Discover the new books for young adult readers that our booksellers are excited about this month!
This Dream Will Devour Us
Emma Clancey
Gossip Girl meets The Hunger Games in this intoxicating and deadly fantasy romance. Set in our world, magic has become real through a drug called Levick that is owned by a single family, the Lamours. This has made them rich beyond belief, desirable to all and a target for many who wish to see them fall. Every year, they host the rich and famous at the Dream Gala, which is similar to the Met Gala, even taking place inside the Met in New York. Tickets can be bought by the public, but only one lucky person will be chosen to attend. When we are introduced to our protagonist, Nora, she is so extremely lucky that she was chosen to attend even without buying a ticket.
Suddenly thrust into a world of glamour and decadence, Nora soon learns the luxurious Lamour life is brimming with secrecy, lies, and betrayal. These realisations all lead to a multitude of seemingly never-ending questions: who put Nora’s name down for the lottery? What conspiracies are the Lamours hiding? And just how dangerous is this magic for everyone?
With iconic tropes like enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, and a love triangle, This Dream Will Devour Us entices all readers with its addictive pace and jaw-dropping twists. Although swept up in this glittering mirage, Nora is a fearless heroine who does not waver from her career ambitions and always puts her family’s needs above her own. Emma Clancey’s debut standalone will make you question what is real and what has been fabricated for your delight. For ages 14+.
Reviewed by Aurelia Orr.
How to Survive 1985
Tegan Bennett Daylight
In Royals, a group of seemingly random teens and a baby becomes trapped in a shopping mall for six weeks. This time, most of the same group are suddenly removed from 2025 and transported to 1985, without warning or explanation.
When Shannon walks out of a movie theatre and finds herself on the same street 40 years ago, the first thing she decides to do is seek out her mum, who, at that time, is a teenager herself. Now, we all know if you do happen to end up in the past, the last thing you should do is risk changing the future in even the tiniest way, but if you were all alone and there weren’t any mobile phones, or the internet, and everyone was dressed strangely with big hair, and people still paid for groceries at the supermarket with cheques because EFTPOS had only just been invented, then you would want your mum, too!
After a sleepover and the weirdest conversation Shannon has ever had with her mother, the pair set out to look for the others, tracking them down and then trying to find a way to return to their own time. While their presence in 1985 is never fully explained, the friendship between the teens continues to develop and their resourcefulness is put to the test again. Fans of Royals will adore this book (and so will their parents) and if you haven’t read the first one, never fear, it works just as well as a standalone. For ages 12+.
Reviewed by Kate McIntosh.
The Notorious Virtues
Alwyn Hamilton
The brilliant new novel from the author of the Rebel of the Sands trilogy features the Hotzfall family, in which each member is named for a virtue. They own all the property and power in the city of Walsted, wielding money and magic. Honora Hotzfall (Nora) is the clever grandchild, who loves nothing more than to party. When Nora’s mother, the heir to the Hotzfall magic, is murdered, it forces the Veritas Games to begin. The Games are a series of trials that Nora and her three cousins must undertake so that their virtues – honour, truth, and loyalty – are challenged to determine the next heir.
Meanwhile, Ottoline (Lotte), who has been cruelly raised by nuns far from the capital, is revealed as the illegitimate daughter of a Hotzfall. She is introduced to the family so she too can compete in the trials, despite attempts to murder her. Also upsetting the peace in Walsted are the Grims, a rebel group who seek a more equal society, but use violence and shock tactics.
This engaging narrative looks at the power of political systems and the inevitable corruption that comes with inherited wealth. Nora and Lotte, both feisty and surprising, are delightful characters, and the knights that have vowed to protect them, as well as the poor newspaperman desperate for a big story, are also compelling. This is a page-turning read with teeth, clearly pitched at readers of The Inheritance Games but with far more sophisticated characterisation and plotting. Highly recommended for readers aged 12+.
Reviewed by Angela Crocombe.
Also recommended this month are:
The Singular Life of Aria Patel
Samira Ahmed
Aria Patel believes in facts. She likes stability, certainty, predictability. It's why she's so into science. And it's why she dumped her boyfriend Rohan, before they went to different colleges – the odds were that something would go wrong eventually. Unlike love, science is something you can count on. But there's no scientific explanation when Aria suddenly finds herself falling through parallel universes. And there's no formula to explain how she keeps meeting Rohan in every new universe she falls into.
After being ripped away from her world seconds before a tragedy occurs, Aria is left with two mindbending, physics-defying conudrums – can she navigate the multiverse and get home to save her family? And will she break one of her own rules to survive the multiverse, and fall in love?
The Edge of Everything
Miranda Luby
When a rare and highly endangered bird flies into Lucy's bedroom window, she feels it's a sign. Of what, she's not exactly sure, but maybe it means she'll get her life back on track after the sudden death of her brother a year ago. Maybe she'll find some meaning in the randomness of existence and work out her place in it all. Maybe she'll find a way to stop the wild stunts she's been pulling with Jacinta just to keep her thoughts from spiralling for a few moments.
She takes the injured bird to a local wildlife sanctuary, and there she meets Ben. He's cute, a tiny bit flirty, and he cares as much about the bird's survival as Lucy does. He could be the distraction she needs. But when unrelated events collide, Lucy realises things are not going to be that simple.
Wandering Wild
Lynette Noni
Zander Rune was the darling of Hollywood until he fell from glory and was labelled a problematic bad boy. His public image needs fixing – fast – or he'll lose the role of a lifetime, and all his dreams with it.
Charlie Hart is a regular teenage girl who despises everything Zander represents. But thanks to her scheming best friend and an ill-timed social media competition, Charlie finds herself pretending to be Zander's biggest fan on a four-day reality TV adventure led by renowned survivalist Rykon Hawke.
When their trip goes horribly wrong, Charlie and Zander are left stranded in the wilderness. No Rykon, no film crew, no rescue. The only way they'll survive is if they trust each other. But in order to do so, both will have to let go of the ghosts of their pasts, and just maybe find themselves – and one another – in the process.
The Floating World
Axie Oh
Ex-soldier Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. Possessing just his name and sword, he comes across the score of a lifetime – a chest of coins for hunting down the girl who wields silver light.
Ren is a spirited acrobat travelling with her family. But everything changes when they are attacked by a demon. Desperate, Ren releases a blast of silver light and kills the monster – but cannot save her beloved uncle from grievous injury.
Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off for the mountains, where the creature came from – where Ren herself fled from ten years ago. Her path collides with Sunho's, but he doesn't realize who she is. As the two grow closer, it becomes clear their pasts – and destinies – are more entwined than they could possibly have imagined …
The Thrashers
Julie Soto
Jodi never asked to be a Thrasher – a member of the high school elite. But Jodi has been best friends with Zack Thrasher her whole life, and like it or not, that means she's branded a Thrasher by the rest of the school. And different as she feels to the other four Thrashers – all talented, privileged and beautiful – she can't help appreciating her social status, especially compared to her violent home life. But being a Thrasher isn't worth dying for – except, apparently, it was to Emily Mills. Sweet but intense Emily, whose fixation on Zack brought her close to the in-crowd, but never close enough. Emily, who took her own life on prom night.
When a detective finds a copy of Emily's diary, there are whispers that she was 'Thrashed' – bullied to death by Zack and his gang. They are arrested, charged, and ostracised, their once bright futures extinguished. Then begin the texts from unfamiliar numbers, inexplicable light flares, the run of bad luck that becomes a string of near-fatal accidents … and the constant dreams of Emily.
But something isn't adding up. The diary is too convenient … in fact, it's filled with Jodi's own secrets, repurposed by Emily. But why?
