The Not So Chosen One
By Kate Emery Reviewed by Jane Swinton Kate Emery is a reporter at the West Australian and The Not So Chosen One is her debut novel. She writes with beautiful clarity. Her prose has a wonderful stillness and insight about life in
Seven Days
By Fleur Ferris Reviewed by Melissa Salisbury Seven Days is Fleur Ferris’s second middle grade novel and an enjoyable thriller for the target age group. When Ben Parker, the only son of divorced parents, is forced to spend a week of his school
The Offline Diaries
By Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene Reviewed by Sarah Custance Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene, the award-winning duo behind the critically acclaimed Slay In Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, are now back with The Offline Diaries: As Told by Ade and
War Girls
By Tochi Onyebuchi Reviewed by Caeleigh Hancock War Girls is the third book published by Tochi Onyebuchi. It is a futurist sci-fi set in Africa, largely Nigeria, in the 2100s. It creates a glimpse into a future world where climate change and
Killer Content
By Kiley Roache Reviewed by Caeleigh Hancock Killer Content is the latest book by young adult fiction author Kiley Roach. It’s an engaging thriller and a quick fun read for a teenage and young adult audience. The story follows the lives of six
The Cult of Romance
By Sarah Ayoub Reviewed by Jane Swinton The highly acclaimed Sarah Ayoub shines a light on cultural disconnection in this tumultuous love story. The heroine, Natalie Saab is a smart, young, university student straddling the expectations of being Lebanese or being Australian
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School
By Sonora Reyes Reviewed by Rose Hill First things, first this book deals with suicide ideation, mental health, and hospitalization along with many forms of discrimination, these issues are potential triggers for many people. I really enjoyed reading this book, the narrative about
The School for Good and Evil (7) – The Rise of the School for Good and Evil
By Soman Chainani Reviewed by Jane Swinton This story is the prequel to the immensely popular School for Good and Evil series. This is the first title in the series that I have read. Not having read any previous titles doesn’t hinder
A Little Spark
By Barry Jonsberg Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Most of Barry's novels are about complex family relationships negotiated by a teenage protagonist at the centre of the action. Here in his latest, A Bright Spark, he deals with the fallout from divorce. Cate is
The Agathas
By Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson Reviewed by Caeleigh Hancock In this YA thriller, American authors Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson, who have previously separately published YA novels, have collaborated to create a who-dunnit with characters and plot twists that would do
Growing Up in Flames
By Zach Jones Reviewed by Caeleigh Hancock Growing up in Flames is the debut novel of Zach Jones. It is an insightful exploration of intergenerational trauma and grief set in a rural town in Australia focusing on four people. After her mother Ava dies
The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods
By Emily Barr Reviewed by Jane Swinton From the opening page, The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods by Emily Barr is a nail biting, page turner. Set in the deep forest of India, the story is the journey of an extraordinary
And Everything Will Be Glad To See You
Poems by women and girls Selected by Ella Risbridger Illustrated by Anna Shepeta Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Ella is a food blogger as well as a writer of historical fiction (The Secret Detectives), and has produced various other anthologies. Anna is a remarkable artist known
Where You Left Us
By Rhiannon Wilde Reviewed by Jane Swinton It was a joy to read Sunshine Coast author Rhiannon Wilde’s Where You Left Us. The book has captured Australian quirky humour and the darkly grim affection, that is typical of adolescents everywhere. The story is
How to Repaint a Life – CBCA Honours Older Readers
By Steven Herrick Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Brisbane born Steven Herrick has been writing fiction, poetry and verse novels for young people for many years. His latest, How to Repaint a Life is an honour book in the 2022 CBCA Older Reader
The Comedienne’s Guide to Pride
By Hayli Thomson Reviewed by Rose Hill As a fan of YA I was excited to be asked to review Hayli Thomson’s debut novel. I was hoping to love this book more than I did, the romance, coming of age story line
The Snow Laundry, The Towers #1
By Mette Jakobsen Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Mette is a writer and playwright who teaches creative writing and has put her talents to good use in creating her first YA dystopian novel. In Ally she has created one of those indestructible and indomitable
Cop and Robber
by Tristan Bancks Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Tristan Bancks has written books for children and teens which include the thrillers Two Wolves, The Fall and Detention. He has won many awards and is the writer-ambassador for Room to Read. He has a
Underground
Marsupial Outlaws and Other Rebels of Australia’s War in Vietnam A graphic novel by Mirranda Burton Reviewed by Sue Wright War, civil conflict, racism and division are part of the long legacy of colonialism. When colonial France withdrew from Vietnam, division split the
Girl on Fire
By Alicia Keys and Andrew Weiner Illustrated by Brittany Williams Reviewed by Sarah Custance Alicia Keys has won 15 Grammy Awards for her singing and song writing. She is also an actresss, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and is celebrated worldwide for her humanitarian work. Girl
You’ll Be the Death of Me
By Karen M McManus Reviewed by Melissa Salisbury From the international bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying, Karen M. McManus delivers the teen-friendly murder mystery goods again with You’ll Be the Death of Me. When Cal O’Shea-Wallace, Ivy Sterling-Shepard, and Mateo Wojcik were
The Break
By Phillip Gwynne Reviewed by Margaret McKay-Lowndes The tropical setting of the island of Bali is aptly represented by the palm trees basking in the warm orange glow on the cover of this novel. Penned by Phillip Gwynne, renowned author of Deadly
Gilded
By Marissa Meyer Reviewed by Zewlan Moor Marissa Meyer is the bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles series of science-fiction stories based on fairytales. Titles include Cinder, Scarlet and Cress. In Gilded, she retells the fairytale of Rumpelstiltskin, but this time it’s
Blackout
By Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk and Nicola Yoon. Reviewed by Yvonne Mes In this romantic anthology, written by 6 bestselling and award-winning African American YA authors, New York is plunged into a sudden blackout. The
The Midnight Girls
By Alicia Jasinska Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Jasinska is an Australian fantasy writer whose debut novel The Dark Tide made quite an impression. The Midnight Girls is her second and again borrows a lot from East European folklore. This makes the novel
Endgame
By Malorie Blackman Reviewed by Margaret McKay-Lowndes Noughts and Crosses is Malorie Blackman’s epic six novel series which has been 20 years in the making. Endgame is the final instalment, the others being Noughts and Crosses, Knife Edge, Checkmate, Double Cross, Crossfire. Endgame and draws on
Felix Ever After
by Kacen Callender Reviewed by Zewlan Moor Kacen Callender’s middle grade novel, King and the Dragonflies, won the US National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2020. Felix Ever After is a young adult novel featuring 17-year-old Felix’s antics during a summer
Henry Hamlet’s Heart
By Rhiannon Wilde Reviewed by Zewlan Moor Start as you mean to continue. Rhiannon Wilde has followed that maxim to great effect in her remarkable debut novel, Henry Hamlet’s Heart which won the Queensland Literary Awards Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland
Graphic Novels for Young Adults
Graphic Novels for Young Adults Here are some more graphic novels, most of them published quite recently. Graphic novels now cover many issues previously found in text only works. This trend is reflected in some of the titles selected here which cover
The End of the World is Bigger Than Love
By Davina Bell A BOOK HOOK from the Ipswich District Teacher-Librarian Network She said we didn’t know what the world out there had become. We had been alone there so long on that tiny island, in that tiny church. But in the night,
