Outer space, alien worlds, first contact – there’s something amazing, appealing, and romantic about the idea of the final frontier coming into a collision course with our home planet of Earth. What happens when we meet aliens? What changes in our world, in our day-to-day lives, in the technology we use, and how we perceive ourselves given the vastness of the universe? Will they like us? Will they hate us? Will they fall in love with us?
The books in this list tackle those questions, and more. Detailed science fiction futures where our world has come in contact with those from outer space, these books will quench your thirst – and probably leave you with more questions and things to wonder about – on aliens and outer space! If you’re into anything sci-fi, or if you just want to read how an Earthling and an alien overcome all odds, check out this list!
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Starting over sucks.
When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.
And then he opened his mouth.
Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.
The hot alien living next door marks me.
You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.
If I don’t kill him first, that is.
What the readers are saying:
Armentrout has seriously made me an alien fan with this series, which is really saying something because any time I’ve experienced alien fantasy, I’m bored. This…well, I think aliens are pretty fantastic now! You’re gonna want to at least try the sample, but you’ll be sucked in within the first chapter if you’re anything like me! – The Wayfaring Bibliomaniac, Amazon user
Alienated by Melissa Landers
Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.
Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.
Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing though: no human boy is this good-looking.
But when Cara’s classmates get swept up by anti-L’eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn’t safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara’s locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.
Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she’s fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life-not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.
What the readers are saying:
There is so much to love about this book and very few to dislike. It’s rare that I find a book with nothing that bothered or annoyed me and this is one of those books. There is nothing I would change. Cara and Aelyx’s story is too good to want anything different. Everything in this book had a reason behind it, this was a well written, well thought out book. Melissa Landers really knows what she’s doing when it comes to writing. – Ashley Tomlinson, Amazon user
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing. But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.
I am Number Four. I am next.
What the readers are saying:
I found “I am Number Four” to be a great action adventure, that followed the traditional hero archetype. The main character, number Four or John Smith, is as relatable as a alien teenager on the run can be. The surrounding cast of characters rounds out this alien boys average existence, Henri, his alien guardian/father figure, Sam, his nerdy best friend, Sarah, his crush, and Mark, a bully and Sarah’s ex. The story is a super power driven action packed adventure, filled with all the tender feelings and angst that a every teenager has. – Shelly Barren, Amazon user
Gravity by Melissa West
In the future, only one rule will matter: Don’t. Ever. Peek. Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed-arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die. Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know-especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.
What the readers are saying:
Everything is very exciting to read about, especially since we do it in the shoes of our strong heroine, Ari. She is a fierce one, but with her heart in the right place. I liked how she does her best to keep her cool when her world gets turned upside-down and how readily she sets out to help those in need, despite her upbringing, despite what they have planned for her, and despite being lied to and being kept in the dark. – Melissa @thereaderandthechef, Amazon user
Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon
Zenn Scarlett is a bright, determined, occasionally a-little-too-smart-for-her-own-good 17-year-old girl training hard to become an exoveterinarian. That means she’s specializing in the treatment of exotic alien life forms, mostly large and generally dangerous. Her novice year of training at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars will find her working with alien patients from whalehounds the size of a hay barn to a baby Kiran Sunkiller, a colossal floating creature that will grow up to carry a whole sky-city on its back.
But after a series of inexplicable animal escapes from the school and other near-disasters, the Cloister is in real danger of being shut down by a group of alien-hating officials. If that happens, Zenn knows only too well the grim fate awaiting the creatures she loves.
Now, she must unravel the baffling events plaguing her school, before someone is hurt or killed, before everything she cares about is ripped away from her and her family forever. To solve this mystery – and live to tell about it – Zenn will have to put her new exovet skills to work in ways she never imagined, and in the process learn just how powerful compassion and empathy can be.
What the readers are saying:
This is one of the few young adult science fiction novels out there that truly lives up to the genre. The author has built an amazingly detailed and vivid world on Mars – complete with an intriguing history and backstory. I was immediately immersed into Zenn’s world on Mars and I loved learning all about the colonies, as well as the background story and history of what happened before with the Earth and the other alien worlds. The world building was flawless and I was easily able to see Zenn’s world like I was there alongside her. – Stephanie Ward, Amazon user
The Arrival by C.M. Doporto
An elegant, sophisticated alien species on the verge of extinction has invaded Earth and confined an entire generation of young women, after negotiating a treaty with the world’s governments. Eager to help the aliens reproduce, but frightened by her imprisonment at Nidus, the Eslite medical compound, sixteen-year-old Miranda Mays endures callous scientific experiments in the Eslite’s quest for survival.
When Miranda discovers the ultimate consequences of her egg donations, she organizes a rebellion, enlisting fellow donors in her cause. But soon she realizes the mysterious headmaster, Dimas, knows of her plot. And there’s something about him that bothers Miranda, though she can’t describe the sensation. She connects to the handsome alien on an intimate level, one she’s powerless to resist. The fate of humanity hangs in the balance, so she can’t back down. But will Dimas expose her defiance?
What the readers are saying:
So often stories of this nature involve convoluted plots that rely heavily on happenstance or stretch the limits of believability to the point of absurdity. That is not the case with this series. Excellent story from CM Doporto. – Barb Devlin, Amazon user
Whispers in Autumn by Trisha Leigh
In 2015, a race of alien Others conquered Earth. They enslaved humanity not by force, but through an aggressive mind control that turned people into contented, unquestioning robots.
Except sixteen-year-old Althea isn’t content at all, and she doesn’t need the mysterious note inside her locket to tell her she’s Something Else. It also warns her to trust no one, so she hides the pieces that make her different, even though it means being alone.
The autumn she meets Lucas, everything changes.
Althea and Lucas are immune to the alien mind control, and together they search for the reason why. What they uncover is a stunning truth the Others never anticipated, one with the potential to free the brainwashed human race.
It’s not who they are that makes them special, but what.
And what they are is a threat. One the Others are determined to eliminate for good.
What the readers are saying:
This series is wonderful, thought provoking, well written, character and plot driven and quite unexpected in several aspects. I read all four books over the space of three days – they were that good. I’m not really a fan of alien/sci-fi books, but the description of this one tugged at me and I’m glad I took the plunge. This one doesn’t just stand on the genre and leave it at that. It also weaves in the common teenage angst weighed against the mind control of the main character’s peers. The difference is startling and really drives the plot. – Lisa A. Woodward, Amazon user
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
What the readers are saying:
Oh, you know, this is just your average young adult Cinderella retelling… If Cinderella was a cyborg, lived in a futuristic world, and had an android as her best friend. You know. That kind of story. I was hesitant to try this out for no other reason than the fact that I stay away from sci-fi and most dystopian. Yet I love love LOVE the fairytale retelling genre, and the allure of this book eventually won me over. I’m so, so glad it did! CINDER was so worth it, and its unique tweaks only added to the story’s charm. – benbrooks7, Amazon user
Untethered by Jax Spenser
When Keegan finally gets away from his brutal mother on his sixteenth birthday, things go from bad to strange as his father picks up a hitchhiker in the desert during their escape.
The strangeness of the day gets scary as Keegan notices the hitchhiker’s odd behavior. But with Keegan’s failing memory and bizarre dreams of a red wind, he can’t be sure about what his father’s gotten them in to as they make their way to the creepy Arizona town of Sedonia Falls.
What the readers are saying:
As an avid book reader, I am picky about good prose but I was pleasantly suprised to find Mr. Spencer’s style is clean, clear, concise, yet exciting. We know what is happening in a general way, but the story flows with overtones of mystery and suspense. A great start, keep it up! – Meems, Amazon user
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.
Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother–or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.
What the readers are saying:
The 5th Wave was an adequate start to what might just be a promising new series for me. The world building was well executed, the tone was bleak and as a whole, one of the best dystopian worlds I’ve visited by far. This was one of those reading experiences that peaked an unexpected dread that seeps through the pages. I highly recommended this book with some obvious reservations. – B&C Arroyo, Amazon user
Exiled by RaShelle Workman
Venus isn’t from Earth, she’s from Kelari. On her planet she’s next in line to rule, but there are those who will go to great lengths to make sure that doesn’t happen. Including frame her as a traitor.
What the readers are saying:
RaShelle does an amazing job developing these characters from the very beginning. Within the first couple pages you already feel as though you know enough about the characters to call them your friends, within the first few chapters your family. By the end of the book they become a piece of you. – Books and Brownies, Amazon user
Scan by Walter Jury and Sarah Fine
Tate and his father don’t exactly get along. As Tate sees it, his father has unreasonably high expectations for Tate to be the best—at everything. Tate finally learns what he’s being prepared for when he steals one of his dad’s odd tech inventions and mercenaries ambush his school, killing his father and sending Tate on the run from aliens who look just like humans.
All Tate knows—like how to make weapons out of oranges and lighter fluid—may not be enough to save him as he’s plunged into a secret interspecies conflict that’s been going on for centuries. Aided only by his girlfriend and his estranged mother, with powerful enemies closing in on all sides, Tate races to puzzle out the secret behind his father’s invention and why so many are willing to kill for it.
What the readers are saying:
Lots of ups and downs, high speed chases, deception of those you are told you can trust. I recommend this to all readers both young and old. There were several parts of the book that I caught myself sitting at the edge of my chair… A few of those times saying WTH out loud. – Radar2013, Amazon user
The Prophecy of Arcadia by M.H. Soars
Being a teenager is tough, especially when you have to pretend to be something you’re not, and you’re in love with someone you shouldn’t. 115 years ago, a small planet called Arcadia was invaded by a vicious alien race and nearly destroyed. Cut off from their resources, the Arcadians turned to Earth for help. A group of Arcadian explorers discovered a Prophecy that claimed their salvation lay in the hands of two children from Earth. To ensure their safety, the Arcadian Council sent their most gifted youngsters to Earth to act as protectors. Samantha is one of them.
To succeed in her mission she must learn to control her Arcadian powers and keep her true identity from her best friend, and the girl she swore to protect, Alexia. But Samantha will soon realize that nothing is as it seems. Someone is trying to prevent the Prophecy from taking place and the prophecy boy hasn’t been found yet. There is also a new drug circulating at school that is turning students into freakishly strong menaces.
To make matters worse, distractions keep getting in her way. Such as her love/hate relationship with her “cousin” Matthew. Or her confused feelings toward popular and mysterious Julian. She wants nothing more than to be free to live her life. But the survival of Arcadia depends on her and her friends. Free will is not an option.
What the readers are saying:
What I liked the most about this book is that it’s very character driven. It’s told from 3 different points of view, which is very unusual and hard to do properly. But it works here without being confusing. And the points of view are very distinct. – Amazon Customer
Beyond the Red by Ava Jae
Alien queen Kora has a problem as vast as the endless crimson deserts. She’s the first female ruler of her territory in generations, but her people are rioting and call for her violent younger twin brother to take the throne. Despite assassination attempts, a mounting uprising of nomadic human rebels, and pressure to find a mate to help her rule, she’s determined to protect her people from her brother’s would-be tyrannical rule.
Eros is a rebel soldier hated by aliens and human alike for being a half-blood. Yet that doesn’t stop him from defending his people, at least until Kora’s soldiers raze his camp and take him captive. He’s given an ultimatum: be an enslaved bodyguard to Kora, or be executed for his true identity—a secret kept even from him.
When Kora and Eros are framed for the attempted assassination of her betrothed, they flee. Their only chance of survival is to turn themselves in to the high court, where revealing Eros’s secret could mean a swift public execution. But when they uncover a violent plot to end the human insurgency, they must find a way to work together to prevent genocide.
What the readers are saying:
You’ll want more after you reach the end of this. In fact, since this is a standalone novel, I was surprised with how much was left for the reader to come to terms with. There were many things that I wanted more closure with but as far as Eros goes, I did enjoy the very end! I was really satisfied with this story overall and am so glad that I was able to take the trip beyond the red! Definitely a trip worth taking! Too bad that trip is over now. – Melody Simpson, Amazon user
Bittersweet by Tiffany Clark Kemp
Welcome to Mother Cora’s, where the offspring of the Kaveesh learn to coexist with humans.
One hundred and twenty years ago, the Kaveesh came to Earth to save it from a disease that gorged itself on anything in its wake. Buildings crumbled to dust, soil and plant life were consumed, and two-thirds of the Earth’s population perished.
The only thing the Kaveesh asked in return was to help save their dying race. Breeding programs began and the half-breeds were born.
Lirabel is a half-breed and an overachiever. Despite a few setbacks, she’s scheduled to graduate early from Mother Cora’s and become the Half-breed Ambassador to the Humans.
Enter Jonas. They were best friends until he broke her heart and disappeared five years ago. Now, he’s back, but Lirabel couldn’t care less. There are more important things to worry about…
Like finishing her last year of school and becoming ambassador. Or the half-bred students losing control of their Kaveesh strengths and being sent into quarantine. Or how the breeding programs that were supposed to have ended might still be up and running.
And somehow, Jonas’ bittersweet return is connected to it all.
What the readers are saying:
Overall, the relationships between the characters make this book. There’s tension, romance, humour, nostalgia, horror – every possible type of person is here, but the book never feels crowded, or like there are too many characters at once. The way the story is constructed, it allows for almost several stories within the book at the same time. The storyline is great, the characters are memorable, and the flow is brilliant. I urge anyone who enjoys sci-fi/dystopian YA to pick this up now, because you won’t be able to put it down once you start reading! I couldn’t give this less than five stars. – SilverShadow, Amazon user
Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle Prendergast
Sixteen-year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her fellow campers can only stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn’t like feeling helpless, but what choice does she have?
Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend.
Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival comes to depend on trusting each other…
What the readers are saying:
I loved this book. It immediately pulled me in and had me turning pages until the very end. I liked Raven from the start and was immersed in her world and her worldview right away. At first I expected this book, like so many apocalyptic books, to be strictly about survival, but there is so much more to the story. The characters aren’t just surviving, but growing and evolving, taking on roles that as teenagers they’ve never had to take on before. – Sk1ch1k, Amazon user
Adaptation by Malinda Lo
Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.
Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction-and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.
What the readers are saying:
I love this sci-fi YA genre, but this book especially captured my attention right from the start and didn’t let go. The only time I really stopped reading was because I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore, and that was at 1am last night. Malinda Lo’s writing style is amazing and fluid. She definitely gained another fan. Now onto the book Ash, which I hate to admit that I’ve had for months and neglected… but there you have it. However, now it gets its chance! – Karrie, Amazon user
The Taking by Kimberly Derting
The last thing Kyra Agnew remembers is a flash of bright light. She awakes to discover that five whole years have passed. Everyone in her life has moved on—her parents are divorced, her boyfriend is in college and dating her best friend—but Kyra’s still the sixteen-year-old she was when she vanished. She finds herself drawn to Tyler, her boyfriend’s kid brother, despite her best efforts to ignore this growing attraction. In order to find out the truth, the two of them decide to retrace her steps from that fateful night. They discover that there are others who have been “taken,” just like Kyra. But Kyra is the first person to have been returned past the forty-eight-hour taken mark. With a determined secret government agency after her, Kyra desperately tries to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had . . . but what if the life she wants back is not her own?
What the readers are saying:
Derting creates an incredible, endearing quality, within Kyra, while still revealing the girl’s strength and stubbornness only a sixteen year old can have. Thrust into a life she can’t recognize, with the frustrations of having no clue how she arrived there, Kyra’s character is in a torturous teenage hell, and readers are right there, agonizing with her. – Molly Lee, Amazon user
Under Different Stars by Amy A. Bartol
Kricket Hollowell never wished upon stars. She was too busy hiding in plain sight, eluding Chicago’s foster care system. As her eighteenth birthday approaches, she now eagerly anticipates the day she’ll stop running and finally find her place in the world.
That day comes when she meets a young Etharian soldier named Trey Allairis, who has been charged with coming to Earth to find Kricket and transport her to her true home. As danger draws close, he must protect her until she can wield the powers she cannot use on Earth…and he soon realizes that counting a galaxy of stars would be easier than losing this extraordinary girl.
Kyon knows the powerful depths of Kricket’s gifts—gifts he’ll control when he takes her for his tribe and leads the forces that will claim Ethar and destroy his enemies, starting with Trey Allairis. Now, Kricket faces the most difficult choice of her life: whether to wage a battle for survival or a fight for love.
What the readers are saying:
The ending has driven a number of frustrated reader to start an online petition begging the author to write a fourth book. I found it incredibly refreshing and brave. It is not a simplistic happily ever after (HEA). Given Kricket’s tumultuous journey and the impossible decisions she faced, I would have found a HEA trite and disappointing. Incredible series well worth a read. – Rachel McCarthy, Amazon user
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.
Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.
What the readers are saying:
The characters are REAL (well, as real as any character in fiction can be), the love story is undeniably REAL, and the plot only gets better as the story progresses. Can I promise that you’ll love it as much as I do? Perhaps not, and that is the beauty of literature. This piece is as beautiful as the genre gets, as far as I’m concerned. Not beautiful as in it lacks action and humor. There is an overwhelming sense of foreboding, an ominous nature to several aspects of the plot, not to mention a handful of grit to balance out the poetry of it all. And there are lighter, funnier moments amidst the serious goings-on in the story. – LG, Amazon user
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