YOUNG ADULT • Ages 14–18
Young Adult
Reading Challenge
Launch into your next reading mission. Explore S.T.E.A.M. stories, bold ideas, and new perspectives throughout the challenge.
Registration opens: Sept. 4, 2026
Challenge runs: Sept. 25 – Oct. 16, 2026
Join the email list for registration reminders and challenge news.
Explore this page
Your Mission
Start with the Base Goal, then keep reading to reach Bonus Goals and earn more virtual tickets.
Registration opens September 4. During the challenge, readers use Beanstack, an online platform, to track reading and submit virtual tickets.
Base Goal
Read for a total of 210 minutes
Earn 5 virtual tickets and a reward package.
Bonus Goals
Read an additional 45 minutes
Earn 3 virtual tickets each time.
Virtual Tickets
Choose bonus drawings to enter
Use your virtual tickets for bonus drawings.
Rewards & Bonus Drawings
Every reading mission deserves to be celebrated.
Readers who complete their Base Goal earn digital badges, virtual tickets, a certificate of completion, and a reward package.
Keep going beyond the Base Goal to earn extra virtual tickets for bonus drawings.
Sneak peek below: bonus drawing items, reward package goodies, and certificate example. More items are coming soon. Reward package contents may vary.
Submit virtual tickets by October 17
To enter bonus drawings, submit your virtual tickets in Beanstack by October 17, 2026.
Winners will be notified by email by November 1, 2026.
Author Messages • Ages 14–18
Meet Your Reading Guardians
Your Reading Guardians have special messages to share. Press play and learn about the stories they brought to life.
Watch a Message from Your Reading Guardians
Lori's Message • 2 min. 39 sec.
Hear how a childhood curiosity about earthquakes inspired a love of science and discovery.
Rona's Message • 2 min. 7 sec.
Hear how time at MIT helped shape a story about tech, ambition, and self-discovery.
Featured Books by Your Reading Guardians
2026 Young Adult • Ages 14–18
Pick Your Next Book
Choose a book from the list below and start your reading mission. Most are available at your local library.
Need a printable version? Download the S.T.E.A.M. book recommendations (PDF)
A Better World Is Possible Global Youth Confront the Climate Crisis by Meera Subramanian, Danica Novgorodoff
A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars (Adapted for Young Adults) by Hakeem Oluseyi, Joshua Horwitz
A Wrinkle in Time / Una arruga en el tiempo by Madeleine L'Engle
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There / Alicia en el país de las maravillas by Lewis Carroll
Become an App Inventor by Karen Lang and Selim Tezel
Binti / Binti: Hogar and Binti: La mascarada nocturna by Nnedi Okorafor
Biology's Beginnings: Discovering Life's Story, Volume 1 by Joy Hakim
David Blackwell and the Deadliest Duel by Robert Black
The Birth of Genetics: Discovering Life's Story, Volume 3 by Joy Hakim
Folding Tech: Using Origami and Nature to Revolutionize Technology by Karen Latchana Kenney
Genius: The Game by Leopoldo Gout
Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins
Grasping Mysteries: Girls Who Loved Math by Jeannine Atkins
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race / Talentos ocultos o Figuras ocultas by Margot Lee Shetterly
How to Survive the End of the World by Katy Doughty
Imposter by Catin Levin
It’s a Numberful World: How Math Is Hiding Everywhere by Eddie Woo
Meanwhile / Mientras tanto by Jason Shiga
Memory of Water by Emmi Itaranta
Money Out Loud: All the Financial Stuff No One Taught Us by Berna Anat
Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You: A Lively Tour Through the Dark Side of the Natural World by Dan Riskin, Ph.D.
Much Ado about Numbers: Shakespeare’s Mathematical Life and Times by Rob Eastaway
My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth
Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
Phenomenal Moments: Revealing the Hidden Science Around Us by Felice Frankel
Power On! / ¡Conectados! by Jean J. Ryoo and Jane Margolis; Spanish edition translated by Mariana Llanos
Project Hail Mary / Proyecto Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Reasons We Break by Jesmeen Kaur Deo
Share Better and Stress Less: A Guide to Thinking Ecologically About Social Media by Whitney Phillips and Ryan Milner
Slay by Brittney MorrisSolving for the Unknown by Loan Le
Tasting Light: Ten Science Fiction Stories to Rewire Your Perceptions by Anthologists Wade Roush and AR Capetta
The Cat in Numberland by Ivar Ekeland
The Curie Society by Heather Einhorn, Adam Staffaroni and Janet Harvey
The Curie Society: Eris Eternal, Volume 2 by Heather Einhorn, Adam Staffaroni and Anne Toole
The Curie Society: Game of Code, Volume 3 by Heather Einhorn, Adam Staffaroni and Barbara Perez Marquez
The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming
The Evolution of an Idea: Discovering Life's Story, Volume 2 by Joy Hakim
The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure / El diablo de los números by Hans Magnus Enzenberger
Quake Chasers: 15 Women Rocking Earthquake Science by Lori Polydoros
The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks
The Secret Astronomers: A Novel in Notes by Jessica Walker
The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal by Ambika Vohra
The Unknowns by Benedict Carey
The Water Wars / Las guerras del agua by Cameron Stracher
The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life by Amy Butler Greenfield
This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg
Trajectory by Cambria Gordon
What Is Relativity?: An Intuitive Introduction to Einstein’s Ideas, and Why They Matter by Jeffrey Bennett
Wild Dreamers by Margarita Engle
You Had Me at Hello World by Rona Wang
Want more book choices?
Visit the S.T.E.A.M. Book Recommendations section on the Resources page to find suggested books by reading level, including past challenge recommendations.
Readers may choose books from any level, but prizes are awarded by age category.
Questions?
Visit the FAQs on the Resources page.
Email steamracetospace@gmail.com.
2025 Bonus Drawing Winners
Congratulations to the 2025 Bonus Drawing winners! These readers won bonus drawing items and an invitation to the Splashdown Celebration.
See what readers earned and which schools were represented.
Alexis R
Serrano Intermediate
Irvine Lanes giftcard
Andrew O
Serrano Intermediate
30 Second Dance Party button
Aubrey G
Serrano Intermediate
Graticube
Colin B
Serrano Intermediate
Books of Clash vol. 3-5
Dalia K
Serrano Intermediate
Sky Zone guest pass
Dila J
Acacia Elementary
Bazic Products backpack
Dillian K
Esperanza High
Club for the Future bundle
Dylan K
Bernardo Yorba Middle
Bytes & Bots gift certificate
Ian T
Segerstrom High School
Chromebook
Isabella S
Serrano Intermediate
30 Second Dance Party button
Izabella S
Pacifica High
Graticube
Jack C
Serrano Intermediate
Sandisk tour
Logan B
Serrano Intermediate
Mini Mod™ Launch Set
Logan F
Serrano Intermediate
Books of Clash vol. 3-5
Marina N
Serrano Intermediate
30 Second Dance Party button
Nathan C
Serrano Intermediate
Books of Clash vol. 3-5
Oliver C
Serrano Intermediate
30 Second Dance Party button
Olivia D
Serrano Intermediate
30 Second Dance Party button
Rohan K
Serrano Intermediate
30 Second Dance Party button
Saikrishnan S
Troy High
Sandisk tour
Shaan D
OCSA
Sandisk tour
Vlad D
Romanian Readers
$20 Amazon giftcard
