Award-winning author Ellie Marney delivers another cracking page-turner in White Night. Fans of her earlier books will find much to love here, as will anyone who enjoys a juicy mystery with a big beating heart at its centre.

Bo knows all the rules. There are the obvious ones, like curfews and handing your homework in on time, and then there are the ones that nobody talks about, like how girls shave their legs and boys play footy. Bo also knows that you’re supposed to follow the rules. Then he meets Rory Wild, a girl who has grown up in a secretive commune and has no idea how the outside world operates.

Rory is tough, open-minded and unlike any person Bo has ever met before. As Bo struggles with unexpected family drama and helping his friends to save the local skate park, he and Rory strike up a friendship that quickly turns into a sizzling mutual attraction. Drawn into her idealistic, off-the-grid existence, Bo starts to question his own beliefs – but it soon becomes clear that Rory’s home is not all it appears.

Marney’s language is distinctive – Australian, lively and littered with modern phrases that go hand-in-hand with a highly digitised lifestyle. She digs into a lot of meaty issues such as love and sex, environmental concerns and changing family dynamics. There’s a lot going on but Marney balances the different storylines and themes with skill, steadily drawing readers deeper and deeper into the mystery. White Night is also a terrific story about young people engaging in grassroots activism. In order to save the local skate park, Bo and his friends must work together to get the attention of the adults around them, and then to raise the necessary funds. This is an empowering and authentic teen story. For ages 13 and up.

Bronte Coates is the digital content coordinator and the Readings Prizes manager.