Highly Illogical Behavior, and 5 More YA Reads That Pay Homage to Star Trek

For one, it feels like it could easily have been spoken by Captain Picard on the bridge of the Enterprise, during a passionate and stirring speech to his crew. Because if there’s one thing The Federation is good at in the Star Trek series, it’s not staying quiet. It’s not staying out of the way. It’s going forth, exploring, and helping those who can’t help themselves.
Which is one of the key themes at the heart of Whaley’s latest novel, a read that’s both hilarious and heartwrenching: Not staying quiet. Not staying out of the way. Trying to make a difference.
Told in shifting point of view between the perspectives of Solomon, an agoraphobic teen who’s smitten with Star Trek, and Lisa, a well-meaning but terribly flawed high school senior bent on helping “cure” him, Highly Illogical Behavior is hands down one of the best reads of the year. A must for fans of books like Everything, Everything, by Nicola Yoon, and More Happy Than Not, by Adam Silvera, it’s a novel about  sexuality, mental health, friendship, and the joys of being a total geek.
See, Solomon loves him some Star Trek. You can probably tell from the cover of the book, what with the floating starship and all. In fact, he adores it to the point that he has his family garage painted to look like a holodeck. It’s a room that helps him be at peace, when his mind is everywhere all at once. When he can’t stop panicking, this is the spot that soothes him.
Solomon, when it comes to the YA world, you’re not alone. Plenty of YA has paid homage to the beloved sci-fi series, and not just the actual Star Trek books. Let’s take a look.

Wildlife, by Fiona Wood
In Wood’s delightful followup to Six Impossible Things, readers are treated to a story set in an Australian wilderness camp, which is less like summer camp and more like school. In fact, it is school, as camping is a required part of the curriculum. It’s a story about friendships and finding a place when you feel out of place. And we learn about one of our main character’s love of Star Trek while they’re cooking:
“We combine our three packs of pasta for dinner—pesto. We tip the dried stuff into a pan, add water and simmer. We try it, looking at each other with disbelief as it hits the tastebuds. ‘It’s pesto, Jim, but not as we know it,’ I say. ‘Fascinating,’ says Lou, unsmiling, humouring my Star Trek reference, while wincing at the foul food.

An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
It’s a quick nod to the Star Trek universe, but in John Green’s wonderful road trip novel of heartbreak (by Katherines) and friendship, the main character, Colin Singleton, has a geeky best friend, Hassan Harbish, along for the ride…who happens to be a Star Trek geek. At one point, Hassan turns to his best friend and says:
“Dude, you’re such a geek. And that’s coming from an overweight Star Trek fan who scored a 5 on the AP Calculus test.”
His Judge Judy fandom is more prominent throughout the book, but still. There it is.

Tithe, by Holly Black
Fantasy! Rock music! Romance! When it comes to Holly Black’s Modern Fairy Tales series, there’s so much fun to be had. The drama of the faerie kingdoms that Kaye, a teen who discovers she’s a fairy after she has spent her life traveling with her mother’s rock group, is impossible to turn away from.
But the geekiness of the characters, with their love of anime and Star Trek, is just as delightful as the fantasy world readers are thrust into. When Cornelius (or Corny, as he’s called through the book) is talking to Kaye about coming out to his parents, he says:
“Yeah, the whole family knows. It’s no big deal. One night at dinner I said, ‘Mom, you know the forbidden love that Spock has for Kirk? Well, me too.’ It was easier for her to understand that way.”
They go on to laugh about it and read a bunch of comics immediately after. Yup. Hard not to love these two.

The Iron Queen, by Julie Kagawa
In the third book of Kagawa’s The Iron Fey series, we learn that in addition to being half human and half fey, Meghan Chase is also something of a Star Trek geek, as she figures out how an invisibility magic seems to be working.
“They’re cloaking,” I said, as the pieces clicked into place. “They’re using Iron glamour to twist the light around themselves so they appear invisible.” I felt a thrill of discovery, of knowing I was right. All those years of watching Star Trek had finally paid off.
What is it with half-fae folks and a love of Star Trek? Has anyone written a paper on this?

A Thousand Nights, by E.K. Johnston
This one is a bonus pick. If you look closely at the cover of E.K. Johnston’s stunning A Thousand Nights—and you probably have, because that hardcover is absolutely stunning—you’ll notice words and short phrases written in light green around the golden lettering. One sticks out pretty clearly to Star Trek fans: “Sokath, his eyes uncovered.”
It’s a phrase from the Tamarian language, which is a language spoken by Tarmarians, as witnessed in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and a number of Star Trek novels. Shout out to Johnston, who mentioned there was a Star Trek reference on her novel. It took some scouring, and I love it.