Great young adult reads for the school holidays
Make the most of your school holidays with a stack of great books! Here are recommendations across a slew of genres, so you can do a deep dive into a particular niche or dip your toe into everything.
If Romantasy has you in a chokehold
There's no shortage of great romance-fantasy books at the moment, but The Girl with No Reflection by Keshe Chow is a great place to start! Blending Chinese mythology with an action-packed adventure, it's a fun, page-turning read that's also just the right amount of creepy.
If you haven't already picked up A Curse of Salt by Sarah Street (which was shortlisted for the 2024 Readings Young Adult prize) then you absolutely must! It's a enemies-to-lovers romance that blends magic and pirates into an fairytale retelling you won't be able to tear yourself away from. And you can follow it up with Street's second romantasy retelling, A Sea of Wolves.
Her Radiant Curse is Elizabeth Lim's third fantasy book set in a magical world inspired by East Asia. This latest installment is a gripping story of a cursed girl trying to protect her sister from a cruel but powerful suitor – and risking her life in the process.
For fans of reading about diverse characters
I’m Not Really Here is the latest book from Gary Lonesborough, which follows a budding romance between two Indigenous boys. This is perfect for fans of Heartstopper – as well as a butter-fly inducing love story, the book deals with serious topics around body image, self-esteem and family.
Danielle Jawando's books are perfect for fans of Angie Thomas; If My Words Had Wings is her third book, and follows sixteen year old Tyrell Forrester after his release from a young offender's prison. He faces systematic discrimination but finds comfort in the empowerment and creative freedom of slam poetry. This is an incredible book, particularly for budding creatives!
Homelessness isn't a common theme in YA fiction, making A Way Home particularly unique (and it's another book shortlisted for the Readings Young Adult prize). It's about sixteen-year-old Grace, who's living under a bridge in Melbourne's CBD while her mum struggles with mental illness and addiction. When she meets Louie at the library and discovers a community piano, Grace is set on a new course that has the potential to change her life.
Thrillers and mysteries you won't be able to predict
Into the Mouth of the Wolf by Erin Gough combines gripping murder mystery with dystopia. Iris is on the run with her mother, while frequent earthquakes disrupt the world around them. But when her mum disappears, Iris is left to try and piece together the mystery she left behind.
For Hollywood glamour and fandom conspiracies, try Last Seen Online by Lauren James. When Delilah starts dating the son of Hollywood royalty, she becomes fascinated by a decades-old scandal that leads her from the red carpet to the murky depths of conspiracy blogs.
The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert is perfect for dark academia fans! Four teens go missing over the course of one night, and Becca is left to follow a trail of clues, that suggest a sinister urban legend may be more real than she ever suspected . . .
For thoughtful (and sometimes fun) explorations of grief
In When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao, Eric is left adrift by his best friend's death and finds solace in imagination. Until one of his imagined scenario's becomes startingly real, in the form of a boy called Haru. As Haru and Eric become closer, Eric is left questioning what's real, and whether reality is even something he wants to return to.
The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry is the latest book from Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Life is blurry for Leopold Berry since his mother's death, but that doesn't explain the odd things he's been seeing around the city . . . but the odd VHS tape he's found might just have the answers.
I’ll Be Waiting For You by Mariko Turk is a tender story of grief, following Natalie in the wake of her best friend's unexpected death. Over the course of a summer at a supposedly haunted hotel, Natalie grapples with the loss of her friend, her hopes for the future and an irritatingly cute boy from her school.
For relatable teenagers throughout history
If you've ever wished Maid Marion wasn't the only woman in Robin Hood, Not for the Faint of Heart is for you! This is a hilarious and sweet adventure that follows Robin Hood's granddaughter and a new generation of Merry Men in Sherwood Forest. And if you find yourself wanting more after it's finished, you can always pick up Gwen and Art Are Not in Love, an equally funny and heart-wrenching story set in Arthurian England.
Medici Heist by Caitlin Schneiderhan is perfect for fans of Six of Crows – it follows a team of roguish misfits in 16th century Florence, attempting to pull off the Renaissance's greatest robbery and undermine the corrupt power of the Medici family.
If you prefer books with a bit more historical accuracy, try Yours from the Tower by Sally Nicholls. This is a sweet, epistolary novel about three friends who went to boarding school together and are now facing the adult world of society, duty and marriage. Though they're separated, their letters to each other become a lifeline through frustrations, disappointments and romances.
