Young Adult reviews
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series – a rollicking mishmash of Battle Royale and America’s Got Talent – sparked endless copycats. But the master herself has returned for this bloody, bold and resolu…
When It Drops by Alex Dyson
Every bedroom music producer dreams of fame and when one of Caleb’s tracks goes viral after being leaked by a pesky sibling, you’d think he’d be totally delighted. Instead, he’s a wreck. The song is …
Burn by Patrick Ness
You never know what you will get with a new Patrick Ness novel, but you can guarantee it will be utterly unique and extraordinarily beautiful. In his latest story, Burn, Ness delves into an alternate…
Taking Down Evelyn Tait by Poppy Nwosu
This novel is an engaging comedy of manners set around a blended family and a high-school friendship group. Lottie is a black-clothed heavy metal fan and school troublemaker whose best friend falls i…
The Book of Chance by Sue Whiting
There is not much that twelve-year-old Chance Callahan is uncertain about. She draws a hard line between true and false, and values honesty over everything else. Chance’s mother has kept detailed dia…
Deep Water by Sarah Epstein
Sarah Epstein, the highly commended author of Small Spaces, has done it again with her new novel Deep Water. Once more we are set the challenge of untwisting a mystery.
Henry Weaver has been missin…
How to Grow a Family Tree by Eliza Henry Jones
As with P is for Pearl, Eliza Henry-Jones’s latest young adult novel How to Grow a Family Tree tells the story of a seventeen-year-old girl and the emotional struggles brought on by a family in crisi…
The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
The second novel from Melbourne author Astrid Scholte is a thrilling fantasy murder mystery that is impossible to put down. The setting is a post-climate change world which has completely flooded, le…
Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
Ollie and Will met over the summer holidays at a lake in North Carolina. Summer lovin’ happened so fast. After summer break is over, they go their separate ways. Ollie gets ghosted by Will (or perhap…
Oasis by Katya de Becerra
Set on an archaeological dig in the desert near Dubai, the second novel from Katya de Becerra is a supernatural thriller that will have you guessing right up until the very last page.
Alife has tra…
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