Discover the new books for young adult readers that our booksellers are excited about this month!
Catch
Sarah Brill
Lots of things have changed in Grace’s life over the summer. She’s had a growth spurt and is now extremely tall; her sister is pregnant and is going to have the baby while finishing high school; her sister’s best friend, the handsome Etienne, is suddenly attracted to Grace and has convinced her to join the basketball team; and, most importantly, Grace has discovered a special talent for catching people who fall from high places. When she gets a nauseating feeling in her stomach, she knows that someone nearby will fall soon. She is utterly compelled to run to wherever her instincts tell her and catch that person, even if they don’t want to be saved.
This surreal novel has such an unlikely premise, yet it is utterly believable and completely compelling. The author has crafted a narrative that generates empathy in the reader, especially towards Grace and the complications in her life. She has the normal challenges of navigating family, friendships and first romance in those tricky high school years. But then she also has her superpower of catching people, which she, her family and her friends must come to terms with. This is a beautiful novel that is a delight to read and keeps you thinking long after the last page is turned. It will be enjoyed by readers of romance and contemporary narratives aged 12+.
Reviewed by Angela Crocombe.
For No Mortal Creature
Keshe Chow
Jia Yi has always believed she’s an Empty, someone without magical power. While searching for a cure to her grandmother’s illness, Jia is stabbed through the heart by a soldier of her mortal enemy, Prince Essien Lancaster. She finds herself in the afterlife and face-to-face with the ghost of Lin, the childhood best friend who betrayed her. Desperate to escape him, she resurrects and discovers she has a power after all: the ability to move between the Living and Death Realms. Jia must use this power to find a legendary sword hidden in the afterlife to save her grandmother. But to survive the treacherous layers of the Death Realm, Jia must seek the help of Lin, and Prince Essien. As tensions between Jia, Lin and the Prince grow, she must confront the ghosts of her past, or risk becoming one herself.
After devouring Keshe Chow’s first book, The Girl with No Reflection, I couldn’t wait to read this one. It deserves to be crowned Young Adult Book of the Month, just based on the cover alone! I have read MANY young adult fantasies, but I’ve truly never read anything like this. It’s fast-paced, funny and emotionally charged. It had me squealing and kicking my feet with delight. The character development is strong and the plot is well thought out. And the twists! Oh my!
Following Jia on her journey through the Death Realm felt like a fever dream, in the best way. The enemies-to-lovers trope has always been my favourite, but after reading this it’s been replaced by friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers-to- … I won’t give any spoilers!
Inspired by Wuthering Heights, and with an element of Inception, this haunting fantasy will stick with you long after you’ve read the final page. It’s perfect for fans of love triangles, enemies-to-lovers tales and anyone aged 13+ who loves great romantasy.
Reviewed by Lucie Dess.
Young Adult Classic of the Month
Alanna: The First Adventure (The Song of the Lioness Quartet, Book 1)
Tamora Pierce
A conversation between Lucie Dess and Bella Mackey
Lucie: Bella and I both wanted to write the review for the Alanna series. It was actually my idea to pick it for the Young Adult Classic of the Month, but because I got to review the Kids Classic last month, it was suggested Bella should do it instead. I disagreed … So, naturally the only way to settle the argument was an arm-wrestle. Of course, I won! No need to applaud. But then Elke, our fearless Readings Monthly editor, suggested we write the review together, and being the gracious winner that I am, I agreed.
Bella: Thank goodness – it would have been a personal tragedy for me not to be able to share my love for Alanna and Tamora Pierce, but it was foolish of me to ever agree to an arm-wrestling match. Lucie destroyed me almost immediately … But that doesn’t matter now, because I still get to sing the praises of this timeless fantasy adventure!
Alanna: The First Adventure follows Alanna, who swaps places with her twin brother and disguises herself as a boy so she can become a knight. She’s got natural skill and a determination to prove herself, but Alanna soon finds herself up against gruelling training, mind-numbing lessons and relentless bullies. It’s not until she makes friends that the years of training ahead start to feel possible … as long as no one finds out about her secret identity.
Lucie: I first discovered Alanna in the school library. The book was tatty and the pages had yellowed. There were even a couple of pages missing, but that didn’t matter. I devoured it and then the next three books in the series. Alanna’s adventures are action-packed and utterly captivating. It has everything you could possibly want in a fantasy coming-of-age! There’s strong friendships, evil sorcerers, handsome princes, charming thieves, love triangles and twists that you will not see coming! The Song of the Lioness Quartet is a series I’ve returned to many times over the years, and it never fails to warm my heart and give me butterflies.
Bella: I was introduced to Alanna when I was in primary school, and it became pretty much my entire personality for the next few years. I absolutely fell in love with Alanna and her friends, and devoured the rest of the quartet (not to mention everything else Tamora Pierce had written). The fast-paced plots and magical world make her books incredibly engaging, while the wonderful characters will find a place in your heart and keep you coming back for more. Lucie and I are both proof that this book can inspire a lifelong passion! (and yes, we will now be re-reading the whole quartet, because it’s all we can think about after re-reading the first book).
We both recommend this series for any fantasy lover aged 12+, especially those who love Mulan and girls who can wield a sword.
📖 Also recommended are:
Thorn Season
Kiera Azar
In the Kingdom of Daradon, Wielders can exert a physical power that extends beyond their visible body. Feared and mistrusted for this ability, they have always been Hunted. Alissa Paine, heiress to a noble Hunter family, is also a Wielder and has survived by hiding her gift.
Summoned to the royal court for Rose Season, Alissa is plunged into danger. Trapped between a brutal prince and a beguiling ambassador, she knows that survival will depend on being the most vicious of the thorns.
Bitten
Jordan Stephanie Gray
The night her best friend is slaughtered by werewolves, Vanessa Hart’s life is changed forever. She faces the agonising transformation as she becomes one of them, as well as a deadly choice: swear her life to the Wolf Queen’s Court, or suffer a lone wolf’s death.
At Court, she meets the mesmerising golden Prince Sinclair Severi and his cousin, Calix, whose smouldering gaze hides even darker secrets. But Vanessa cannot forget what has been taken from her, and she may simply be a pawn in the Court’s lethal game.
Fake Skating
Lynn Painter
Dani and Alec were inseparable as kids. Until Dani moved away. Years later, she’s back in Minnesota, but teenage Alec is nothing like she remembers. He’s a hockey star and worshipped as a god.
When one thing leads to another and Dani and Alec find themselves thrown together and playing the role of boyfriend and girlfriend, ‘complicated’ becomes an understatement. In this Minnesota town, hockey may rule, but romance is about to take its place.
And get excited for the final volume in Philip Pullman's The Book of Dust series!
The Rose Field (The Book of Dust, Volume 3)
Philip Pullman
Marking 30 years since the world was first introduced to Philip Pullman’s remarkable heroine Lyra Belacqua in Northern Lights, The Rose Field is the culmination of the cultural phenomenon of The Book of Dust and His Dark Materials.
In The Rose Field, quests converge in the most dangerous and world-changing ways. Lyra, Pantalaimon and Malcolm must take help from spies and thieves, gryphons and witches, old friends and new, learning all the while the depth and surprising truths of the alethiometer.
All around them, the world is aflame – made terrifying by fear, power and greed. As they move east, towards the red building that will reunite them and give them answers, so too does the Magisterium, at war against all that Lyra holds dear.
Also available in hardback.
Available from 23 October – pre-order now!
