YA books, events & news for May
The young adult category proves its versatility this month. We have robot-driven sci-fi, contemporary realism, historical fiction, and fairytale adaptations on our bedside tables. Read on for our top recommendations.
You can find some of our best kids reads of the month here.
SIX YA BOOKS TO READ THIS MONTH
Lifel1k3 (Lifelike) by Jay Kristoff
The much-anticipated new book by bestselling Australian author Jay Kristoff is here. Seventeen-year-old Evie Carpenter is fighting to survive in post-apocalyptic America (and keep her grandfather alive) by competing in the WarDome, a gladiator-type arena in which humans in robot mech suits battle malfunctioning rogue robots. When her current mech is destroyed, Evie and her best friend Miss Lemon Fresh, decide to scavenge in a fallen airship and find an outlawed Android called Ezekiel, who proves to have an unknown connection to Evie. Our reviewer Alistair revelled in Lifel1k3, saying: ‘It has everything from mech battles to murderous cults, implanted memories and kids with mutant powers to sassy robots, doomed romance and 90s punk references.’
You can read Alistair’s full review here.
The Learning Curves of Vanessa Partridge by Clare Strahan
It’s summer holidays, and clever, curious and awkward teen Vanessa has plans to reinvent herself and gain some practical experience of the sexual kind. But family holidays at their beach house is going to be unexpectedly eventful and full of change. Van misses her mum, resents her new stepmother, suspects her dad might be involved in some dodgy business deals, and is surprised when an older man appears to be interested in her. Desire and consent are at the forefront of this ‘smart, wickedly funny, and painfully relatable teenage fiction that explores heavy topics with honesty and humour’.
You can read our review here.
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
In the wake of the Love, Simon movie (adapted from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda), everyone is keen to know what happens to Simon’s best friend Leah. And author Becky Albertalli has responded by giving us a sequel!
It’s senior year and Leah is feeling on the outer just about everywhere. Tensions are running high in her band, her mum has a new boyfriend, she can’t be bothered about prom, she has a secret crush on a friend, she can’t help comparing her life, family, financial situation and body to those of others, and she hasn’t come out to her friends as bisexual. This is funny, biting and heartfelt YA, delivered in Leah’s inimitable and wry voice.
The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross
The Beauty and the Beast fairytale gets flipped on its head in this Australian debut where the focus in on the Beast’s story. Set in seventeenth century France, The Beast’s Heart takes its inspiration primarily from the original 1756 story La Belle et la Bête as it details the Beast’s internal transformation and growing love for Isabeau. Our reviewer Lian loved this ‘complex, charming, romantic, and richly detailed story about the redemptive power of love’.
You can read Lian’s full review here.
Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina
This lauded book, first published in hardcover in 2016, has only just become available in paperback, so it’s time for me to remind you that you must read it. Burn Baby Burn takes place in the sweltering, chaotic and heady summer of 1977, when the Son of Sam serial killer prowled the streets of New York City, hip hop was born, and major power blackouts caused chaos.
High school graduate Nora lives in a small apartment in Queens with her mother and younger brother Hector. Nora is right on the cusp of adulthood and looking forward to greater freedom, but there’s also much to weigh her down. Her brother Hector is spinning out of control, becoming increasingly uncommunicative and aggressive. She can’t dream of college when her single-parent family is barely getting by. And she fits the precise physical profile of victims targeted by the Son of Sam. This is sparkling, sympathetic and transporting YA of the best kind.
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi
The three surviving members of a family flee Syria when their apartment building is totalled by a bomb. Teenager Tareq, his father Fayed and little sister Susan join the flood of people moving towards western Europe, encountering aid workers, volunteers and other refugees. The novel is narrated by the character of Destiny herself, allowing for an omniscient view of the humanitarian crisis with much-needed political and historical context. This narration style provides a welcome amount of distance when atrocities and tragedies occur, while still attending tenderly to the terrors and losses that Tareq and Susan in particular face.
Journalist and author, Atia Abawi, fled Afghanistan with her family as a child, and has a successful parallel career as a foreign correspondent based in the Middle East.
RECENT NEWS & RECOMMENDATIONS + FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Applications are now open for the 2018-2019 Readings Teen Advisory Board! The Readings Teen Advisory Board is a volunteer group of teenagers (aged 14 - 19) that meets at Readings head office once a month to chat about recent and forthcoming young adult books, write blog posts and short reviews, learn about careers in the book industry, and provide feedback to Readings staff members on a range of subjects.
If you, or someone you know, is interested, please find all the details here.
This month, we recommended a range of great books written by authors who live with a disability. For further picks, you can also browse a collection of books featuring characters with disabilities here. We also shared some great books for mothers and daughters to read together, including picks for sharing with teenagers.
You can also read the story behind Australian author’s Brendan Lawley’s debut, Bonesland. Lawley talks about why he wrote this book, and who he hopes will read it, here.
And join us in Readings Hawthorn this month to meet international bestselling author Jay Kristoff as he launches his latest solo novel, LIFEL1K3. Jay will chat about his new novel and other writing projects with his frequent collaborator, Amie Kaufman, at 6.30pm on Friday 18 May. He will also be signing books afterwards. This event is free but please RSVP here.
