It was an emotional final farewell to our inaugural Teen Advisory Board this month. We celebrated with a special Brunetti’s cake (extra chocolate please) and a visit from two luminaries of the OzYA scene – Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

The two authors regaled us with stories of how they began writing together, what its like to co-write with someone, and what it’s really like on the grueling publicity trail in the US. We talked about the incredible universe they have created in their Illuminae series, the potential for a big budget US TV series based on it, and their forthcoming co-written book, also set in space. They were hilarious, insightful and generous with their pearls of wisdom.

We sent our teens out into the world with a Readings tote to keep all their books in and a promise to stay in touch in the future. We will miss them very much!

If you’ve already read and loved the Illuminae series, board member Tracy Hwang recommends you explore Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff backlists. Below are two of her two favourites.

‘In their Starbound trilogy, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner are able to blend together thrilling sci-fi and swirling romance to execute an unforgiving tale of love in the presence of insurmountable odds. Beautifully rendered, powerful, and eerily captivating, this series ticks all the right boxes. The characters are authentic and endearing, driving forward the survivalist plot until you can’t catch your breath. The mastery of Kaufman and Spooner, means that the series both warms readers hearts, and chills them down to the bone.’

Jay Kristoff’s cataclysmic techno-thriller will sneak up on you until you can think of nothing else. Wipe away the grime and the grit, and you’ll find a brutally honest sci-fi that makes you question everything that makes us human. Lifel1k3 is raw and ruthless, filled with plot twists and multi-layered characters that evoke every emotion, from admiration to frustration. Kristoff has delivered an eerily plausible world that feels so real; if you haven’t picked it up yet, you’re missing out.