YA novels to read when you want to write
All writers need their inspiration, especially aspiring teen writers. In the four YA novels below, the main character is a teenager who writes to search for a personal or universal truth.
Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed
Samira Ahmed’s Hollow Fires is about Safiya Mirza and her journey pursuing the truth. As editor of her school’s newspaper, she believes journalists need to write facts not personal biases. However, when a 14-year-old boy is killed for no reason other than racism, she makes it her mission to tell his story. Not the story the media is running, but the truth of his life.
This thrilling mystery shows how far people will go.
One Great Lie by Deb Caletti
Charlotte from One Great Lie is an aspiring fiction writer. So when she wins a place in a writing workshop in Italy with her favourite author Luca Bruni, she couldn’t be happier. Not only will it be a chance for her to learn from an icon but explore the truth behind one of her female ancestors.
However, nothing goes as planned when Luca Bruni’s actions become predatory. It also becomes clear Charlotte’s ancestor’s poetry was appropriated. Deb Caletti’s novel depicts the truth behind abusive power versus creative determination and the secrets history hides.
Off the Record by Camryn Garret
Camryn Garrett’s Off the Record follows Josie Wright, an eager student journalist who jumps at the chance to do a celebrity profile of up-and-coming actor Marius Canet. Things take a turn after an actress confides a deadly secret. Now Josie is faced with a problem, should she speak out when it may not be her story to tell? It could even end her career before it has started. But who else will step up?
This book explores themes of family, love, doubt and taking risks.
A Little Spark by Barry Jonsberg
Cate from Barry Jonsberg’s A Little Spark has a lifelong dream to be a writer. Her dream is fuelled by her dad’s imaginative adventures every second weekend when he has custody, but she is brought back to earth the rest of the time with her mum and her mum’s new partner, Sam.
One day, Sam gets a job offer in London. Cate is suddenly faced with a horrible decision. Refuse to move and risk her mum resenting her forever, or leave her dad and his creative, and sometimes dangerous, world. This heartbreaking novel deals with friendship, family, grief and the importance of imagination.