Young adult

A Curse of Ash and Embers by Jo Spurrier

Reviewed by Holly Harper

Elodie has an iron will – with a stepfather who loathes her and a mother who does nothing to defend her, it’s the only way she’s been able to survive her hard upbringing. When she receives word that she’s being…

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The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

Reviewed by Bronte Coates

Felicity Montague is determined to study medicine. Unfortunately, eighteenth-century society has other ideas about what a woman is supposed to do with her life (i.e. marry the kind baker and bear children), and despite her obvious talent, Felicity faces constant…

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Girl in the Window by Penny Joelson

Reviewed by Pilgrim Hodgson

Kasia is mostly stuck in her room after a case of tonsillitis leaves her with the debilitating condition myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue). Too weak to attend school, she watches life passing by her bedroom window. One evening she sees what…

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What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra

Reviewed by Dani Solomon

When Hayden was eight her mother, Ella, disappeared in the woods near their small-town home of Promise. Not long after, Hayden was expelled from school due to an incident, and her physicist dad was fired after trying to convince his…

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And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness & Rovina Cai

Reviewed by Tom Davies

What if Moby Dick were told from the perspective of the whale? This is the question that inspired And The Ocean Was Our Sky, but it doesn’t nearly begin to sum it up. The story is told through the…

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Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina

Reviewed by Kim Gruschow

Catching Teller Crow is a story told through two unique voices, both belonging to young Aboriginal women. Beth Teller has died in a tragic accident but she stays with her father, who is aware of her presence. They can communicate…

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The Things That Will Not Stand by Michael Gerard Bauer

Reviewed by Alexa Dretzke

You meet a girl, oh the perfect girl, and then you meet the wrong girl and life gets really interesting!

The day starts simply for Sebastian and his best mate, Tolly. They are at an open day at uni, and…

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Meet Me at the Intersection by Rebecca Lim & Ambelin Kwaymullina

Reviewed by Leanne Hall

Masterminded by authors Rebecca Lim and Ambelin Kwaymullina, Meet Me at the Intersection is a highly successful and much-needed anthology of Australian Own Voices writing – stories about marginalised peoples told by people from those marginalised groups. The collection features…

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I Am Out With Lanterns by Emily Gale

Reviewed by Natalie Platten

The title of Emily Gale’s latest young adult novel is inspired by an Emily Dickinson quote: ‘I am out with lanterns, looking for myself’. This simple yet evocative metaphor sets the focus for this work and the existential enquiry that…

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The Survival Game by Nicky Singer

Reviewed by Kim Gruschow

Mhairi is 14 and on a journey toward her grandmother’s home in Scotland. It’s the not-so-distant future. The ice-caps no longer form and countries have euthanasia policies in place for population control. This is a world of checkpoints and drones…

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