This month our Teen Advisory Board had a visit from Jackie Tang, editor of industry magazine Books & Publishing, which is the main outlet for news about the book industry and the only source of pre-publication reviews of Australian titles. Jackie talked about the contents of the magazine, keeping up to date with the latest book news, both nationally and internationally, as well as the process of commissioning and editing reviews from industry people. Jackie then got out the red pens and took our board through some copy editing of the latest edition of the magazine. There were definitely future editors in the group who relished the opportunity to wield those red pens!

The board also filled out a survey about where they like to lurk on social media to find their book information and gave us their favourite adult new releases and classics that they love reading. Look out for these picks in a forthcoming blog post.

Our delightful Teen Advisory Board shelftalkers (pictured here) landed from the printer this month and will soon appear around the shops with quotes and recommendations from the board.

We also said farewell to Chris Buur from the board, whose university and work commitments meant that he couldn’t devote the time to reading and writing for the board. We wish him well in his career and hope he keeps in touch.

Till next month, there are many happy teens reading piles of forthcoming YA releases. Thank you so much to the generous Australian publishers who provided them.

HERE IS WHAT THE BOARD IS READING (AND RECOMMENDING) THIS MONTH

Tracy Hwang is reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles won the 2012 Orange Prize, now known as the Woman’s Prize for Fiction, a globally prestigious literary prize that is awarded to a female author of the most original full-length novel. This retelling of Homer’s Iliad is an incredibly compelling and deserving read that simultaneously pleases readers with its modernity, and pays homage to its source.

Miller’s writing talent will leave readers awestruck with admiration, and her skill of intertwining mythical details with coming-of-age issues will make you believe that this is not a retelling, but something so divinely original.

This tragic tale of Achilles in the Trojan War, is narrated by his faithful companion Patroclus, like all heroes in ancient Greek mythology, they are plagued by prophecies, war and fatal flaws. The imaginative depth of this novel satisfied my unquenchable love of classical literature and had me captivated until the very, tear-jerking end. For lovers of Greek mythology and beautiful, immersive writing, The Song of Achilles is in a class of its own. Suitable for 15 years and up.

Kirrily Ireland is reading The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil

Melissa Keil has already blessed the Australian YA scene with two hilarious, nerdy, heart-felt rom-coms: Life in Outer Space and The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. Her recent contribution, The Secret Science of Magic, will not disappoint Keil fans—Sam, Camilla and Adrian from Life in Outer Space even make a few guest appearances, in case you’ve been missing them like I have.

The Secret Science of Magic deals with many struggles that Australian teens face in their last year of high school, including relationships, mental health and those all-too-real fears for the future. The protagonists, Sophia and Joshua, aren’t always likeable but they’re real—diverse, unique and, most importantly, relatable. This is the kind of book that’ll drag you through an array of emotions, seamlessly too. Attempting to get the attention of his life-lon crush, Joshua practices his clever magic tricks with an impressive level of enthusiasm that’ll make you laugh. Sophia’s ambition and determinationwill make you proud, even inspired. But Keil goes straight for the heart when Joshua and Sophia’s relationship and self-doubts deepen.

Melissa Keil writes cleverly, creatively and colloquially, in a comforting voice that’ll reel you in from the first page. The Secret Science of Magic is a must-read for anyone who enjoys quality YA.

Mia Tikellis is reading Satellite By Nick Lake

Imagine you grew up in space. Where there is no up or down and everything floats. Where there is no gravity. For Leo, Libra and Orion this is their reality. So what happens when they go back to Earth, their home, the place they’ve never been? Through Leo’s eyes you can go to space and see the world as they do.

This book is written in text form as if it is a video format, the way you would text someone, using c for see and u for you.

But, soon you get so immersed into the book, you don’t even notice this format. This is one of the best science-fiction books I have read in a long time. It has real science and physics but is also breathtakingly beautiful and such a pleasure to read. It is so wonderful that we have books like this that bring diversity and real problems to our shelves. A thrilling, moving and inventive book, it touched my heart like no other.

Joe Murray is reading Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Recently, the genre that has been run to its limits in young-adult fiction has been the post-apocalypse story. I thought I’d seen the best the genre had to offer until I picked up a 20th century classic that absolutely nailed it. Day of the Triffids was written not long after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Just as 1984 came from a newfound fear of fascist regimes, Day of the Triffids came about from a newfound fear of our own annihilation.

After a spectacular midnight meteor storm leaves everyone who watches it blinded, the protagonists Bill and Josella are some of the few left unscathed. But before they can come to terms with a society that is collapsing scarily quickly, they are faced with a more immediate danger. Triffids are genetically engineered plants used to produce valuable oils for companies and so have become ubiquitous in England and the world. Their venomous stings are docked and they are kept in fenced pens. But when the playing field is levelled and humans can no longer see them, they become a whole lot more dangerous. How do you restore order when anarchy seems like the only option? How can you rapidly adjust to a world that has changed in a single night? The protagonists are left to figure that out without being killed by a Triffid’s sting

A blinding meteor shower and man-eating plants are hard to believe but the way Wyndham writes grounds everything in a gritty and understandable realism. But Day of the Triffids also makes you think. Beyond the action and plot development there are also some ideas in the background that elevate the novel. First, there are the Triffids, humanity’s creation and their scourge, that draw similarities with nuclear weapons that were, and still are, a very real threat. The blindness that is the other half of the apocalypse dredges up considerations of class and power, where the sighted are elevated to the elite and the blind plunge down the hierarchy. Good science fiction makes you think, and for deep ideas, this book is no slouch. You should read it because it does an apocalypse more creatively, more convincingly and more excitingly than most modern novels that try to do the same.