Category Archives: Young Adult

Deadhead by Glenn Wood – 2020

Posted on March 29, 2021 by alysonebaker

Spencer is a teenage genius, he makes a bit on the side to help his solo Mum pay the bills, by procuring things for school mates, or by providing them with answers to upcoming exams. But one job goes awfully … Continue reading →

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Neands by Dan Salmon – 2020

Posted on March 18, 2021 by alysonebaker

Charles Feynman Rutherford, the son of scientists, was named after scientists, and was expected to become a scientist. But Charlie is growing up in a world were science is being taught less and less. Science is being replaced by Christian … Continue reading →

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Katipo Joe by Brian Falkner – 2020

Posted on February 28, 2021 by alysonebaker

Joseph St George is enjoying his life as the son of British diplomats in late 1930s Berlin. His only regret is not being allowed to wear long trousers like his older friend Klaus, and not being old enough to join … Continue reading →

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A Trio of Sophies by Eileen Merriman – 2020

Posted on February 21, 2021 by alysonebaker

Ever since Sophie Mac first arrived at Eastbrook High School, feeling excluded as her solo Mum had no money for things like nice shoes, she has always stuck with the first two girls who befriended her: Sophie A and Twiggy … Continue reading →

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Answering to the Caul by Ted Dawe – 2020

Posted on January 8, 2021 by alysonebaker

Andrei Reti was born with his amniotic membrane covering his head, a caul. He grows up having been told this means he will always be protected from drowning. He has multiple escapes from water, and often sees first-hand how water … Continue reading →

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Kealaula by Kim Cope Tait – 2019

Posted on October 14, 2020 by alysonebaker

Kealaula lives in Vermont, her father calls her Chickadee, a bird with a plaintive call, “the saddest sound I knew” but also with a “trill that sounds like excitement spiralling up a spine.” Through this novel, Kealaula learns what that … Continue reading →

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Underwater by Helen Vivienne Fletcher – 2018

Posted on February 28, 2019 by alysonebaker

Bailey and her young sister, Tilly, have been taken by their Gran to multi-generational Pine Hills Resort to try and get over a traumatic experience.  They could stay in a cabin together, but Bailey opts for splitting up by demographic, … Continue reading →

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Cassie Clark: Outlaw by Brian Falkner – 2018

Posted on February 22, 2019 by alysonebaker

Cassie Clark is an eighteen-year-old university literature student with a depressed mother, a prickly younger sister, a great friend called Jackson from Jackson, Mississippi, and a bodyguard.  She is still recovering in hospital from being knocked off her bike when … Continue reading →

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Wedlock by Denis Wright – 2018  

Posted on February 22, 2019 by alysonebaker

Lucy has a mixed life: She is more-or-less the only capable adult (at age 15) in her family, living with her aging-rocker Dad and ex-prize-fighter Grandfather, who is living with Parkinson’s. She has some mates and manages to negotiate the … Continue reading →

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Make a Hard Fist by Tina Shaw – 2018

Posted on February 15, 2019 by alysonebaker

Make a hard fist is an extremely powerful YA novel about the physical abuse of young women.  It is edgy, scary and yet empowering. Lizzie Quinn is doing well, well apart from a hiccough in her relationship with a boy … Continue reading →

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