Reviewed by Clare Brook Reality and magical realism blended to create a nail biter plot concerning life for a Muslim girl in a private and very conservative American College. This sums up The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue by Zoulfa Katouh. It connects stereotypical attitudes with the lived experience of those from another culture. It
Reviewed by Clare Brook Three stories, about three girls, living in different times, woven together to form one novel for young adults. Such is Once Upon Tomorrow by Karen Comer, she skilfully illustrates social connection through time via tradition, textiles, and female agency. There is also a dystopian element that warns of a future controlled
Reviewed by Rod McLary The Belly of a Wolf is a verse novel – a relatively uncommon form of novel but one with distinctive characteristics. It combines the narrative strength of a novel with the stylistic and rhythmic characteristics of poetry creating a powerful emotional and often a fully immersive experience for the reader. Verse
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Rachael King presents a YA novel that is both mysterious and horrifying. The story centres around a creature called the Glimm, a being that demands child sacrifices from the people of Brack. Why this is so and when the practice began are unknown. Eight years before the time of the story
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Comics are a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. Comics and graphic novels are increasingly recognised as a legitimate, sophisticated form of literature in Australia, and not just for collectors or those with reduced reading skills. They are acknowledged for their unique
Reviewed by Rod McLary Gary Lonesborough is an award-winning author of YA novels – The Boy from the Mish and I’m Not Really Here – which address issues of self-identity, sexuality and cultural identity among Aboriginal youth. To a fair extent, the novels reflect the personal experiences of the author who grew up ‘as part
Reviewed by Rod McLary ‘Soft serve’ as most readers would immediately recognise is a cultural reference to McDonald’s and the servings of soft ice cream available there. But here, in this charming debut novel by George Kemp, McDonald’s also serves [no pun intended] as the social hub of this small country town in which the
Reviewed by Rod McLary Gus and the Burning Stones is the sequel to Gus and the Missing Boy [2024] and continues Gus’ search for his birth mother after discovering in the first book that he was adopted. With the help of his friends Kane and Shell, Gus was able to track down the details of
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This young adult comedy is the debut novel by Sasha Vey, an Australian author who enjoys writing about the complicated and often embarrassing transition into young adulthood. In this story many of the everyday dramas of teenagers on this journey are highlighted. The title, although it applies to one girl in
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This young adult contemporary romance is a debut novel in a two-book series based on The Wildest Dreams Bookshop. The second book, Snowed in at the Wildest Dreams Bookshop is also due to be published in 2025. The author, Gracie Page, lives in London but daydreams about leaving her office job
Reviewed by Rod McLary It is not often that I review books from the YA genre; but this one – We Saw What You Started – caught my attention. It was well worth the read and here we are with my review. Teenage detectives are not uncommon in YA novels – think Nancy Drew or
Reviewed by Rod McLary As a genre, YA [or Young Adult] produces some of the most relevant and resonant writing in literature today. The genre has been around for decades – think The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger [1951] – but currently, it is more popular than ever. Generally, YA novels explore
Reviewed by Rod McLary Dead Happy is the sequel to HappyHead which told the tale of Sebastian Seaton [Seb] who, along with ninety-nine other teenagers, was sent to a new and radical program to solve ‘the national crisis of teenage unhappiness’. Through a course of gruelling challenges, Seb discovers that he has qualities which up
Reviewed by E.B. Heath Although an elaborate fantasy for children, Greenwild: The City Beyond the Sea, carries significance – a warning. One that in times of yore was communicated via an Aesop’s Fable – The Goose and The Golden Egg. A story of stupidity and greed. Apparently, that message has been long forgotten because, well,
Reviewed by Rod McLary Gus and the Missing Boy successfully blends the features of a detective story with the tropes of a YA novel. Through the course of this novel, the author canvasses the existential issues facing thirteen-year-old Gus as he struggles with caring for his seriously injured mother, the vicissitudes of being gay and