Early in December the Readings children’s specialists were fortunate enough to attend ‘The Year Ahead in Youth Literature’, a preview of young adult fiction for 2015.

In part one (which you can find here) we picked out a generous handful of Australian YA to look forward to. Here’s what we’re most excited about from the international authors featured in the presentation.

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

This is the only one on the list that you can start reading today. Our reviewer, Katherine, from the Hawthorn shop, gave it her strongest recommendation: ‘All the Bright Places is about suicide and mental illness and for this reason should not be overlooked by parents. The writing is magnificent. The book is funny, sad, inspiring and devastating – I could go on. I feel this is a really important book for young adults because mental illness is still too hidden in our society. Parents, read this and then talk with your teens about it, and young adults, read this, it’s brilliant.’

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (April)

This debut is already getting a lot of love in the US, with high praise for its humour, romance, diverse characters and sharp observations. It’s a coming-out story about a sixteen-year-old boy who is being blackmailed after his secret falls into the wrong hands.

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley (April)

In 2014 I really wasn’t sure how I’d get along with a book pitched to me as ‘Titanic in Hyperspace’, but I thoroughly enjoyed it (that book was These Broken Stars, in which a spaceliner crash-lands into a planet… seriously, read it). So now I’m intrigued about Magonia which has been pitched as ‘Neil Gaiman’s Stardust meets John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars’. Bring it on.

Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas (June)

I’m a sucker for an epistolary novel. The letters that tell this story are between two young recluses, Ollie and Moritz. These best friends can never meet because one has a life-threatening allergy to electricity and the other has a weak heart that requires a pacemaker. The twist sounds fascinating – they discover a shared, sinister past that began years ago in a mysterious German laboratory, and this tests their friendship to the limit.

The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle (July)

Do you have times when you feel a bit more accident-prone than usual? This concept really resonated with me and I hear this debut author does something very original with it. It’s about an entire family who become inexplicably accident-prone at the same time every year. Apparently it’s dark, dreamy and lyrical – we love dark, dreamy and lyrical!

Adrift by Paul Griffin (August)

A change of pace now with four very different teenagers, one small boat and a wide open sea. What could possibly go wrong? The author’s previous books such as Burning Blue and Stay With Me have have garnered a lot of praise in the States.

The Rest Of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (August)

Patrick Ness isn’t afraid to tackle huge concepts, in fact I’d say he relishes it. Although his last novel, More Than This, left me slightly wanting at the end, it’s one I think about often. If I could resolve that ending in my head it would be up there with one of my favourite YA novels. This latest one sounds like another big, bold concept: What if your world was a lot like a YA novel, but you weren’t the main character/The Chosen One but just a kid trying to get through high school?

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead (August)

I’m trying my best to remain dignified but Rebecca Stead is one of my favourite authors and it feels like ages since I had the pleasure of reading Liar and Spy and When You Reach Me (both of which I’d recommend for 10+ into teens). In Goodbye Stranger Stead has multiple perspectives from three best friends, all dealing with problems in the seventh grade.

Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash (September)

And finally, here’s something completely different… This full-colour graphic memoir is set in a camp for girls where the author spent every summer, and it’s about her gut-twisting love for an older, wiser, female counselor. It’s described as ‘much more than a coming-out story’. Having just enjoyed the forthcoming, somewhat similarly-themed Australian memoir Bad Behaviou by Rebecca Starford (March), I’m even more excited to read this one.

This is just a small taste of what’s to come. Find part one, which featured 13 titles from Australian authors, here!