Golden*

*A StoryLinks starred review indicating a book of exceptional literary merit.

By Jade Timms

Text Publishing 2025

Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey

Every now and then, I finish the last page of a book and I’m compelled to immediately start again. Golden was one of those books. The debut YA novel from New South Wales author Jade Timms, shortlisted for the 2026 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers, will make you feel deeply in all the best and hardest ways; some moments are like watching your best friend being dragged under a crashing wave, while others are like curling up with a cup of hot chocolate and a cozy blanket.

Eddie is struggling with flashbacks to a day she doesn’t want to think about. She barely speaks to her twin brother, the fun twin with all the friends. She’s decided to train for the annual Mud Run, but gets dragged into morning runs with another girl. The cute new boy in their year is talking to her, and actually wants to hang out with her. She’s not sleeping well and her mum has all but abandoned the family and she’s the only person who seems to visit her grieving sister.

Slowly, slowly, Eddie finds the walls she has worked hard to fortify over the last three years crumbling, but she’s not sure that’s what she wants. When she finally decides it might be time to let people back in, why does it seem like everything begins falling apart again?

Golden hits a sweet spot, where coming of age means coming into yourself, more emphasis is on healing than trauma, and friends and family cross blurry lines between what we are born into and who we choose. Bringing together realistic dramas of living in a small, seaside surf town and the high emotional toll of being a teenager in the middle of an existential crisis, Timms has woven an earnest and moving story about someone on the precipice of being an adult while feeling as lost as a small child.

Timms’ language evokes a sense of the joy and freedom of being a teenager, while at the same time the dread and fear of every little thing that come with it. Genuine voices manage the ups and downs with humour and heart while staying true to the overwhelming weight of what Eddie is carrying. Golden manages to pack a lot of punches into a small space without using fluffy, over-the-top language or talking down to the kids who will read and connect with the book. Leaving space for anger, grief, love and healing, there is a place here for every teenage reader to feel truly seen. A recommended read for anyone over 14 years, but a note on content should be mentioned due to alcohol and drug use, sex, and depictions of violence and death.

Age 14+