In Hughes's final published work, The Maze (2002), the young female protagonist must rescue herself and two tormenting bullies from the dangerous maze into which they have all been magically transported. Hunter in the Dark (1982), for which she won a Canada Council Children's Literature Award, examines a 16-year old athlete struggling to come to terms with his mortality on a solitary hunting expedition, during a period of remission from a possibly fatal disease. Beyond the Dark River (1979) and Ring-rise, Ring-set (1982) incorporate Canadian Native, Inuit and Hutterite cultures. For example, Crisis on Conshelf Ten (1975) and Earthdark (1977) focus on feeding an overpopulated world, and Devil on My Back (1984) concerns the consequences of overdependence on technology. Most of her works are nominally classed as SCIENCE FICTION, though Hughes's plots center on contemporary dilemmas. Monica Hughes's central characters are psychologically credible adolescents struggling towards maturity. Monica Hughes was considered Canada's preeminent writer of science fiction for young adults. She went on to publish more than 30 novels and to win nearly every major Canadian award for young-adult fiction. Hughes began writing fiction before moving to Canada, but did not publish her first book until 1974.

She then travelled and lived in Africa, before immigrating to Canada in 1952. When she returned to university after the war, she studied Meteorology. Her Math studies at the University of Edinburgh were interrupted by World War II, when she joined the Women's Royal Naval Service. Monica Hughes spent her childhood in Cairo, London, and Edinburgh. Monica Hughes, née Ince, author (b at Liverpool, Eng 3 November 1925, d at Edmonton 7 March 2003).

Devil on My Back by Monica Hughes