This month in young adult new releases we have a hilarious Freaky Friday time-slip adventure, a road trip that may be a total disaster or the beginning of an unexpected romance, an identity crisis from an elite ballet dancer, and a new fantasy series by bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer that plays with the Robin Hood trope. Our classic of the month is none other than the legendary Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in a celebratory 42nd year anniversary edition with illustrations by Chris Riddell. So many exciting new (and old) reads!

Find our September picks for children’s books here.

YA BOOK OF THE MONTH

It’s Not You, It’s Me by Gabrielle Williams

Holly Fitzgerald has inexplicably woken up inside the body of an LA teenager called Trinity Byrne in 1980 - trapping Trinity in Holly’s forty-year-old body back in Melbourne, 2020. Mind. Officially. Blown. Holly finds herself navigating a brand-new body, family and cute boy next door - not to mention rock band that might just make it, and potential kidnapper. Meanwhile, lies intersect with truth, hurtling both Holly and Trinity towards a dangerous fate as the connections between them grow deeper and stranger than either could have ever imagined.

Freaky Friday meets Pretty Little Liars - if the Liars were an all-girl punk band from the 1980s - in this highly original soul-swap story from the critically acclaimed author of My Life as a Hashtag. You can read Alexa’s rave review here.

THREE YA BOOKS TO READ THIS MONTH

Road Tripping with Pearl Nash by Poppy Nwosu

The summer is finally here, and Pearl Nash is on a mission to save her slowly disintegrating friendship with a whirlwind end-of-year road trip that is going to solve all her problems.

Except, instead of her best friend Daisy’s feet on her dash, Pearl ends up stuck in the middle of the desert beside Obi Okocha, a boy with a mega-watt smile and an endlessly irritating attitude. Add in a breakdown, multiple arguments, an AWOL nana and a kiss that was most definitely a huge mistake, and suddenly Pearl has the perfect ingredients for the perfect disaster.

Road Tripping with Pearl Nash is a story about home and family, about breaking apart and fusing together, and, of course, about love.

Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden

Luca is ready to audition for the Australian Ballet School … All it takes to crush his dreams is one missed step … and a broken foot.

Jordan is the gorgeous rowing star and school captain of Luca’s new school. Everyone says he’s straight - but Luca’s not so sure.

As their unlikely bond grows stronger, Luca starts to wonder: who is he without ballet? And is he setting himself up for another heartbreak?

Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

In a kingdom where sickness stalks the streets and only the richest can afford a cure, King Harristan and his brother Prince Corrick are forced to rule with an iron fist. Tessa Cade is a masked outlaw marked for death, but she likes it that way. Together with the mysterious, handsome Weston, she robs from the rich to help the poor, distributing food and medicine to those who need it most. As it becomes clear that the only way to save her people is to assassinate the King, Tessa must face a deadly mission that will take her to the dark heart of the kingdom … and force her to work with the very people she intended to destroy.

Our reviewer says it has ‘action-packed writing, swoon-worthy romance and the odd twist that will leave readers reeling’. The full review is here.

CLASSIC OF THE MONTH

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (illustrated by Chris Riddell) by Douglas Adams

It’s an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and Arthur’s best friend has just announced that he’s an alien. At this moment, they’re hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and a book inscribed in large, friendly letters: DON’T PANIC. The book is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the weekend has only just begun …

Our staff reviewer, Tristan, has read this novel countless times, but nevertheless found ‘the illustrations capture the humour and whimsy of the classic sci-fi caper, while providing a new perspective on Adams’ universe.’ You can read her full review here.

NEWS, EVENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• Congratulations to Davina Bell for winning the Childrens Book Council of Australia Award for Older Readers for her brilliant novel The End of the World is Bigger than Love. You can read about all the winners here.

• Internationally acclaimed fantasy author CS Pacat is releasing the first in a new Young Adult trilogy in October and will be in conversation with Jay Kristoff on September 27 on Zoom. Tickets are only $5 (free if you purchase a book) and you can book here

• In conversation in late September will be global musical sensation Aviva, who is releasing her debut dystopian novel in October. You can book in for this free event here