New books from some of our favourite authors, award-winners, books that cover topical issues and an Australian classic from the 90s – March is set to be a good month for teen readers and YA fans of all ages.

(Find our best recommendations for kids’ books this month here.)

LOVEOZYA PICKS

Frogkisser! has all of our in-house Garth Nix fans a-tizz, and no wonder – it’s a funny, flipped-around fairytale quest that’s great for teens, all the way through to old and crusty The Princess Bride fans. (To be clear, I’m including myself as the latter.) Princess Anya has promised her sister that she’ll try to find a way to transform her sister’s cursed boyfriend back from frog form into human again. She reluctantly sets out with her talking dog and said frog, and together they encounter wizards, ethical robbers, pesky journalists and other familiar/unfamiliar fantasy characters.

Malvern children’s and YA specialist Athina loved Frogkisser!. Read her review here. Recommended for readers aged 12 and up.

J.C. Burke explores prejudice and loss in The Things We Promise. This novel is set in the early 90s, when HIV and AIDS were stigmatised and those affected lacked access to long-term medical management. 16-year-old student Gemma is caught up in the frenzy of school formal preparations when her beloved older brother Billy returns home. Gemma is forced to confront some serious issues when it becomes clear that all is not well with Billy.

St Kilda children’s and YA specialist Kim was greatly impressed with The Things We Promise. Read her review here. Recommended for readers aged 14 and up.

Prime Minister’s Literary Award winner Robert Newton brings us Mr Romanov’s Garden in the Sky, the story of an unlikely friendship. After witnessing an upsetting incident, 13-year-old Lexie finds herself drawn to Mr Romanov, AKA The Creeper, a maligned resident who lives her high-rise housing block. Together with her friend Davey, Lexie and Mr Romanov embark on a road trip that eases the loneliness, stress and loss of their lives, with hope and human connection.

This book is suitable for sophisticated 11-year-olds through to older teens needing a manageable but complex read.

INTERNATIONAL YA PICKS

In The Hate U Give, 16-year-old Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend Khalil and must decide how to act. Angie Thomas’s much-hyped debut novel is inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement in the US and has everyone talking. Starr’s struggle to manage the code-switching between her neighbourhood Garden Heights identity and her exclusive prep school identity, is well captured in the novel.

Digital content coordinator Bronte was deeply moved by The Hate U Give: ‘Thomas’s book is raw and honest, but it’s also accessible and has moments of genuine warmth that made me glow inside.’ Recommended for readers aged 13 and up.

Two accomplished and award-winning writers, Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan, come together for We Come Apart, a timely story about two troubled teenagers who connect in post-Brexit Britain. Romanian immigrant Nicu and Jess meet doing community service in a park and a spark ignites, despite all cultural barriers and odds. We Come Apart offers romance and sobering realism in verse novel form.

Recommended for readers aged 13 and up.

The magical, multi-dimensional and mythical Bone Gap by Laura Ruby won the 2016 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature and is now happily available in a very attractive local edition. The small town of Bone Gap is the site of the mysterious disappearance of a young Polish woman, Roza, and the subsequent investigation by local teens Finn and Petey.

Hawthorn Children’s and YA specialist Carrie greatly enjoyed Ruby’s ‘lyrical prose, spirited humour and textured style.’ Read her review here. Recommended for readers aged 13 and up.

I have a secret soft spot for the funny, sweet Geek Girl series, which follows klutzy Harriet Manners as she reinvents herself as a professional model. The sixth and final book, Forever Geek, is out this month. If you have a disinterested, struggling or reluctant teen reader at home – especially one who enjoys slapstick or the Next Top Model TV franchise (which aren’t mutually exclusive concepts, by any means) – you should slip them this series.

Recommended for readers aged 12 and up.

NEW EDITIONS OF ROBIN KLEIN’S NOVELS

Yes, Robin Klein novels are now rightfully considered modern classics. Text Publishing has recently released new editions of four of her novels as part of their Australian classics series, all with forewords by contemporary Australian YA authors. The four novels include the complete Melling Sisters Trilogy – All in the Blue Unclouded Weather (with a foreword by Amie Kaufman), Dresses of Red and Gold (with a foreword by ) and The Sky in Silver Lace (with a foreword by Alice Pung) – as well as influential Came Back to Show You I Could Fly (with a foreword by Simmone Howell).

Hawthorn bookseller Annie Condon revisited Came Back to Show You I Could Fly recently, and found that it ‘still packs an emotional punch over 25 years later, deftly addressing themes such as addiction, pregnancy and divorce’. Read her review here. Recommended for readers aged 12 and up.

NON-FICTION PICKS

Whether you believe we are all living in a computer simulation, or not, young readers have much to learn from the story of entrepreneur, inventor, futurist and thinker Elon Musk. Elon Musk’s adult biography is a bestseller, and I’m pleased to report that a young reader’s edition has now been released.

Young people interested in art will find The Art Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained an indispensable resource of art history, art biography and art ideas. This book spans prehistoric to contemporary art, covers all mediums and explores major artists and movements, with really eye-catching page layouts that are easy to dip into.

THE INKY AWARDS LONGLISTS

The Inky Awards longlists were recently announced. Australia’s only teen choice book awards are split into two categories, with the Gold Inky awarded to an Australian book, and the Silver Inky to an international book.

You can find out more about the full longlists (including how keep teen readers can sign up to become Inky judges!) here.

Leanne Hall