Australian First Nations young adult books

Liar’s Test (The Silverleaf Chronicles, Book 1)

Ambelin Kwaymullina

A gripping YA fantasy novel featuring a deadly contest for the crown, a heroine determined to right the wrongs done to her people, and a smouldering love story that could…

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The Upwelling

Lystra Rose

‘A deeply immersive Young Adult fantasy and an enthralling debut. It’s a privilege to walk this new path into the oldest of stories’ AMIE KAUFMAN, New York Times-bestselling author

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Burn

Melanie Saward

A poignant and powerful novel about a fire-obsessed Indigenous boy living on the margins - from an electrifying new First Nations voice in Australian fiction, Melanie Saward.

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We Didn’t Think It Through

Gary Lonesborough

The justice system characterises Jamie Langton as a 'danger to society', but he's just an Aboriginal kid, trying to find his way through adolescence.

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The Boy from the Mish

Gary Lonesborough

A funny and heart-warming queer Indigenous YA novel, set in a rural Australian community, about seventeen-year-old Jackson finding the courage to explore who he is, even if it scares him.

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Meet Me at the Intersection

Meet Me at the Intersection is an anthology of short fiction, memoir and poetry by authors who are First Nations, People of Colour, LGBTIQA+ or living with disability. The focus…

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Unlimited Futures: Speculative, Visionary Blak+Black Fiction

Rafeif Ismail,Ellen van Neerven,Hella Ibrahim

In partnership with Djed Press, Fremantle Press brings 21 emerging and established own-voice writers together to imagine a new future.

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Living on Stolen Land

Ambelin Kwaymullina

Living on Stolen Land is a prose-styled look at our colonial-settler ‘present’. This book is the first of its kind to address and educate a broad audience about the colonial…

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Borderland

Graham Akhurst

Jono, a city-born Indigenous teenager is trying to figure out who he really is. Life in Brisbane hasn’t exactly made him feel connected to his Country or community. Luckily, he’s…

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Catching Teller Crow

Ambelin Kwaymullina,Ezekiel Kwaymullina

Winner of the Prize for Young Adult Writing at the 2019 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. Told in two unforgettable voices, this gripping novel interweaves themes of grief, colonial history, violence…

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Robert Runs

Mariah Sweetman

Compulsory reading for early teens and young adults. Based on true events, this gripping thriller sheds light on the brutalities of the past whilst championing the heroes who survived.

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Hardback

Growing up Wiradjuri

Growing up Wiradjuri is a collection of personal stories by Wiradjuri Elders. The writers are Uncles and Aunties who came of age in New South Wales in the 1950s and…

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Tell Me Why for Young Adults

Archie Roach

In his inspirational, highly acclaimed memoir - and including reflections from First Nations Elders and young people - Archie Roach tells the story of his life and his music.

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Tracks of the Missing

Carl Merrison,Hakea Hustler

A First Nations murder mystery for young adult readers.

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Hardback

Common Wealth

Gregg Dreise

A slam poetry persuasive and powerful vision of unity from award-winning First Nations creator Gregg Dreise. Passionate, yet peaceful, Common Wealth is a compelling plea for a future of truth…

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The Tribe Book 1: The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

Ambelin Kwaymullina (Author)

The Reckoning destroyed civilisation and humanity has had to rise from the ashes. But there are now people with abilities – Flyers, Firestarters, Rumblers and society is scared of them…

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The Tribe Book 2: The Disappearance of Ember Crow

Ambelin Kwaymullina (Author)

The Tribe is settling back into life in the Firstwood. But Ashala Wolf is struggling to control her Sleepwalking ability – it has become unpredictable and dangerous. Then Ember Crow…

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The Tribe Book 3: The Foretelling of Georgie Spider

Ambelin Kwaymullina (Author)

A storm was stretching out across futures to swallow everything in nothing, and it was growing larger, which meant it was getting nearer…

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Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia

Anita Heiss

This groundbreaking anthology aims to enlighten, inspire and educate about the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia today.

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Flock: First Nations Stories Then and Now

Ellen van Neerven

Curated and introduced by award-winning author Ellen van Neerven, Flock features luminous storytelling from leading Aboriginal writers, such as Tony Birch, Melissa Lucashenko and Tara June Winch, as well as…

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Hardback

Sister Heart

Sally Morgan

A young Aboriginal girl is taken from the north of Australia and sent to an institution in the distant south. There, she slowly makes a new life for herself and…

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Fog a Dox

Bruce Pascoe

Albert Cutts is a tree feller. A fella who cuts down trees. Fog is a fox cub raised by a dingo. Hes called a dox because people are suspicious of…

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Dropbear

Evelyn Araluen

This fierce debut from award-winning writer Evelyn Araluen confronts the tropes and iconography of an unreconciled nation with biting satire and lyrical fury.

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Ruby Moonlight

Ali Cobby Eckermann

Ruby Moonlight, a novel of the impact of colonisation in mid north South Australia around 1880. The main character, Ruby, refugee of a massacre, shelters in the woods where she…

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My Place (Younger Readers)

Sally Morgan

Sally’s rich, zesty and moving work is perhaps the best loved biography of Aboriginal Australia ever written. My Place for Younger Readers is an abridged edition that retains all the…

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How to Make a Basket

Jazz Money

A powerful and lyrical collection of poetry by the winner of the 2020 David Unaipon Award.

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Becoming Kirrali Lewis

Jane Harrison

Set within the explosive cultural shifts of the 1960s and 1980s, Becoming Kirrali Lewis chronicles the journey of a young Aboriginal teenager as she leaves her home town in rural…

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Maybe Tomorrow

Meme McDonald,Boori Monty Pryor

Boori Monty Pryor’s career path has taken him from the Aboriginal fringe camps of his birth to the runway, the catwalk, the basketball court, the DJ console, and now to…

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Ubby’s Underdogs: Heroes Beginning

Brenton E. McKenna

It is the late 1940s and Broome, a small pearling town in the heart of an ancient land, is still recovering from WWII. Ubby, a smart, street-wise Aboriginal girl, is…

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Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance: A True Story

Banjo Woorunmurra,Howard Pedersen

The true story of the Aboriginal resistance fighter, Jandamarra, whose legend is etched into the Australian landscape.

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Ghost Bird

Lisa Fuller

An intriguing and gripping young adult novel by the winner of the David Unaipon award.

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My Spare Heart

Jared Thomas

Seventeen-year-old Phoebe’s life is turned upside down when she moves from the city to the country to live with her dad in this powerful and uplifting story about family breakdowns…

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Australian First Nations young adult books

Liar’s Test (The Silverleaf Chronicles, Book 1)

The Upwelling

Burn

We Didn’t Think It Through

The Boy from the Mish

Meet Me at the Intersection

Unlimited Futures: Speculative, Visionary Blak+Black Fiction

Living on Stolen Land

Borderland

Catching Teller Crow

Robert Runs

Growing up Wiradjuri

Tell Me Why for Young Adults

Tracks of the Missing

Common Wealth

The Tribe Book 1: The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

The Tribe Book 2: The Disappearance of Ember Crow

The Tribe Book 3: The Foretelling of Georgie Spider

Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia

Flock: First Nations Stories Then and Now

Sister Heart

Fog a Dox

Dropbear

Ruby Moonlight

My Place (Younger Readers)

How to Make a Basket

Becoming Kirrali Lewis

Maybe Tomorrow

Ubby’s Underdogs: Heroes Beginning

Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance: A True Story

Ghost Bird

My Spare Heart