Young adult

It's About Love by Steve Camden

Reviewed by Athina Clarke

Don’t be misled, It’s About Love is about so much more. It’s about where you’re from and how you’re judged; revenge, confidence and the unresolved issues of the past; and the gulf between what we feel and what we’re prepared…

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Pieces of Sky by Trinity Doyle

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

Lucy’s brother Cam died in a night surfing accident, which has rocked their small coastal town. Each of the family members is grieving in their own separate way and Lucy, once a champion swimmer, is unable to venture back into…

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You’re the Kind of Girl I Write Songs About by Daniel Herborn

Reviewed by Kim Gruschow

Tim and Mandy are both deeply passionate about music and they immediately connect when they meet at an old pub on a battle-of-the-bands night. They are both at a point in their lives where they are figuring out what lies…

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A Single Stone by Meg McMinlay

Reviewed by Katherine Dretzke

When a girl is born into the village everyone holds their breath for the announcement of her measurements. If she is small enough she will be treated like royalty, training to become part of the line, a select group of…

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The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten

Reviewed by Katherine Dretzke

Adam falls in love with Robyn Plummer the moment he meets her. After a time in a residency program for people with severe OCD, Robyn joins Adam’s group which consists of a small number of teenagers suffering from all sorts…

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Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

Reviewed by Savannah Indigo

I was halfway through Magonia when the thought crossed my mind: how did I land a job reading about blue bird-people living in the sky?!

In the aforementioned book, Aza Ray reaching her sixteenth birthday will be a medical miracle…

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One True Thing by Nicole Hayes

Reviewed by Athina Clarke

Imagine being 16 and dealing with life’s challenges – the pressure of school, the demands of family, the complexities of friendship. Now imagine that (on top of all that) your mother is the Premier of Victoria in the throes of…

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We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Reviewed by Katherine Dretzke

Four Seattle high-school students are finishing up their studies, excited at what the future holds. Peter is set to go to California to play basketball, Anita is moving onto an Ivy League school, Eliza can’t wait to just get the…

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The Guy, the Girl, the Artist and His Ex by Gabrielle Williams

Reviewed by Katherine Dretzke

It’s 1986 and Picasso’s famous painting ‘Weeping Woman’ has been stolen from the walls of the NGV. The people of Victoria are torn between being angry at the theft or bemused that the ‘kindergarten-like’ painting has been stolen and cracking…

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Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

Reviewed by Katherine Dretzke

Twig lives in a small town called Sidwell with her mother and brother in a house that has belonged to their family for years. Twig’s family suffered a curse many years earlier at the hands of a witch who, at…

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