A New Kind of Beautiful

By Suzy Zail

Walker Books Australia 2026

Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey

Fifteen-year-old Paige had plans – big plans. A gap year with her best friend, Jazz. Art school in New York. Continue painting all the colours and details of real life. But the diagnosis of an incurable eye disease in year nine shatters her. How can she become a famous artist when her eyesight will disintegrate to a point no one can know or predict?

So Paige rebels, with Jazz documenting everything for social media. Year-ten Paige is friends with the popular girls, has a hot boyfriend, does crazy things year-nine Paige would never have done. Because standing to lose so much of herself, Paige fights for control of anything she can. But there is no way to control her declining eyesight. And she is determined not to let anyone at school know what’s happening, even keeping Jazz in the dark beyond the diagnosis and basic information.

When Paige’s vision takes a drastic dive, her art is suddenly something that doesn’t look like hers. Breaking, piece by invisible piece, Paige unfurls from within. It will take one big step, the first on a long walk to independence, for Paige to discover what she needs and how to get it. And it’s up to her to decide if and when she can take that first step.

A New Kind of Beautiful is the newest release from Australian author Suzy Zail, whose 2023 book Inkflower was shortlisted for four major awards. A New Kind of Beautiful is about difference, but it’s the journey along the rugged path of acceptance that makes this book stand out. The raw emotion, jagged shards of hope scattered along Paige’s path, pulse with the truth of what it feels like to be so far from where you want to be. Zail’s characters feel fifteen, like they’re teetering on that brink of needing the guidance of adults and finding their own way through, especially when navigating changing friendships and budding romances.

Although focused around a heavy topic, this book allows readers time to sit with the discomfort and find their own way through it, alongside the characters. An eye-opening and deeply moving read for YA readers aged 14+.