#LoveOzYABloggers - Favourite Covers
#LoveOzYABloggers is hosted by #LoveOzYA, a community led organisation dedicated to promoting Australian young adult literature. Keep up to date with all new Aussie YA releases with their monthly newsletter, or find out what’s happening with News and Events, or submit your own!
The #AusYABloggers team is very happy to have teamed up with #LoveOzYA to present #LoveOzYABloggers.
Favourite Covers - Sarah's Entry
Summer Skin by Kirsty Eagar. I love the hot pink forefront with the grey scale image behind. I think the cover is bold and beautiful just like the story. A kick-ass cover for a kick-ass book.
Jess Gordon is out for revenge. Last year the jocks from Knights College tried to shame her best friend. This year she and a hand-picked college girl gang are going to get even.
The lesson: don't mess with Unity girls.
The target: Blondie, a typical Knights stud, arrogant, cold . . . and smart enough to keep up with Jess.
A neo-riot grrl with a penchant for fanning the flames meets a rugby-playing sexist pig - sworn enemies or two people who happen to find each other when they're at their most vulnerable?
It's all Girl meets Boy, Girl steals from Boy, seduces Boy, ties Boy to a chair and burns Boy's stuff. Just your typical love story.
A searingly honest and achingly funny story about love and sex amid the hotbed of university colleges by the award-winning author of Raw Blue.
Green Valentine by Lili Wilkinson. Pink and Green, my two favourite colours and a combination of both will always tickle my fancy. I think this cover is super cute and sets the mood for the adorable story.
When Astrid and Hiro meet they give each other superhero names. She's Lobster Girl and he's Shopping Trolley Boy. Not an auspicious beginning. But it gets better. Then it gets worse. Much worse. Classic romantic comedy: girl-meets-boy, love blossoms, and is derailed. Incredibly engaging, upbeat, funny and smart.
Astrid Katy Smythe is beautiful, smart and popular. She's a straight-A student and a committed environmental activist. She's basically perfect.
Hiro is the opposite of perfect. He's slouchy, rude and resentful. Despite his brains, he doesn't see the point of school.
But when Astrid meets Hiro at the shopping centre where he's wrangling shopping trolleys, he doesn't recognise her because she's in disguise - as a lobster. And she doesn't set him straight.
Astrid wants to change the world, Hiro wants to survive it. But ultimately both believe that the world needs to be saved from itself. Can they find enough in common to right all the wrongs between them?
A romantic comedy about life and love and trying to make the planet a better place, with a little heartbreak, and a whole lot of hilarity.
Beautiful Mess by Claire Christian. I am still yet to read this one (hope to get into it this month). But I think the colours and gold embossing are stunning on the paperback.
Since Ava lost Kelly, things haven’t been going so well. Even before she gets thrown out of school for shouting at the principal, there’s the simmering rage and all the weird destructive choices. The only thing going right for Ava is her job at Magic Kebab.
Which is where she meets Gideon. Skinny, shy, anxious Gideon. A mad poet and collector of vinyl records with an aversion to social media. He lives in his head. She lives in her grief. The only people who can help them move on with their lives are each other.
Jess Gordon is out for revenge. Last year the jocks from Knights College tried to shame her best friend. This year she and a hand-picked college girl gang are going to get even.
The lesson: don't mess with Unity girls.
The target: Blondie, a typical Knights stud, arrogant, cold . . . and smart enough to keep up with Jess.
A neo-riot grrl with a penchant for fanning the flames meets a rugby-playing sexist pig - sworn enemies or two people who happen to find each other when they're at their most vulnerable?
It's all Girl meets Boy, Girl steals from Boy, seduces Boy, ties Boy to a chair and burns Boy's stuff. Just your typical love story.
A searingly honest and achingly funny story about love and sex amid the hotbed of university colleges by the award-winning author of Raw Blue.
Green Valentine by Lili Wilkinson. Pink and Green, my two favourite colours and a combination of both will always tickle my fancy. I think this cover is super cute and sets the mood for the adorable story.
When Astrid and Hiro meet they give each other superhero names. She's Lobster Girl and he's Shopping Trolley Boy. Not an auspicious beginning. But it gets better. Then it gets worse. Much worse. Classic romantic comedy: girl-meets-boy, love blossoms, and is derailed. Incredibly engaging, upbeat, funny and smart.
Astrid Katy Smythe is beautiful, smart and popular. She's a straight-A student and a committed environmental activist. She's basically perfect.
Hiro is the opposite of perfect. He's slouchy, rude and resentful. Despite his brains, he doesn't see the point of school.
But when Astrid meets Hiro at the shopping centre where he's wrangling shopping trolleys, he doesn't recognise her because she's in disguise - as a lobster. And she doesn't set him straight.
Astrid wants to change the world, Hiro wants to survive it. But ultimately both believe that the world needs to be saved from itself. Can they find enough in common to right all the wrongs between them?
A romantic comedy about life and love and trying to make the planet a better place, with a little heartbreak, and a whole lot of hilarity.
Beautiful Mess by Claire Christian. I am still yet to read this one (hope to get into it this month). But I think the colours and gold embossing are stunning on the paperback.
Since Ava lost Kelly, things haven’t been going so well. Even before she gets thrown out of school for shouting at the principal, there’s the simmering rage and all the weird destructive choices. The only thing going right for Ava is her job at Magic Kebab.
Which is where she meets Gideon. Skinny, shy, anxious Gideon. A mad poet and collector of vinyl records with an aversion to social media. He lives in his head. She lives in her grief. The only people who can help them move on with their lives are each other.
Try as I might I couldn't get a picture to do the cover of Beautiful Mess justice.
You can find Sarah via The Adventures of SacaKat Twitter Instagram and Goodreads
Reader Spotlight: Guest Post by @sofiaecasanova
My Changing Perspective as an Adult Reading YA
You know, I didn't think I'd aged that much until I
recently celebrated by twenty first birthday and I realised I was no longer a
teenager. I'm. Twenty. One. How did that happen? It
feels like I aged faster than the speed of light and now I'm no longer the
dancing queen.
But has that changed the fact I read YA? Heck no.
But has it changed how I view my reading of YA? I think so. There's
something so comfortable about reading YA, and having studied some creative
arts subjects in university, adult literature is sometimes too difficult for me
to wrap my head around. Most days I want to curl up with a YA book and feel at
ease with soft romances, cool sci-fi operas, or a fantasy world where people
have magic because who doesn't like magic?
Since becoming an adult, I felt a sudden pressure
to read adult literature such as literary and historical fiction, non-fiction
or the classics. Not following the Stella Prize or Man Booker Prize shortlists
felt like a crime, even though those books are phenomenal. As belittling as
this perspective may be (and how close I have come to socking someone in the
face for telling me YA is inappropriate for me to read), it's important to
remember that people will enjoy a variety of books in their reading life. And
while I do enjoy other genres, YA has always been my go-to genre because, quite
simply, I love reading it.
But now all I can think to myself is: Am I
allowed to read YA anymore? Have I changed too much to read YA? Here
is how I now tend to view YA since entering the realm of adulthood.
Instead
of immersing myself as the protagonist, I start to feel nostalgic.
There is a level of escapism that comes with
reading YA. Maybe it's the idea of a world divided by factions, or a place
where AI's take over a space ship and have you question your morals *cough* Illuminae
*cough*. I know for sure if I were in The Hunger Games, I'd be the
first to go. Just take away my glasses and I have nothing going for me.
Or maybe it's the first time getting drunk, or
holding someone's hand, or having your first kiss after saving the world from a
zombie invasion. It's these moments that give me that warm fuzzy feeling of
contentment rather than heart palpitations. I only really started reading YA contemporary
and SFF this year, and if anything, they brought me back to reading and
reminded me of who I used to be. The nostalgia is real, yo.
The
thought process behind decision-making is so different compared to adult
literature and that's what's awesome.
I'll usually find myself covering my eyes to hide
from second-hand embarrassment or gripping the pages screaming internally
because young protagonists make decisions that 21-year-old Sofia never
would. These decisions are, more often than not, reckless, irrational or
sometimes insane, and that's what's so beautiful about them.
I recall Randa Abdel-Fattah saying at #AllDayYA
that those things we feel at sixteen or seventeen are so intense and new and we
experience so many things for the first time. We never get those moments back
and while these characters are wading through this uncertain time of their
lives, we're making slight connections to our own lives. It's incredible.
Of
course, there's always that awkward moment when I agree with the parent instead
of the teenager.
I feel like a backseat driver with these characters
sometimes, especially when the protagonist sees their parent as a problem. I
totally get that perspective because that used to be me, but now, all
those strict rules on alcohol, drugs and curfews make sense. Or I've
actually aged 100 years and I'm now babbling incoherently about agreeing with
my parents. They are right sometimes, you know.
While I
am no longer the target audience, I feel no shame in reading YA.
Long gone are my days of being seventeen and
experiencing high school drama, even if they do feel like yesterday. Rather
than feeling like YA is for me, I've placed myself in a situation where
YA is a genre I can read among others like sci-fi, fantasy, literary fiction,
etc. There is no shame in enjoying YA; there are a lot of adults who read it
and it's a dominating genre in my book collection.
YA novels
make great page-turners and bring forth a strong collection of voices and
literary masterpieces.
There are some fantastic voices in YA that might
not be found in adult or middle grade literature. We just celebrated the 20th
anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and look at
the profound impact of that series on so many readers to this day. Other
amazing stories like The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak, The
Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare, The Raven Cycle
series by Maggie Stiefvater, Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by
Becky Albertalli, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by
Ransom Riggs and Cassandra Jean. The list goes on, and where would some of us
be without these stories?
So maybe I do agree with my parents sometimes and I
enjoy reminiscing on being seventeen. But there is no right or wrong book for
you to read. If you enjoy the classics, go for it. If middle grade is your
thing, read the heck out of it. And if YA is your go-to genre like mine, then
why stop reading it? We change as people and the books we read will impact us
no matter what age we are. Reading is an experience and it's amazing to see how
many new stories we get to indulge in every day.
You can find Sofia @ The Literary Casanova, Goodreads, Instagram and Twitter
Hi there. Do you want to be apart of our Reader Spotlights? We are giving our Readers the choice to share their bookish experiences in the form of either an interview or by writing a guest post. You can join in on the fun by signing up HERE.
#LoveOzYA Throwback Thirsday (#8)
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!
chiara's pick
Title: Girl Saves BoyAuthor: Steph Bowe
Released: August 30th 2010
Publisher: Text Publishing
Add it to Goodreads
The first time we met, Jewel Valentine saved my life.
Isn’t it enough having your very own terminal disease, without your mother dying? Or your father dating your Art teacher?
No wonder Sacha Thomas ends up in the lake that Saturday evening…
But the real question is: how does he end up in love with Jewel Valentine?
With the help of quirky teenage prodigies Little Al and True Grisham, Sacha and Jewel have a crazy adventure, with a little lobster emancipation along the way.
But Sacha’s running out of time, and Jewel has secrets of her own.
Girl Saves Boy is a hugely talented debut novel, funny and sad, silly and wise. It’s a story of life, death, love… and garden gnomes.
why i chose it
This book was published when the author was only sixteen, and that still blows my mind when I think about it because this book was so beautiful and lovely and profound.
Girl Saves Boy follows Jewel and Sacha, both of whom are characters that I absolutely adored. Jewel doesn't want to live, and Sacha is desperate to. Their relationship is complicated and simple at the same time, and you'll be wishing for a Happily Ever After practically from the moment you meet them.
When I finished this beautiful book I wanted to cry because there was just so much rawness to this story, and you should definitely read it!
Follow Chiara at Books for a Delicate Eternity, 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.
October Events
Queensland
What Meet Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell and Fiona Wood
When 12 October
Time 6pm - 8pm
Where
Brisbane Square Library
266 George Street, Brisbane,
For more information..
When 12 October
Time 6pm - 8pm
Where
Brisbane Square Library
266 George Street, Brisbane,
For more information..
New South Wales
What YA Bookmeet with Krystal Sutherland
When 7 October
Time 230pm - 330pm
Where Dymocks Sydney, 424 - 430 George Street, Sydney
For more information..
When 7 October
Time 230pm - 330pm
Where Dymocks Sydney, 424 - 430 George Street, Sydney
For more information..
Victoria
What Fleur Ferris/Mark Smith/Alison Evans Visit Squishy Minnie in Kyneton
When October 7
Time 2pm - 3pm
Where 80 Mollison Street, Kyneton
For more information..
What Book launch, meet and greet YA author Juliet M Sampson
When October 7
Time 2pm - 3pm
Where Brighton Library, 14 Wilson Street Brighton
For more information..
What Untidy Towns: Book Launch
When October 7
Time 4pm - 6pm
Where Masonic Hall, 9 Willis Street, Yarraville
For more information..
When October 7
Time 2pm - 3pm
Where 80 Mollison Street, Kyneton
For more information..
What Book launch, meet and greet YA author Juliet M Sampson
When October 7
Time 2pm - 3pm
Where Brighton Library, 14 Wilson Street Brighton
For more information..
What Untidy Towns: Book Launch
When October 7
Time 4pm - 6pm
Where Masonic Hall, 9 Willis Street, Yarraville
For more information..
Please feel free to leave a comment if you know of any other events we have missed this month, of if you would like your event to be included in future monthly roundups.
You can find Tole via Twitter Tumblr and Goodreads
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