction submission, 2024

 

My Antarctica: True Adventures in the Land of Mummified…

Antarctica is a land of extremes—the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest place on the planet. It’s a world where the sun stays hidden half of the year and where visitors must undergo a week of special training before it’s safe to go outside (watch out for lava bombs!). It’s also a place of stark beauty, history, and endless scientific research. Join beloved author G. Neri on his long-dreamed-of voyage to the ice, where he taps into his inner child and encounters sea angels, mummified seals, space robots, inquisitive penguins, and so much more.
Elementary Nonfiction submission, 2024

SEVEN

In a future where the line between reality and virtual simulation blurs, Seven grapples with the truth about her parents' revolutionary research. Her relentless pursuit of their discoveries pits her against the nefarious Oriska Fingal and a locust-limbed assassin. The stakes soar as Seven traverses a dangerous path toward self-discovery, trust, and the essence of humanity.
YA Speculative Fiction submission

Snowglobe

Enclosed under a vast dome, Snowglobe is the last place on Earth that’s warm. Outside Snowglobe is a frozen wasteland. Citizens face the icy world to get to their jobs at the power plant, where they produce the energy Snowglobe needs. Their only solace comes in the form of 24-hour television programming streamed directly from the domed city. Chobahm lives for the time she spends watching the shows produced inside Snowglobe. Her favorite? Goh Around, starring Goh Haeri, Snowglobe’s biggest star—and, it turns out—the key to getting Chobahm her dream life.
YA Speculative Fiction nominee, 2024

 

The Things We Miss

For J.P. Green, seventh grade is shaping up to be the worst year notorious bully Miranda O'Donnell won't stop offering unsolicited diet advice and her mom keeps trying to turn J.P. into someone she's not. When J.P. discovers a mysterious door in her neighbor's treehouse, all of a sudden J.P. can skip all the worst parts of seventh grade. But can you live a life without any of the bad parts? Are there experiences out there that you can't miss?
EMG Speculative Fiction submission, 2024

 

The Tinkering Workshop: Explore, Invent & Build with Everyday Materials; 100 Hands-On STEAM Projects

Gather some basic tools and supplies from a hardware store, garage, basement, woodshop, or recycling bin. Makerspace educator Ryan Jenkins inspires kids aged 8 to 12 to look at familiar supplies in new and unexpected ways, to think with their hands, troubleshoot tricky constructions, and sharpen their problem-solving skills. Start with a string, PVC pipe, cardboard ramp, or flexible tube—and see where it leads!
Middle-Grade Nonfiction submission, 2024

 

Wren Martin Ruins It All

Now that Wren Martin is student council president (on a technicality, but hey, it counts) he’s going to fix Rapture High. His first order of business: abolish the school’s annual Valentine’s Day Dance. His greatest opponent: Leo Reyes, vice president and all-around annoyingly perfect student, who has a solution to Wren’s budget problem. A sponsorship from Buddy, the anonymous “not a dating” app sweeping the nation. Now instead of a dance-less senior year, Wren is in charge of the biggest dance Rapture High has ever seen. He’s even secretly signed up for the app. For research, of course. With the Dance rapidly approaching, he isn’t sure what will kill him first: the dance, his relationship drama, or the growing realization that Leo’s perfect life might not be so perfect after all.
Young Adult Fiction nominee, 2024