Brave new girls: Tales of Girls and Gadgets
Stories are listed alphabetically by title. Click the titles to see the story descriptions and illustrations.
BLINK by Kate Moretti
COURAGE IS by Evangeline Jennings
THE DATA TOURIST by Davien Thomas
FLEDGLING by Jason Kucharik
FLIGHT OF THE ZEPHYR by Aimie K. Runyan
GRAVEYARD SHIFT by Kimberly G. Giarratano
HELEN OF MARS by George Ebey
THE HIVE by Kate Lansing
THE KEYS TO THE STARS by Stephen Kozeniewski
A LITTLE BIT TRUER by Valerie Hunter
LYRA by Lisa Toohey
THE MAD SCIENTIST’S DAUGHTER by Leandra Wallace
OF CAT’S WHISKERS AND KLUTZES by Martin Berman-Gorvine
THE OUTPOST by Paige Daniels
PANIC by Tash McAdam
ROBIN HACKER by Ursula Osborne
ROBOT REPAIR GIRL by Josh Pritchett
TAKES A HACKER by Mary Fan
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by Kate Moretti
Meg Bryant knows what the kids say about her. She spends all her free time in her basement and, until last year, her closest confidante was Mr. Fitz, who also happened to be her eccentric science teacher. But now Mr. Fitz is gone, and he left her a time machine - along with a warning to tell no one about it.
Hell-bent on winning Science Expo, the regional science fair, Meg puts forth her best efforts. But then her whole life explodes, alienating her friends. If she could use the time machine to re-do the day, she could fix everything. If only the stupid thing actually worked... |
Illustration by Hazel Butler
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A story of teenage angst, friendship, and dataverse hacking set on a far future Civilization Class vessel. When two young loners team up to investigate a minor mystery, they soon discover they're caught in the middle of someone else's game. The stakes could be a matter of life and death. And courage? Well, courage is Gracie under pressure.
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Illustration by Christopher Godsoe
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In the far future, An visits humankind's old homeworld, Earth, to attend a hacker conference. However, the oppressive regime chokes the flow of information. When An stumbles upon a plot to use bioengineering to control Earth's citizens, she's determined to find a cure for the disease unleashed. With a little knack and a whole lot of rebellion, she sets forth into the unknown.
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Illustration by Christopher Godsoe
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Sarah, a sixteen-year-old adrenaline junkie, has a head full of smarts and not a lot to lose. So when a high-ranking military official offers her a chance to join a top-secret program dedicated to cutting-edge technology, she welcomes the opportunity to do something important and exciting. Her job? To use her engineering know-how and improve upon the program's high-tech flight suits, which will be used to patrol the world. But as the program progresses, Sarah realizes that not everything is at it seems. Those in charge, it seems, will stop at nothing to control every aspect of the program - including her.
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Illustration by Jason Kucharik
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On the planet Tenturia, mining service is mandatory. But Wynn Felstrander managed to avoid it by working in her father's lab instead, after the government decided they needed her scientific skills more than another laborer. Still, she's trapped on the planet by the all-powerful regime.
When Wynn makes an important breakthrough in the process for refining the crystals used for fuel, she thinks she's finally found her ticket to freedom. But then she discovers that the Council is hiding a sinister truth about the very energy source she's spent her whole life working on. And the consequences for her mining-outpost home could be dire. Wynn soon finds herself facing the most difficult decision of her life. Should she take the Council's offer for safety? Or risk everything to leak the truth? |
Illustration by Jennifer L. Lopez
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Seventeen-year-old Philly Ramirez already has one criminal conviction hanging over her head because of her past as a hacker. Now, she just wants to do her job. There are worse things than being a graveyard hologram technician, taking care of the devices that shine beside the tombstones at a cemetery outside Atlantic City. Then, Zavier, one of the guards at the prison she was held in, barges into her life and reveals shocking information about her brother. The new revelations draw Philly into a web of deceit and danger - even murder - and force her to do the unthinkable: get back into the hacking game.
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Illustration by Evelinn Enoksen
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by George Ebey
Helen's father hoped to find his fortune by sending a robotic rover, controlled from Earth, to mine Mars for precious ores. After the machine is attacked by the Marauders - ruthless rover pirates that steal the caches of others - her family stands on the brink of ruin. But Helen has never met a machine she couldn’t fix, even one that’s fifty million miles away. Though saving the rover - and her family - will take every trick she knows, she's more than ready for the challenge. And she's determined to teach the Marauders how to play fair - a lesson taught at the tip of a miner’s drill.
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Illustration by Ken Dawson
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by Kate Lansing
Teen science aficionado Fi has made it her duty to protect the honeybees. Not only does she love the little creatures, but her society depends on them for their survival. Something sinister is astir, though, and powerful forces are behind it. With the help of her programmer friend and a surprising ally, Fi sets out to discover the truth and share it with the world.
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Illustration by Jennifer L. Lopez
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In August of 1955, Judy Kraybill receives a strange transmission on her ham radio. Now, Judy is good at a lot of things - cracking codes, for one. Talking to aliens? Not so much. At first, she wonders if what she's found is even real. But then, she discovers that something much larger is afoot. With little more than guts and an attitude, Judy finds herself thrown into a madcap adventure she could never have dreamed of.
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Illustration by Adrian DeFuria
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Fifteen-year-old Zaylie hasn't seen her mother in so long, she wonders if she'd recognize the woman who gave birth to her. One thing's for sure - mother and daughter couldn't be more different. While her mother found fame as an interstellar entertainment star, Zaylie is devoted to becoming a research scientist. Her future's looking pretty bright too - until her mother's unexpected return flips her life upside down.
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Illustration by Hazel Butler
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by Lisa Toohey
In this sci-fi twist on Cinderella, a teen girl named Elizabeth finds herself living in the attic and fixing machines for her mean-spirited aunt and bullying cousin. The closest thing she has to a friend is the house's AI system, but even that is taken away when her aunt decides to upgrade it to a new model. Much to Elizabeth's surprise, the new system, Lyra, takes a special interest in her, acting as her AI godmother. But not all godmothers are the things of fairytales...
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Illustration by Kayla Keeton
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Sixteen-year-old Viala Chesney keeps her inventions a secret. Because when you're the daughter of a mad scientist who committed murder, it's better that way. The last thing she wants is for people to think she'll turn out just like her father. Not that there are many places to hide when you live on a starship.
Starved for company, Viala invents a way to talk to a boy left in a coma following a shuttle crash. But what she discovers leads her to stumble upon a plot that endangers everyone aboard the ship. And it's up to her to stop the threat - before it's too late. |
Illustration by Adrian DeFuria
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Life on Mars isn't easy, especially when you're wheelchair-bound, like former Texas resident Katie Webb. In the years that have passed since she was sucked into this surreal alternate reality of pulp sci-fi come to life, Katie has mostly accepted her new life. But what she can't accept is that Martian military is planning a vicious takeover. One piece of tech from the life she once lived on Earth could make all the difference - if only she could recreate it. But she ain't had no darn luck yet, and time is running out.
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Illustration by Evelinn Enoksen
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16-year-old Lyvia has spent her life moving from outpost to outpost with her asteroid miner parents. And the company always sends them to the most run-down rocks under their control. Lyvia finds no reason to believe that Outpost
Geti-P will be any different - until a freak accident leaves her an orphan.
Through her grief, Lyvia discovers a message her father left before the tragedy - and learns that he discovered something huge shortly before his death. Realizing that her parents' murder had been covered up, Lyvia sets out in search of the truth. |
Illustration by Kayla Keeton
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by Tash McAdam
What would you do if all the lights went off, the doors locked and people started shooting? Abial's not a fighter, but when the alternative is dying, there aren't really a lot of good choices. Street smart and quick witted, she figures if she can just get the electronic doors open, maybe she'll survive. If she had her datapad with her, it'd be a cakewalk, but without her beloved technology to fall back on, well... things might end badly.
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Illustration by Tash McAdam
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When Robin was accepted to the best school in the galaxy, she thought she'd be using her education to help the world. But that was a lie - she and her classmates were being exploited by the oppressive government, the better to tighten their control. Unable to accept her fate, Robin fled.
Now, she uses her computer prowess to mess with the tyrannical regime - stealing their money and corrupting their information, even aiding revolutionaries. But a life of rebellion means a life on the run, and the government is always right on her heels. Smart as she is, Robin knows it's only a matter of time before her luck runs out. |
Illustration by Ken Dawson
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In Madison Brown's world, robots are commonplace. Many hate the machines for taking human jobs. But to Madison, whose father owns a robot repair shop, they're practically friends. Which is why she can't stand the idea of robots being forced to destroy each other for human entertainment.
Then, Madison's life falls to pieces, and she finds herself facing a future she never asked for, far from the repair shop. But when an escaped combat robot seeks her help, she can't refuse, no matter what the risks. |
Illustration by Josh Pritchett
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by Mary Fan
Every student in the galaxy wants to win the A-Comp, an elite cyberengineering contest. 16-year-old Jane Colt is thrilled that her school chose her to represent them in the competition. But not everyone plays fair. After a fellow contestant is sabotaged, Jane is determined to find the culprit and uncover the truth. Her mission takes her into the depths of cyberspace, where she encounters more than she bargained for.
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Illustration by Mary Fan
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