In the Eye of the Beholder? The Unadulterated Beautiful and the Threatening Grotesque in a Selection of Young Adult Science Fiction Narratives

Rebecca Hutton, Alyson Miller, Elizabeth Braithwaite | Science fiction, according to Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr. (2008, 187), “elicits from its audiences a feeling of hesitation facing two intertwined but distinct questions about the imaginary world represented in the text. On the one hand, it asks whether the imaginary changes are possible; on the other, what their…

The Catcher

Cathryn Perazzo | This story began with a couple of different ideas that I rubbed together to see what would happen. These included: my daughter thinking it unfair to animals that we eat them and asking “how would you like it?”; and a separate question I’d thought of, “What would it be like if I…

Invitation to the Feed: The Body and the Environment in a Selection of Dystopian YA Science Fictions

Rebecca Hutton, Alyson Miller, Elizabeth Braithwaite | Technology, the environment, and the young adult figure often exist in an uneasy yet inextricable relationship in many young adult fictions dealing with dystopian futures. Nature and the artificial are frequently constructed as binaries that the young person must negotiate or resist in order to survive and preserve…

Mad as a Hamster

Jacqueline Furby, Southampton Solent University | Terry Gilliam studied physics at Occidental College (later transferring to politics), and his appreciation of the absurd poetics of science is evident in his handling of scientific subjects such as time and time-travel. His films also reveal his fascination with the workings of the human mind, perhaps none more…

Deletions and Other Pleasures

Christy Dena | This creative response began as a completely different story and form. What excited me in the end was the concept of deletion and how it could be an interesting mechanic: where the only thing you can do in the world is delete. I thought about deleting parts of robots to make them better. Healing…