Boarding school girls in space

[badgerbag]

Where are all the science fiction boarding school books? I can think of a few "girl on her own" books with plucky, lone heroes, like Wednesday from that Charlie Stross book or the not-quite-Starfleet anthropology cadet from "Enchantress From the Stars". But where are the boarding school books in space, where girls interact socially with each other, have their own power politics and friendships and set their own ideas of what's important?

Are there any?

If not, we should be writing some.

Comments

[sara]

There's that short story by Connie Willis, but that's more anti-boarding school than pro.

[badgerbag]

I'm just thinking, there's a lot of fantasy novels with boarding school. Tamora Pierce, the Harry Potter books, now I'm in the middle of House of Night (about which more later! it is very girlycon-worthy!) Maybe if there were more science fiction boarding school books, more girls would be reading SF. Why boarding school.... I'm not sure, but I think something about the stories of socialization and socializing. But also there is often an interesting feminist core about education, relationships between women across generations, and something happening *outside the home* but not a completely independent adventure, either. It gives a home base and a social context for whatever adventures happen.

[sara]

Yeah, see, I actually went to an all-girls' school, so the idea of valorizing that experience...well. It's just not the sub-genre for me, I expect.

[rosefox]

Are you thinking of D.A. or All My Darling Daughters? That description could fit either.

[sara]

I'm most immediately thinking of "All My Darling Daughters."

[rosefox]

I wrote fanfic for that story when I was a teenager, so I suppose it qualifies as girlycon material... but yeah, not something I would put forward as a model of SF boarding school tales.

[rachelmanija]

Though that's a mixed-sex boarding school where the boys get off on inflicting sexual pain, so perhaps the boys are the problem.

God that was a disturbing story.

[sara]

I'm...not convinced that a similar story couldn't be written in a single-sex environment. Although yes, obviously Willis intended it as a story about gender and power.

But then, I find the whole idea of romanticizing single-sex education really distressing, because that really does not match up with my own experience.

[the_future_modernes]

Someone needs to be getting on that stat, cause i would read that like WOAH!!!

[rivenwanderer]

Gunnerkrigg Court takes place in a boarding school and has a girl-centered cast, and it's about 75% fantasy, 25% sci-fi (I would say) and very good. It's a webcomic rather than a YA book, though.

[copracat]

Thanks for that link. I'm really enjoying it. Annie and Kat are ace.

[ar]

It's not sci-fi, but I'd like to put forth Princess Academy as another possible example in the fantasy genre. It's a really charming little book.

[rachelmanija]

YES! I'd buy it.

[gramina]

It's not a *girl's* school, and a number of the novels are set off-site, so to speak, but the Starbridge books (AC Crispin) do have a boarding school...