That decade saw Hollywood's intense interest in science fiction novels written for young audiences. It was during this decade that numerous films based on novels were made, set in a dystopian future where courageous teenagers fight against a fascist system that exploits them for its own nefarious purposes. This decade also saw the release of the first films based on Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games books. Other films released included Divergent, The Maze Runner, The Giver, The Host, I Am Number Four, The 5th Wave, and Ender's Game.
The problem with all these adaptations of young adult literature was that they all seemed to follow very similar storylines. They were all set in oppressive worlds, and they all shared a similar tone—grim determination. The protagonists were typically brave soldiers, often "the chosen ones," who outsmarted the adult world, sometimes forcing them to sacrifice others or lose loved ones. Often, romance was woven into the plot. This made young adult sci-fi adaptations of that era seem like a mere fad. Indeed, many of the young adult sci-fi films that were once popular in the late 2000s and 2010s are now much less common.
However, the world of young adult science fiction novels is vast and imaginative, and it needn't be limited to the dystopian themes already explored in The Hunger Games. Indeed, if you go back a generation, you'll find a vast number of science fiction novels aimed at young audiences just waiting to be adapted for the screen. Some of the books featured below are by authors yet to be discovered by Hollywood, who have created numerous works that will become the basis for gripping sci-fi films.
Read also: 10 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time, Ranked
«Tycho Brahe's Green Future by William Slater (1981)
The Green Futures of Tycho album cover — Dutton EP
William Sleator is one of those authors whose work has yet to be discovered. Sleator is perhaps best known for his novel "Interstellar Pig," about a teenager who befriends attractive vacationers who convince him to play a sci-fi board game that could change the fate of the galaxy. However, Sleator's best book is arguably the time-travel horror story "Tycho's Green Future.".
The protagonist is Typhon, named after Tycho Brahe, the youngest child in a family of child prodigies. While digging in his yard, he discovers a small, egg-shaped gadget that, when used correctly, can transport him through time. At first, Tycho uses it to prank his siblings and increase his status within the family, but then he realizes that elements of the present are beginning to shift. The egg itself begins to change. Ultimately, he discovers that his manipulation of time is shaping his own past, so that he will grow up to be an evil tyrant.
William Slater's works exude an eerie and terrifying atmosphere. His characters are resourceful yet frightened outcasts, caught up in science fiction plots they don't fully understand. By the time they figure out what's happening, the time for redemption has long passed. Slater, who died in 2011 at the age of 66, also wrote such terrifying books as The Boy Who Reversed Himself, Duplicate, Singularity, Strange Attractors, and the Kafkaesque House of Stairs. Each of these books is captivating, introducing young readers to terrifying science fiction concepts that make the universe seem unbalanced and uncontrollable. Slater was one of the best.
«"There is no atmosphere in this place" - Paula Danziger (1986).
The cover of the book "This Place Has No Atmosphere" is published by Dell Publishing.
Not all sci-fi novels for teens were intense dramas about fascist utopias. Sometimes they were light comedies about everyday teenage problems, set in a sci-fi world. This is certainly the case with Paula Danziger's novel This Place Has No Atmosphere, a conventional teen drama that, by coincidence, takes place on the Moon. Set in the year 2057, the 15-year-old protagonist, Aurora, is the most popular girl in her school. The novel features several funny sci-fi twists that deviate from typical high school dramas, such as the fact that her yearbook is actually a "year disc." However, Aurora's idyll is shattered when her mother decides to move the family to the Moon, a move akin to moving to a small town in the middle of nowhere.
So what's all the drama about? She's about to stage Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town." No matter how many decades pass, some school traditions never go away. Heck, "Our Town" was even featured in the TV series "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy," set in the 32nd century. The book is captivating in the ordinariness of the main character's concerns, despite the fact that she lives in a high-tech future.
The book "This Place Has No Atmosphere" was written in 1986, so it's likely somewhat dated. However, references to shopping malls and homework will be ubiquitous, so the adaptation will still appeal to modern teenagers. The key to such an adaptation is to make it retrofuturistic, or perhaps even create an alternate history of Earth in which the future still looks somewhat like the 1980s. This book had the potential to be sweet, quirky, and funny.
«Mel Gilden's "Surfing Samurai Robots" (1988)
Cover of the book "Robot Surfing Samurai" - published by Omega Books.
Mel Gilden's Samurai Robot Surfers is incredibly tongue-in-cheek and perhaps a bit kid-friendly (rated PG-13) due to its sexual references, but it's bizarre enough to be worth watching. The protagonist of Samurai Robot Surfers is Zoot Marlowe, a Tumler from the planet T'tum. His planet knows of Earth primarily through ancient radio broadcasts featuring daring detectives like Philip Marlowe (Zoot took his name from the famous detective Raymond Chandler). Zoot is three feet tall, pale white, with a large nose that takes up most of his head.
Zoot travels to Earth and falls in with a group of hippie surfers on Venice Beach, where they introduce him to the ways of being cool and laid-back. However, in the world of "Samurai Robot Surfers," all surfing competitions are held by advanced humanoid androids. Zoot soon discovers that his surfer friends have become the target of a leather-clad, Gwar-like street gang called "Godsbane." Zoot decides to play detective and hits the streets of Los Angeles (everything is accurately depicted) to find out who's behind the gang, uncovering corruption and kidnappings in the wealthy world of robot surfers.
The book is absurd, funny, and quirky in a way that mainstream entertainment hasn't been for a long time. It's a noir-style sci-fi comedy, which Gilden imbues with sweet, funny, witty dialogue and strange, utterly strange characters. One could imagine Elijah Wood's SpectreVision studio backing something like "Surfing Samurai Robots," and it has an unconventional, Toxic Avenger-like style that would be perfect for the big screen. Gilden has written three Zoot Marlowe novels, so if the first one is successful, a sequel is sure to follow.
Borgel by Daniel Pinkwater (1990)
Book cover of "Borgel" - published by Macmillan Publishers.
Daniel Pinkwater is another wonderful but untapped resource, and his numerous young adult novels are perfect for film adaptation. At least one of his books, "Lizard Music," could be adapted for film by, who would have thought it, Benny Safdie. He's the best children's author you haven't read yet. At least, those under 45 don't know Daniel Pinkwater. Some may be familiar with his book "The Hobok Chicken Emergency," and I highly recommend his love story about cinema, "The Snarkout Boys and the Avocados of Death.".
The protagonist of Pinkwater's 1990 novel "Borgell" is an elderly eccentric who moves in with a New Jersey family who claims to be distant relatives. Young Melvin falls in love with the eccentric old man, who often tells strange old stories and talks about "space, time, and stuff." Of course, it eventually turns out that Borgel is an interdimensional traveler, cruising the universe in a rickety old car called a Dorbzeldge with his talking dog, Fafner. The universe is full of run-down roadside diners and junkyard towns populated by eccentrics, making "Borgell" the strangest road trip story you'll ever read. Eventually, Borgel and Melvin team up in search of a certain, mysterious popsicle... which might be the true form of God.
Daniel Pinkwater understood that every aspect of life is a catalyst for whimsy, and that children left to their own devices will discover the strange and unusual. Borgel is a whirlwind of fun, strange, and silly creatures, yet remains within the confines of the tangible foods and smells one might find in the backseat of a 1970s sedan.
«"The Ugly Little Boy" by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg (1992)
The cover of the book "The Ugly Little Boy," published in 1992 by Doubleday.
Isaac Asimov wrote the short story "The Ugly Little Boy" back in 1958, and it was adapted into a little-known 26-minute Canadian television movie in 1977. However, in 1992, Robert Silverberg expanded the story into a full-length 290-page novel, and this version is ideal for adaptation.
The premise of "The Ugly Little Boy" is original. Modern scientists have invented a device capable of peering into the distant past and retrieving living creatures. Rumor has it that they've already retrieved a dinosaur, but they've perfected the technology enough to peer into the more recent past and retrieve a Neanderthal boy from the late Pleistocene. The boy, nicknamed Timmy, is cared for by a pediatric nurse named Edith, who discovers he has a distinct personality and turns out to be smarter than scientists thought.
The main drama revolves around Edith's attempts to explain to time-travel scientists that Timmy is human, not an ape-like test subject. However, the scientists ultimately ignore Timmy, preferring new time-travel experiments. Timmy quickly becomes irrelevant. The extended version of the story also includes numerous scenes from the late Pleistocene and tells of the Neanderthal tribe from which Timmy disappeared. They are at odds with new participants in the story—the Cro-Magnons. A significant portion of "The Ugly Little Boy" is devoted to the true history and scientific aspects of prehistoric human behavior.
With a Spielberg-esque approach and basic scientific rigor—like, say, Jurassic Park—Ugly Little Boy has all the makings of a huge Hollywood blockbuster. Someone call DreamWorks.
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