Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Chris Gordon is reading A Great Hope by Jessica Stanley

First of all, reading A Great Hope by Jessica Stanley made me feel old. This novel centres around the Kevin Rudd years of 2007 through to the turbulent years of Gillard and I found myself amazed/dismayed that it was all so LONG ago. Despite my astonishment of passing time, this is a compelling novel to read, especially given this particular week.

The book centres on John Clare, a union head and a key player within the Labor movement who dies, unexpectedly leaving behind both his family and his lover. The novel unravels his relationships, alongside the ebbs and flows of life politically, publicly and privately.

There is heartbreak and optimism. There is a portrait of Fitzroy. There is crime and consequences. There is men that speak loudly and not for us, and those that continue good work quietly. There is the rise of the internet. The fall of the newspaper. All in all, this is a novel that is considered and really very good. A Great Hope is Stanley’s debut novel. I’m already looking forward to her next.

Jackie Tang is reading Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee

You know when you finally read the book EVERYONE’s been recommending and then you find yourself without anyone to gush about the book with because you’re too late to the game? That’s the cruel fate I constructed for myself with Reimena Yee’s gorgeous middle-grade graphic novel Séance Tea Party. It’s all about a girl, Lora, who has a rich imagination but whose friends no longer seem interested in role-playing in worlds with magic spirits and pirates. Suddenly they’re all into interests like boys/sports/shopping, leaving Lora feeling left behind. Enter Alexa, a friendly ghost around Lora’s age, who shows up at just the right time to keep her company.

This is such a beautifully drawn graphic novel. The colour palette is immaculate (think jewel tones warmed by an overlay of autumnal sepia) and the shape of Yee’s linework is vivid and expressive – it has the comforting ‘roundness’ of other graphic novel superstars like Raina Telgemeier and Shannon Hale. What I love too is how seriously Yee takes the concerns of young women on the cusp of their adolescence: their fears but also their nerdy charms and expansive capacity for imagination and love. Like the Pixar movie Turning Red, it’s something I hope we just keep seeing more and more of.

Yee has a new middle-grade graphic novel coming out this year in the US (My Aunt Is a Monster) and is also working on a very different project: a webcomic about Alexander the Great. I will pray to the publishing gods that we get both in print in Australia soon!

Melissa from our Teen Advisory Board is reading The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black

I just finished The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black, or most people might know it as The Cruel Prince, which is the first book in the series. The story follows the journey of Jude Duarte, a human living in the realm of Fairie. When Jude was 7, her parents were killed and she was taken away to live in the treacherous High Court of Fairie along with her twin (Taryn) and her older sister (Vivienne). After many years of living there, Jude wants nothing more than to have a sense of belonging, but almost all of the Fairies hate humans, especially Cardan, the youngest son of the High King of Elfhame. Jude develops a strong hatred for Cardan and fights to earn her place in the Court. In fighting for her place, she becomes entangled in the deceptions and dangers of the High Court and soon discovers her own capacity in violence and trickery.

The trilogy is quite dark and involves many betrayals. The characters were all complex and everyone had flaws. Many events in the books were unexpected and hard to predict and I found myself unsure about which characters I should be supporting. The protagonist, Jude has a real depth to her character. She isn’t afraid of taking action and wants to have power. She wants to be more than her current situation and wants to be valued. Jude also has a capacity for cruelness and is rather stubborn.

Overall, The Folk of the Air trilogy includes dark themes and lots of twists and turns. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys the enemies to lovers trope, complete with betrayals and unexpected twists that keep you turning the page.