Writing from a child’s or teenager perspective might sound simple, but getting it right is notoriously difficult. Here are five new novels that feature compelling and authentic young voices.

How Saints Die by Carmen Marcus

How Saints Die portrays adult breakdown through the eyes of a brightly imaginative and irrepressibly curious child. 10-year-old Ellie lives with her fisherman father, Peter, on the wild North Yorkshire coast. It’s the 1980s and her mother’s breakdown is discussed only in whispers, with the promise ‘better by Christmas’, and no further explanation. Steering by the light of her dad’s sea-myths, her mum’s memories of home across the water, and a fierce spirit all her own, Ellie begins to learn – in these sudden, strange circumstances – who she is and what she can become.

The Choke by Sofie Laguna

Abandoned by her mother as a toddler and only occasionally visited by her volatile, secretive father, Justine is raised by her Pop, an old man tormented by visions of the Burma Railway. Justine finds sanctuary in Pop’s chooks and in The Choke, a place of staggering natural beauty that is both a source of peace and danger. From Miles Franklin winner Sofie Laguna, The Choke is a claustrophobic novel about a child navigating an often dark and uncaring world of male power, guns and violence. Events manager Chris Gordon says: ‘Laguna has beautifully captured the bewilderment of childhood and the emergence of adulthood.’ Read her full review here.

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

At 14, Turtle Alveston knows the use of every gun on her wall, that chaos is coming and only the strong will survive it, that her daddy loves her more than anything else in this world – and that he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her with him. When she makes a friend, it might be the bravest and most terrifying thing she has ever done, but she doesn’t know what will happen if her daddy find out. Our head book buyer Alison Huber says: ‘This book is completely gut-wrenching, utterly compelling, and very, very good.’ Read her full review here.

Anna by Niccolò Ammaniti

It is some years since a virus killed all the adults. Now Sicily lies in ruins while the disease lies in wait, poised to claim the children as they reach adolescence. Brave, stubborn 13-year-old Anna looks after her brother Astor in the cottage where their mother’s skeleton rests, lovingly decorated. She tells him fearsome stories about monsters, hoping to keep him safe at home while she forages among the real hazards – like the roaming gangs of savage, blue-painted kids who’ve taken a sudden interest in the cottage. Doncaster bookseller Ellen Cregan says: ‘This is a sickeningly wonderful novel.’ Read her review here.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

13-year-old Jojo is one of the three narrators in this richly evocative novel from National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward. This tender-hearted yet resilient teenager lives with his grandparents in rural Mississippi, where he’s become the primary carer for his toddler sister, Kayla. When their father is released from prison, Jojo’s mother packs the children into her car with a friend, and together they set off to collect him. Part road novel, part ghost story, Sing, Unburied, Sing examines the ugly truths at the heart of the American story.

Available 1 October