Everything YA in August
Contemporary Australian stories and multiple perspectives sit alongside revisionist fairytales, dystopias and fictional battles for survival in our YA round-up for this month.
You can also find some of our best kids reads of the month here.
YA BOOK OF THE MONTH
I Am Out With Lanterns by Emily Gale
I Am Out With Lanterns weaves together multiple points of view to create a story infused with art and magic. The lives of teenagers Wren, Adie, Milo, Ben, Juliet, and Hari interconnect in surprising and mysterious ways as they navigate school politics and their changing lives. This novel is a sophisticated and skilful exploration of love, feminism, bullying, family and friendship.
While I Am Out With Lanterns is a companion novel to Emily Gale’s The Other Side of Summer and features some familiar characters (we missed you Milo and Wren!) it can easily be read as a standalone. Our reviewer Natalie highly praises ‘characters that feel so real and familiar that as a reader you can’t help reflecting that they could be your friends, family or neighbours’.
You can read Natalie’s full review here.
RECOMMENDED YA READS THIS MONTH
After the Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson
Seventeen-year-old Pru has had an unusual upbringing in remote Western Australia with her doomsday prepper father and twin sisters. Survival drills and an underground bunker full of supplies are all par for the course. When the power fails in the small town of Jubilee while their dad is away for work, Pru and her sisters are primed for action, including protecting their family at all costs. But as the situation in their community worsens, they find it increasingly difficult to follow their father’s instructions.
Our reviewer Angela recommends After the Lights Go Out as ‘an action-packed, realistic thriller that is fascinating to read and had me thinking about brushing up on my survival skills.’
You can read Angela’s full review here.
The Survival Game by Nicky Singer
Mhairi lives in a terrifying not-so-distant future, where populations are strictly controlled and borders defended aggressively. Mhairi is trying desperately to reach her grandmother’s home in Scotland when she decides to take on the care of a lone mute boy, altering the course of both their lives.
Our reviewer Kim was struck by the parallels to be made with contemporary detention and treatment of refugees, describing Singer’s story as ‘a powerful and relevant read for mature teen readers. It has a truly startling ending that might bring on some tears.’
You can read Kim’s full review here.
Brontide by Sue McPherson
Grace Beside Me author Sue McPherson makes a very welcome return to YA with a story about a group of four teenage boys who range in age from twelve to eighteen years and live in a ‘quaint, old hippy beach town’ on the Sunshine Coast. Emerging from two real-life high school residencies and storytelling sessions with students, Brontide is presented in the form of transcribed conversations that are alternately brash, funny, candid, rude, honest and affecting. McPherson recently spoke on ABC Radio about how she specifically chose this format to appeal to reluctant readers.
Coastal life, family, ambitions, relationships, cross-cultural adoption and fostering in white and Aboriginal families, toxic masculinity, race, culture and identity come up in this far-ranging and highly readable novel about four interconnected young men.
Night Flights by Philip Reeve (illustrations by Ian McQue)
Return to the world of Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines quartet with this beautiful mini-anthology, illustrated in black-and-white by Ian McQue. Night Flights explores the backstory of Anti-Tractionist spy and pilot Anna Fang though three short stories. Fang has been a fan favourite for years, and she finally gets the full spotlight in these origin stories that showcase her verve and daring. One of the stories was previously published in the UK in 2011 for World Book Day, one uses culled material from the quartet, and the final is a completely original new story.
The big screen adaptation of Mortal Engines is being directed by Peter Jackson and should hit Australia in December 2018. So, it’s definitely time to read, or re-read, this exciting steampunk series, and get an introduction to Fang before you see her being portrayed by actress and musician JiHAE.
The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill
Irish author Louise O'Neill is known for her uncompromising and feminist novels, so you know when she takes on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid that it’s going to be something special. Gaia is the young mermaid daughter of the Sea King, living in a highly controlled and patriarchal underwater world. Wondering about the fate of her mother (who disappeared when she was a baby), and dreading her loveless betrothal to an older man, Gaia travels to the water’s surface on her fifteenth birthday and falls hopelessly in love with a human boy she rescues, Oliver.
O'Neill weaves a dark and twisted fairy tale, in which Gaia loses herself to obsessive love and tries to escape her bleak everyday life with romantic projections. Just like the original story, a happy ending is out of reach, but readers who love richly-imagined fantasy worlds, and subversive reimaginings will be in their sweet spot.
ERIN GOUGH WINS THE READINGS YOUNG ADULT BOOK PRIZE
The winner of this year’s Readings Young Adult Book Prize is Amelia Westlake by Erin Gough!
This wonderful novel about two girls who devise an elaborate hoax to bring down a sexist teacher is both an entertaining rom-com, and a timely exploration of feminism, privilege and power for readers 12 and up.
Amelia Westlake was chosen as the winner by our panel of judges, including Readings specialists and our guest judge, award-winning YA writer Melissa Keil, and with input from the Readings Teen Advisory Board.
Find out more about the Readings Young Adult Book Prize here.
RECENT NEWS & RECOMMENDATIONS
We’ve recommended Lili Wikinson’s gripping new YA novel After the Lights Go Out in this column already, and we’re also excited to invite you to the launch. Wilkinson will chat about the novel with fellow author Amie Kaufman at Readings Kids at 6.30pm today – Thursday 2 August! This event is free.
This past month on our blog, we highlighted some of our favourite poetry for kids and teens. For teens, we recommended a range of poets, verse novels and Instapoets that we hope will encourage a love of poetry and language.
Do you know about the Readings podcast? This podcast is a celebration of books, reading and pop culture. Episodes are released fortnightly and range in format, from author interviews to event recordings to booksellers talking about recommendations or industry insights. If you’re interested in YA or coming of age stories, you might like to check out our interview with Dr Anita Heiss about a groundbreaking anthology or listen to a live recording of our Teen Advisory Board member Kate chatting to Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff at their launch of Obsidio.
