Young Adult reviews
The Gaps by Leanne Hall
The Gaps is a powerful, searing psychological novel that explores teenage fear, anger and vulnerability. When a 16-year-old girl, Yin Mitchell from the Year 10 class at Balmoral Ladies College, is ab…
Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker
I can’t tell you how many times Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been retold or offered inspiration to a story. The same goes for Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. But what would the outcome be if …
Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales
Everyone at school knows about locker 89. The process is simple: write a letter confessing your relationship woes, pay a small fee of $10, and wait patiently for the solution to appear in your inbox.…
Lead the Way by Jean Hinchliffe
Are you a young person? Are you worried about a particular social issue? Do you want to make a change, but are unsure of how to go about it? If you answered yes to any of these questions, Lead the Wa…
All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue
Caroline O’Donoghue is an Irish author and journalist who also hosts the acclaimed podcast Sentimental Garbage. Her new novel, All Our Hidden Gifts, pivots from her darkly humourous and searingly sma…
The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough
Gary Lonesborough’s debut YA novel is an extraordinary coming-of-age story of first love, community and discovering who you are. Seventeen-year-old Jackson lives with his family on the Mish in rural …
Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez
It feels like there is always room for more books about young people playing sport and Furia, a novel about a teen soccer player, is one of the highest quality.
Argentinean teenager Camilla is know…
Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim
Thirteen-year-old Wen lives in a house governed by rage and fear. As the first-generation daughter of Chinese migrant parents, she is expected to keep her head down and focus solely on her studies. W…
Love Is a Revolution by Renée Watson
When Nala sees Tye Brown on stage at an open mic night run by youth activist group Inspire Harlem, she’s instantly smitten by his good looks and his caring manner. Nala is there for her ‘cousin-siste…
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
In Garden Heights, 17-year-old Maverick Carter is many things: a dutiful son, a loving boyfriend and a conflicted member of the King Lords gang. The one thing he’s not prepared to be is a father, but…