Young adult

Monuments by Will Kostakis

Reviewed by Natalie Platten

Monuments is a new action-adventure series about gods, guardians and the struggle for worldorder. ‘Monument’ is the title given to each of the many gods credited with creating life as we know it. The gods maintain the status quo, and…

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It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

This book is a rare gem; a simple story told with an utterly authentic and humorous voice that portrays with great empathy the insecurities and confusion of young adulthood.

Natalie has just finished year twelve and is enjoying one final…

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Everywhere Everything Everyone by Katy Warner

Reviewed by Claire Atherfold

Melbourne local Katy Warner is a playwright and writer with many awards already under her belt for both her short fiction and plays. Her debut YA novel Everywhere Everything Everyone is an exciting continuation of this talent.

The story begins…

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The Last Balfour by Cait Duggan

Reviewed by Athina Clarke

I do love a good witch story: there’s something exhilarating about a young woman drawing on an unknown mystical force and discovering her potential. This story surges at a breathless pace and is unrelenting in its emotional grasp. There’s the…

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The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chaim

Reviewed by Leanne Hall

Anna Chiu and her younger siblings Lily and Michael are very familiar with the ups and downs in their mother’s mental health, but that doesn’t make their family life any easier. Year Eleven student Anna takes on parental duties when…

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The Watcher in the Garden by Joan Phipson

Reviewed by Bianca Looney

The slightly sinister title was what initially drew me in to this unusual thriller. Long after finishing the final pages, its unsettling after-effects still linger.

Sixteen-year-old Kitty (Catherine) struggles with big emotions. She feels like an outsider in herown family…

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I Am Change by Suzy Zail

Reviewed by Natalie Platten

Suzy Zail’s latest novel, I Am Change, is a fictional work based on research and personal interviews with young Ugandan women from rural communities living in extreme poverty. Forthese young women, poverty is but one of many challenges they…

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Impossible Music by Sean Williams

Reviewed by Mike Shuttleworth

Simon Rain is eighteen, a guitarist, songwriter and passionate metalhead. When, a month before Christmas, Simon suffers a minor stroke, his life will never be the same. He cannot hear a note. Nothing. The silence is total. What would you…

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Promise by Alexandra Alt

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

Set during WWII in Berlin, this story about two German teenagers is a fascinating look at what life was like growing up under Nazi rule. Lene is only fifteen, and her life has been dominated by the Nazis. She can’t…

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With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Reviewed by Kim Gruschow

Emoni has a deep love of cooking. She’s extraordinarily talented in the kitchen and has dreamed of being a chef since she was a child. When a culinary arts course is offered at her school, she is, naturally, excited and…

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