Buckley’s Unexpected Adventure Tour
Australian Author Dion Summergreene together with the #AusYABloggers, are celebrating the release of Dion's new Middle Grade book Buckley's Unexpected Adventure.
On tour, you will find Bloggers and Instagrammers from Australia sharing their thoughts on Buckley's Unexpected Adventure, beginning on August 5th and running until August 9th, 2019.
Tour Schedule
| August 5th Sarah Says Little Miss Star | August 6th The Zany Bibliophile Books for a Delicate Eternity | August 7th Jessie Hulk's Books Caitlin Fully Booked |
| August 8th Flaming Serotonin Bookish Intoxication | August 9th Life of Ink and Words Romance and Dragons |
About the Book
Buckley's Unexpected Adventure by Dion Summergreene
Published by Dion Summergreene
ISBN 9780648544913
Published April 12th 2019
Add to Goodreads
Buckley, a young, enthusiastic detector dog, was about to clock off from his regular shift at the Brisbane International Airport when he uncovered a shipment of smuggled exotic animals. Discovering that all but one, a chameleon named Ciara, and two turtle eggs, had perished on the long journey, Buckley makes it his mission to track down who is behind the smuggling ring and ensure no more helpless and endangered animals are killed.
A fire is ignited within Buckley and he is determined to return Ciara to her home and reunite her with her family. Breaking all of his obedience training whilst battling his usual insecurities and self-doubt, Buckley, Ciara and a charismatic Californian mouse named Bo, set out on an international adventure that propels them from a world of structure and safety into dangerous, risky situations.
With fast-pace, witty humour and suspense, Dion Summergreene takes young readers on a crime-fighting adventure like no other to discover an exotic world through the eyes of man’s best friend.
About the author
Dion Summergreene was born in Sydney. He was always drawing and developing his own comic strips (usually based on his pet walking fish). Growing up in the 80s, he was surrounded by endless inspiration and inevitably became engulfed by the waves of pop culture icons that rippled across the globe.
He was very compassionate about animals and would often bring home injured or stray animals whilst also meticulously looking after his ever-growing menagerie of pets. Most weekends you could find Dion either in front of the TV drawing characters from a paused animated movie scene, or out climbing trees and exploring in the creek near his home.
After completing school, Dion began his career path by working for an international theme park operator on the Gold Coast as a graphic designer. Growing with the business, Dion moved his way up to the position of Art Director of consumer products, allowing him to create award-winning merchandise utilising not only some of the world’s most iconic brands such as Warner Bros., DC Comics and Nickelodeon but also creating his own original characters.
Combining Dion’s love of animals, adventure and passion for conservation, Buckley’s Unexpected Adventure was brought to life and was written whilst awaiting the arrival of his second child.
He was very compassionate about animals and would often bring home injured or stray animals whilst also meticulously looking after his ever-growing menagerie of pets. Most weekends you could find Dion either in front of the TV drawing characters from a paused animated movie scene, or out climbing trees and exploring in the creek near his home.
After completing school, Dion began his career path by working for an international theme park operator on the Gold Coast as a graphic designer. Growing with the business, Dion moved his way up to the position of Art Director of consumer products, allowing him to create award-winning merchandise utilising not only some of the world’s most iconic brands such as Warner Bros., DC Comics and Nickelodeon but also creating his own original characters.
Combining Dion’s love of animals, adventure and passion for conservation, Buckley’s Unexpected Adventure was brought to life and was written whilst awaiting the arrival of his second child.
#LoveNZYA Throwback Thursday (#1)
Throwback Thursday
Brooklynne's Pick
Author: Elizabeth Knox
Released: Published April 27th 2005 by HarperCollins - AU
Publisher: HarperCollins - AU
Add it to Goodreads
Fast-paced and dazzlingly imaginative, Dreamhunter will draw the reader into an extraordinary fictional world.
Set in 1906, Dreamhunter describes an alternate world very similar to ours, except here there is an elsewhere, known simply as the Place, where only a select group of people can go. These people are the Dreamhunters, and they harvest dreams - dreams which are then transmitted to the public for the purposes of entertainment, therapy, or political coercion and terror...
Fifteen-year-old cousins Laura Hame and Rose Tiebold both come from famous dreamhunting families, but only Laura proves to be blessed with the gift. Once inside the Place she begins to unravel what happened to her missing Dreamhunter father, which leads to a sinister truth about how the captured dreams are really used - and what they really mean.
Why I Chose It
Elizabeth Knox is probably best known for her adult historical magical realism novel The Vinter's Luck, but this YA Fantasy is brilliant. It is the first book in a duology which focuses on two cousins one of whom (Rose) so deeply wants to be a dreamhunter and the other who (Laura) who is ambivalent about it all. Guess how that turns out?
The world-building in this novel is so intense and interesting, taking place on an island that reminds me so much of New Zealand. The characters are all well written with flaws that make you frustrated at them at various times. All this tied together with a plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. The beginning is slow but the world has enough detail and interest to keep you reading.
It's a more mature YA book with allusions to sex and definitely violence. When I read it I kept thinking, finally a Young Adult book that doesn't treat teens and children.
FOLLOW Brooklynne AT BLOG, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, AND GOODREADS
What's your pick for this week? Share on your blog, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, or in the comments below! Make sure you tag your posts with #AusYABloggers so we can share the love.
The Lion King Review
All of us group mods and contributors have been talking about the Lion King remake, so it only seemed right to Share a review of the film - take it away Jade.
The Lion King Real Life Adaptation Review
Hi everyone! Jade here, I recently saw the new Lion King Adaptation and really loved it! But, like all things, there were some parts I didn't like so here are my thoughts.
I think it is safe to say that majority of people have seen
the original animation of Disney’s the Lion King and if by some chance you
haven’t, do yourself a favour and watch it and then watch all the original
Disney animations.
The newly released realistic adaptation has many people on
the fence. Personally, I know of a few people who are refusing to watch it
because they don’t want to ruin the original. I have always tried to keep an
open mind, not only with movies (especially remakes) but books, music, candles
literally anything. With this in mind after I watched the Lion King, I had a
few opinions.
My first thought was how amazing the visual aspects of it
where. The animals looked realistic and there were times where I thought I was
watching a documentary which is where I think the creators were going with this.
As much as the emotions of the characters weren’t has prominent, I was able to
connect to a ‘real’ lion fairly easily, especially when a young Simba and Nala reminded
me so much of my cat that I couldn’t help but “aww” when they were playing
together and cry when (SPOILER ALERT) Mufasa dies.
I did, however, get really upset when my favourite song
wasn’t heard (He Lives in You) and the song they played I felt didn’t connect
to the story at all. I personally don’t think it matters who sings a song for
the music in movies, as long as it has meaning to the storyline and makes sense
when its being played. The song I am talking about, sung by Beyoncé, could have
been played in the credits, it really didn’t need to be during the movie and
the song from the original ‘He Lives in You’ I feel is really essential to the
story. Yes we still understand the point of the scene with Rafiki, but I didn’t
feel it had the same impact as it did in the original and it felt rushed.
For the music overall, I am glad they kept ‘I Just Can’t
Wait to Be King’ and ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ (which was my absolute favourite
song from this version) and I didn’t mind the extremely shortened version of
‘Be Prepared’. I can understand why the
creators remove/change songs but, there were definitely songs that I wished
they kept so that viewers could connect with the characters more.
I was super happy and really excited that James Earl Jones
would be reprising as the voice of Mufasa again because honestly, I don’t think
anyone else is suited to play that role but him. I also think it helped viewers
who had watched the original remember how they felt when watching it. The voice
actor who played Scar, Chiwetel Ejiofor did such a great job at bringing the
evilness of Scar to life without the animated emotions from the original, he
really knew how to play this character to his fullest.
Timone and Pumba were the best characters in this movie by
far, the comedic connection between the two actors made it seem as though it wasn't scripted for the most part.
The one we all want to talk about, Beyoncé. When I first heard about this, I
really wasn’t sure how she would go but she actually did a really good job and
her voice has a naturally soothing aspect that made me want to listen to Nala even
more.
The only scene I was really disappointed in was the last few, when Simba returns home and fights Scar. It felt a little rushed but I think that was because it wasn't a theatrical as the original and showed more of the strength lions have when fighting. Most of the other scenes where either identical to the original or, I just honestly enjoyed the way it was done, maybe even preferred.
Overall, the movie was very enjoyable, and I think that
everyone should go and see it. Even if you think it won’t be as good as the
original.
If you have seen it, let me know what you thought about it!
Jade ❤
Now, since you've never been properly introduced to Jade, and in the spirit of our Meet The Team post last week, I though she should introduce herself.
I'm currently studying a double degree at uni in science/arts majoring in zoology and creative writing. I'm still unsure what I want to do as a career but I'm keeping my options open :)
I started a bookstagram account to be able to talk about all the books I read and connect with other readers. I'm still trying to get the hang of it all but I really love how inclusive the bookish community is 💕
I love all young adult genres, my favorites being fantasy and dystopian but you can also find me reading a good romance or middle grade book. Some of my favorite books/series would include, the Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, Tales of a New World by P.C Cast, ACOTAR series by Sarah J Maas and The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan.I also have an psychiatric assistant dog, Keeda, who is my best friend and I wouldn't be able to leave my house most days if it wasn't for her. If you've been to any book events recently and seen a German Shepherd with a yellow and blue coat (pictured) then that's her. She can be very goofy and always put a smile on my face!
I'm so excited to be a part of this team of amazing people who all share my love for books 😊❤️
You can find me here: Instagram | Twitter
Meet the team
Hi #AusYABloggers and readers, Sarah here. Recently us old hand group moderators brought on some new blood to help up carry out our plans for world domination - oops I mean, carry out the awesome things we have planned for the future.
Brooklyn is now in charge of the @AusYABloggers Twitter account, much like the way Chiara is in charge of the @ausyabloggers Instagram account. Both having the creative freedom with the accounts. Brooklyn's only been chatting up a storm in the twitter account for a short while, but it is so lovely to see the increased engagement with you all. Chiara has single handedly built the group IG account up to the wondrous display that it is today and the rest of us couldn't be happier.
Kelly and I will still be co-organisers for the Book Tours and review opportunities, running of the Goodreads group, reading challenges, emails and general inquiries.
Tash is stepping up as our blog manager along with helping out with the #AusYABuddyReads, group content creating and planning.
Jade, Star, Brooklynne and Kait are here to help with the #AusYABuddyReads, group content creating and as blog contributors.
And last but not least, Jeann will still be managing the #AusYABloggers Facebook group.
But enough from me, I'm going to let the newbies introduce themselves:
Brooklyn is now in charge of the @AusYABloggers Twitter account, much like the way Chiara is in charge of the @ausyabloggers Instagram account. Both having the creative freedom with the accounts. Brooklyn's only been chatting up a storm in the twitter account for a short while, but it is so lovely to see the increased engagement with you all. Chiara has single handedly built the group IG account up to the wondrous display that it is today and the rest of us couldn't be happier.
Kelly and I will still be co-organisers for the Book Tours and review opportunities, running of the Goodreads group, reading challenges, emails and general inquiries.
Tash is stepping up as our blog manager along with helping out with the #AusYABuddyReads, group content creating and planning.
Jade, Star, Brooklynne and Kait are here to help with the #AusYABuddyReads, group content creating and as blog contributors.
And last but not least, Jeann will still be managing the #AusYABloggers Facebook group.
But enough from me, I'm going to let the newbies introduce themselves:
Hi, my name is Brooklyn (she/her are my pronouns!) and I'm thrilled to be a part of the amazing #AusYABloggers team! You can find our Twitter over at @AusYABloggers and I just enjoy interacting with fellow book lovers and chatting all things books!
In addition to the group Twitter, I also blog here: Brooklyn the Bookworm (where I review books and just chatter about them in general), and I also bookstagram at @bookish.brooklyn - in addition to blogging and bookstagramming, I am a Librarian by trade! I feel very fortunate that I'm able to be surrounded by books in my every day career- books and reading have always been my passion so it's a joy being able to share that with people!
When I'm not reading, (it's rare, but it does happen), you can find me fangirling over any of my favourite fandoms or books (there's a lot, but my latest obsession is Denna and Mare from Of Fire and Stars), or watching movies or TV series (Doctor Who, Friends, I love Disney, Harry Potter and Golden Hollywood to name a few!), listening to music, playing games or cozied up with my black cat Peppy and a large cup of coffee!
I'm so pleased to be a part of this team and can't wait to celebrate everything that there is in Australian and New Zealand Young Adult! You can also find me on Goodreads at brooklyn-tayla.
In addition to the group Twitter, I also blog here: Brooklyn the Bookworm (where I review books and just chatter about them in general), and I also bookstagram at @bookish.brooklyn - in addition to blogging and bookstagramming, I am a Librarian by trade! I feel very fortunate that I'm able to be surrounded by books in my every day career- books and reading have always been my passion so it's a joy being able to share that with people!
When I'm not reading, (it's rare, but it does happen), you can find me fangirling over any of my favourite fandoms or books (there's a lot, but my latest obsession is Denna and Mare from Of Fire and Stars), or watching movies or TV series (Doctor Who, Friends, I love Disney, Harry Potter and Golden Hollywood to name a few!), listening to music, playing games or cozied up with my black cat Peppy and a large cup of coffee!
I'm so pleased to be a part of this team and can't wait to celebrate everything that there is in Australian and New Zealand Young Adult! You can also find me on Goodreads at brooklyn-tayla.
Hello, everyone, I'm Brooklynne (not to be confused with Brooklyn) an American born bisexual transwoman who use She/Her/Goddess pronouns 😉. Unsurprisingly, I am an Avid reader averaging around 3 books a week, mostly all Young Adult. I am Native American from the tribe of Pottawatomi but have lived in the beautiful Te Whanganui-a-Tara in Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) for 12 years now. I'm very proud and honored to be on this blog and represent Aotearoa here and share some #loveNZYA.I love reading all forms of fiction, as stated before mostly Young Adult, as I find the writing more creative, the problems more fun and the authors more forward-thinking. My favourite genre of all time is magical realism followed closely by dystopian or utopian fiction. That all being said I can also be found with my nose stuck in just about any queer YA book, along with fantasy, science fiction, contemporary, thriller or mystery. Really just about anything that isn't heavily historical fiction.
I love to rave about some of my favourite series (Septimus Heap by Angie Sage, Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire, and The Dreamhunter Duet by Elizabeth Knox) and can often be found speaking solely in gifs on my twitter account brookiegrrrl, ignoring my Instagram at brooklynne_michelle of frothing about books and bookish things at my blog Lost In Literature.
I can't wait to get to know you all and share some of the books I love and maybe even a few I loathe!
Hello fellow book lovers. My name is Star and it is a pleasure to meet you all.
I’m Australian, born and raised. I’m in my early 30s, and legend has it that I came out of the womb holding a book.
Books have always been a passion of mine. But when they failed to give me the LGBT+ representation that I deserved, I turned to fanfiction, where I spent the better part of 15 years reading everything that I could get my hands on, and writing the stories I couldn’t get my hands on. I’m still an avid lover of fanfiction and will defend it until my dying breath.
In 2014, I discovered Book Tube and rapidly fell back in love with books. I have a never ending TBR pile, and I’m okay with that. I like to read YA and MG books from all genres, but contemporary is my soft spot. Give me a soft book about two girls falling in love and I will literally never shut up about it.
Since I have joined the book community, I have made some really lovely friends, and I hope to make some more as a part of the Aus YA Bloggers team.
I hope to get as many book recommendations from this lovely group and hopefully share a few of my own, too.
#LoveOzYA Throwback Thursday (#13)
Throwback Thursday #LoveOzYA edition is our way of spreading the love of backlist Aussie books that you might have missed. We'll hopefully be posting a new book each week, and we'd love you to join us!
Tash's pick
Title: Stormdancer (The Lotus Wars #1)
Author: Jay Kristoff
Released: September 1st 2012 by Tor UK
Publisher: Tor UK
Add it to Goodreads
Arashitoras are supposed to be extinct. So when Yukiko and her warrior father Masaru are sent to capture one for the Shõgun, they fear that their lives are over – everyone knows what happens to those who fail the Lord of the Shima Isles. But the mission proves less impossible and more deadly than anyone expects. Soon Yukiko finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in her country's last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled arashitora for company. Although she can hear his thoughts, and saved his life, all she knows for certain is he'd rather see her dead than help her. Yet trapped together in the forest, Yukiko and the beast soon discover a bond that neither of them expected.
Meanwhile, the country around them verges on collapse. A toxic fuel is choking the land, the machine-powered Lotus Guild is publicly burning those they deem Impure, and the Shõgun cares for nothing but his own dominion. Authority has always made Yukiko, but her world changes when she meets Kin, a young man with secrets, and the rebel Kagé cabal. She learns the horrifying extent of the Shõgun's crimes, both against her country and her family.
Returning to the city, Yukiko is determined to make the Shõgun pay – but what can one girl and a flightless arashitora do against the might of an empire?
why i chose it
Kristoff is better known for his more recent stuff which I love as well. However I feel this series is more unrated then his recent works which made him a household name. I read this book the year it came out and this book started my love affair with Kristoff's books. It's a Japanese inspired steampunk tale that inspired by the author own love affair for Japan. It's pretty different from his other works but it has the same descriptive flair as his more recent works.I highly recommend reading this series if you love his other works and want to see how far he has grown as an author. Yukiko deserves to be well known as Mia as she has her own flair for the dramatics and she is not afraid to kick butt. Her story is gripping and best of all there is no cliffhangers that Jay has become known for.
Conversations 001: Queer Book Chat
Over the month of June – Pride Month – Star pointed out to me how most books being promoted were M/M. Until she pointed this out, I hadn’t noticed. Once she pointed it out, it was all I noticed. I’d even been guilty of it! There are so many fantastic M/M books that I’ve read, but sadly not as many F/F. I didn’t think they were out there. But Star proved me wrong with reading recommendations, and I intend to read them all.
Hi. I’m Sarah, one of the AusYABloggers group moderators and today I’ve asked fellow queer Aussie book blogger, the above-mentioned Star, to chat to me on the group blog.
Star is an out and Proud Lesbian who I think the world of. I am a quiet bisexual who can no longer stand to be quiet.
Sarah: During Pride month we had a few discussions about how we were mainly seeing M/M books in people’s Pride month posts. I think we basically deduced that this is what mainstream media seems to push and thus it is a trickle-down effect – yuk.
Star: You’re absolutely right. While a huge part of me is so excited that LGBT+ are getting any representation at all (though it is seriously lacking in full diversity), it makes me a little sad that it’s only M/M and the majority of the time, the M/M books are written by cis straight white women. Give me M/M written by own voices M/M and I am all for it!
Sarah: Yes! #OwnVoices – While I want as varied array of diversity in my books as there is in the world (so Cis whites get on diversifying your characters please), It does feel so much more meaningful when a story is #ownvoices, regardless of what the voice is.
Star: I couldn’t agree more! I was thinking about this again and the more I thought about it, the more I saw that the only F/F book (not even plural) that people were recommending was Leah on the Offbeat and it makes me sad because that is as far from #OwnVoices as you can get.
Sarah: Clancy of the Undertow by Christopher Currie was the first book I read and thought “Oh shit, this girl is me”. This teenage girl is teenage me. Her snarky self-loathing. Her failed attempts at F/F romance. I wanted to hug her and tell her we’d figure it out together.
What was the first book you saw yourself in?
Star: This is hard because I didn’t actually see myself in any books as a kid, but it was fanfiction I first saw myself really represented. Since then, I have been feeding my inner teenager with every single queer book I can literally get my hands on for that representation I so desperately craved as a teenager. The first F/F book I read, however, was Empress of the World by Sara Ryan. It still holds a dear place in my heart because it was my first ever F/F book.
Sarah: I’m hearing ya. And I’m thankful you were able to find a home for yourself in the fantastic world of Fan Fiction. I didn’t find any F/F until a was an “adult” and already married to a man. I often wonder about if in my teens I’d had access to the wonderfully queer books had I have access to now, how different my life may have turned out. I think that’s probably what drives us both to actively search out and promote queer books now. We want today’s teens to have the reads we didn’t.
Star: Absolutely! People who have representation in every single media form rarely stop to think about those that don’t, and it makes me sad. Because everyone deserves representation and to see themselves in a book, movie, tv show, etc.
Sarah: The Dyke word. I can remember you telling me about a book where the POV referred to herself as a Dyke and It wasn’t a positive reading experience. I was horrified when you told me. I think we can agree that we are fed up with derogatory bulls*** and want more positive examples for our teens.
What was the last book you read where the POV lesbian’s status was treated as a positive thing?
Star: My latest and most favourite book – These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling. The MC identifies as lesbian and says on page “I’m a huge lesbian” and I’m like “YES, THIS IS ME!”. More often than not, books will use ‘gay’ and ‘queer’ and even the d-slur over actually using ‘lesbian’. Because apparently “lesbian” is a porn category for men, not a sexuality that actually, you know, pertains to women who love other women.
Sarah: The lesbian word. We’ve spoken before about how meaningful it is for you when a character calls themselves a lesbian and it’s a positive thing and I’m with ya!
Do you think the publishing industry is heading in the right direction, are we seeing more positive examples rather than negatives these days? Because there certainly was a time when all queer stories had sad endings (which we know is bulls*** in the real world, queers can and do live happy meaningful lives).
Star: The fact that more queer books are existing is a huge step in the right direction, I think. There’s always going to be sad stories, because that is how life works, but there needs to be a bit of a better balance. I’m sick of lesbians and F/F ending up dead, dying painfully, cheating on their boyfriends (to only go back to being with a guy because god forbid being bisexual actually exists, too!). There are so many ways that F/F can have happy endings, just like all the heterosexual books that are out there. Give me 500 years’ worth of cute contemporary F/F books (and LGBT+ books on the whole) like there has been for heterosexuals. No trope is too tired when it comes to it being re-imagined with an LGBT+ protagonist.
Sarah: Here Here. Agreed. Bring them all on. I think this is the perfect time to drop a list of YA F/F books for you to check out. It is by no means all the books that are out there. It’s a list of F/F I’ve either read or are planning to read. If you’ve got any favorites that I’ve somehow missed. Please let us know what they are below.
Rogue Blog Tour
Pan Macmillan Australia, together with the #AusYABloggers are celebrating the release of Rogue by Australian author A.J.Betts. On tour, you will find bloggers, reviewers and Instagrammers from Australia sharing their thoughts on Rogue, beginning on July 1st until July 5th 2019.
Tour Schedule
About the book
Published by Pan Macmillan
ISBN 9781760556440
Published June 25th 2019
Add to Goodreads
RRP $16.99
There was no going back; there was no choice, anymore. I'd chosen out and this was it: hot-cold, dry-wet, bright-dark and lonely.
Hayley has gone rogue.
She's left everything she's ever known - her friends, her bees, her whole world - because her curiosity was too big to fit within the walls of her underwater home.
But what is this new world she's come to? Has Hayley finally found somewhere she can belong?
Or will she have to keep running?
The thrilling conclusion to Hive from award-winning, internationally bestselling author A. J. Betts
PRAISE AND AWARDS FOR HIVE
"A striking dystopian world: Hive carves out a niche through intriguing and original world-building [with] enough imaginative vitamin to tease readers into anticipating the second and final volume in the series." Sydney Morning Herald
Shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards 2019
Shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2019
Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Book 2019
About the author
A. J. Betts is an Australian author, speaker, teacher and cyclist, and has a PhD on the topic of wonder, in life and in reading. She has written five novels for young adults. Her third novel, Zac & Mia, won the 2012 Text Prize, the 2014 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, and the 2014 Ethel Turner prize for young adults at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, was shortlisted for the 2014 Queensland Literary Award, and is available in 14 countries. It was adapted for American television by AwesomenessTV, and will soon be available globally. Her fourth novel, Hive, was shortlisted for the 2019 Indie Book Awards and is a notable book in the Children's Book Council of Australia awards. A. J. is originally from Queensland but has lived in Fremantle since 2004.
All That Impossible Space Tour!
Hachette Australia, together with the #AusYABloggers are celebrating the release of All That Impossible Space by Australian debut author Anna Morgan. On tour, you will find bloggers, reviewers and Instagrammers from Australia sharing their thoughts on All That Impossible Space, beginning on June 24th until June 28th 2019.
Follow the tour below
About the book
Published by Hachette Australia
ISBN 9780734419637
Published June 25th 2019
Add to Goodreads
RRP $19.99
Amelia Westlake meets My Favorite Murder in this debut from a terrific new voice in Australian YA. Combines a realistic story about high school drama and toxic friendship with true crime - the endlessly fascinating Somerton Man or Taman Shud mystery.
15-year-old Lara Laylor feels like supporting character in her own life. She's Ashley's best friend, she's Hannah's sister-she's never just Lara.
When new history teacher Mr. Grant gives her an unusual assignment: investigating the mystery of the Somerton Man. Found dead in on an Adelaide beach in 1948, a half-smoked cigarette still in his mouth and the labels cut out of his clothes, the Somerton Man has intrigued people for years. Was he a spy? A criminal? Year 10 has plenty of mysteries of its own: boys, drama queen friends, and enigmatic new students. When they seem just as unsolvable as a 60-year-old cold case, Lara finds herself spending more and more time on the assignment. But Mr Grant himself may be the biggest mystery of all...
About the author
Anna was born in Sydney, but spent most of her childhood surrounded by mountains in Nepal and Tibet while her parents were part of an international community of health professionals. Navigating this cross-cultural life made her a curious observer of people, although most of her time was spent reading Enid Blyton and dreaming of going to boarding school. This did not cushion the shock of shifting from home-school in Tibet to an all-girls high school in Melbourne when her family returned to Australia.
Anna completed a MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University in 2015, and now lives in Melbourne with her husband. She works as a bookseller.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)