The Best Young Adult Books of 2012

This year we’ve seen a bumper crop of books, music and film and over the next few weeks we’ll be presenting a series of our favourites, voted for and selected by Readings’ staff.

Here our children and YA specialists share their picks for best Young Adult Fiction of 2012.


Kim Gruschow recommends

Sally Gardner treats the reader to a remarkable perspective and a fantastic character in Standish Treadwell, the hero of Maggot Moon. The novel is set in a bleak and oppressive society where Standish is out of step in many ways. He battles through life taking great risks for his loved ones. Gardner is one of the finest contemporary writers for young adults.

Kim is from Readings Hawthorn.


Leanne Hall recommends

Told through the journal entries of the irrepressible and sensitive Sophie, this novel follows the beloved FitzOsborne family at the height of World War II. A meticulously researched and fabulously detailed tale of the era, the final book in the Montmaray Journals trilogy is gripping, funny and heartbreaking.

Leanne is from Readings Carlton.


Alexa Dretzke recommends

This is my top pick for 2012. The funny and straight-talking Hazel meets and falls in love with the funny and gorgeous Augustus. He hopes that she isn’t a person that’s become her disease (terminal cancer), as he is in remission and full of hope. John Green has written the perfect book that will break your heart even as you laugh. For ages 14 and up.

Alexa is from Readings Hawthorn.


Alexa Dretzke recommends

Every Day is unforgettable – different, and simultaneously subjective and objective. Imagine waking up in a different body every day and becoming that person for 24 hours. Unthinkable, you say, but David Levithan will show you otherwise. He gets to the core of what it is to be human. For ages 14 and up.

Alexa is from Readings Hawthorn.


Emily Gale recommends

A first half full of her mother’s myths and dark family stories gives way to a blood-pumping second half as Friday begins a desperate search for self. Along the way, she meets the heartbreaking Silence and the truly Machiavellian Arden. Beautiful and brave, for ages 14 and up.

Emily is from Readings Carlton.


Angela Crocombe recommends

This beautiful novel about a dwarf in seventeenth-century Europe is captivating from the very first page. Jepp is a delightful character and his tale of growing up within a harsh and uncertain world is utterly compelling. Recommended for ages 14 and up. It will make you laugh and cry, no matter what your age.

Angela is from Readings St Kilda.


Athina Clarke recommends

Jack spends one summer grounded in his ‘boring’ old home town of Norvelt – a place teeming with weird, eccentric characters and bizarre, suspicious deaths. This is the laugh-out-loud YA book of the year, perfect for younger teens with a taste for mischief and history.

Athina is from Readings Malvern.


Kathy Kozlowski recommends

This story of four generations of the same family totally engages the reader in contrasting lives and dilemmas. Despite the different periods and expectations, the needs of all the characters remain unchanging at heart. The fact that The Convent is set locally in Abbotsford means that it will be enjoyed by the wider family, as well as teens, which is always an added bonus.

Kathy is from Readings Carlton.


Holly Harper recommends

When those closest to Brick turn into rage-fuelled zombies and try to kill him, he knows something is wrong. He soon discovers more kids like him, but can their small group survive the Fury? My favourite book of 2012, perfect for Michael Grant fans ages 12 and up.

Holly is from Readings Carlton.


Katherine Dretzke recommends

I loved this intelligent and interesting debut. The connections between an extinct bird, a young missionary and a missing brother in a small American town don’t seem immediately apparent, but when they become entwined we have a summer of things going missing or coming back in unexpected ways. This quirky book will appeal to ages 14 and up, and John Green fans in particular.

Katherine is from Readings Hawthorn.


If you’re after advice this Christmas concerning gifts for young people, come visit one of our stores to chat with our children and YA specialists in person.