Chasing YA for 13–14-year-olds

A recurring theme shared amongst teachers, teacher librarians, parents and readers of YA fiction is the challenges of finding strong, engaging and interesting books for the younger teen market and that will also appeal to boys. This week, Nella draws on her experiences with her teenage grandson to share a range of titles of interest.

Mr 13 years and I spent time browsing Canberra bookshops YA shelves struggling to find books he wanted to read. This exercise confirmed my suspicions that there are few recent novels aimed at prolific 13–14-year-old readers and especially those who are not interested in violence, horror, animal cruelty, sex, mental health challenges, or portrayals of grief. So, what did we find?

He had read most of the fantasy titles on offer. As he’d enjoyed Isobelle Carmody Comes the Night Allen & Unwin, we looked for similar stories.

Sci Fi/Speculative Fiction  

H.M. Waugh The Surface Trials Allen & Unwin 

An elimination quest where competitors must work out who to trust, overcome long held biases, and work as a team. 

Kenneth Oppel Best of All Worlds Hardie Grant 

First person narrative. Canadian Xavier, his father and pregnant Haitian-Canadian stepmother wake up in their holiday cabin to find they are enclosed within a self-healing dome with no technology and no possibility of escape. Three years later, they are joined by the racist conspiracy theorists the Jacksons from Tennessee.

Mystery

Amy Doak Eleanor Jones series Penguin Random House 

Eleanor has recently moved to rural Cooinda when she and her new friends become embroiled in a series of twisty mysteries. 

Kate Emery My Family and Other Suspects Allen & Unwin

Ruth and Dylan have a murder mystery to solve, a dysfunctional family and no phone signal. Snarky and often funny.

Carla Salmon We Saw What You Started Pan Macmillan Australia 

Set during summer in a coastal beach town. Newcomer Otto is under suspicion for a series of arson attacks. Otto, local Milly and eventually her twin Jasper investigate. Appealing and articulate characters, gripping fast-moving plausible plot.  

Adventure

Sarah Armstrong, Run Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing 

Probably Middle Grade rather than YA. Fast-paced survival tale. 12-year-old Cas flees a reunion with the father who had abandoned him. Lost in the Australian bush, Cas stumbles upon a mysterious family living off the grid and clearly hiding secrets.

Thanks to the author’s trigger warning*, Emma Lord, Anomaly Affirm was rejected for lack of personal appeal. 

How to Be Normal by Ange Crawford Walker Books 

From the outside Astrid’s family might look normal. A story of coercive control, terrifying emotional abuse. Life filled with fear. NB There is no physical violence. 

Further Sources

Allison Tait of Your Kids Next Read fame has kindly shared these suggestions:

• 125 books that boys are reading (and loving) right now
• 60 more tried-and-tested books for 13/14-year-old boys
• 15 more tried-and-tested books for 13/14 year old boys (+ 13 expert choices)
• 21 tried-and-tested books for 13/14-year-old boys

And in a recent podcast episode  Alison joins Megan Daley to discuss boys and reading: Episode 222: Boys and Reading. 

Also, prolific blogger of books for young people Karys McEwen substack I read a lot. 

*A recent CBCA Tasmania blog post by Maureen Mann: Content or trigger warnings: Should books have them? 

Any suggestions for potential Christmas book purchases for Mr 13 gladly accepted.

Nella Pickup

Retired librarian, avid reader and book buying Nonna

Enter Cello – A fantasy world with a difference

This week, discover the fantasy word of Cello created by young adult author Jaclyn Moriarty. Jackie deftly shares her love of this trilogy and provides plenty of hooks as she details the nuances of an alternative world and the trials and tribulations of teenagers displaced between Cello and Earth.

The ability of an author to create a world that captures the imagination of the reader is a key ingredient in fantasy fiction, and it is the world of Cello which is the real star of Jaclyn Moriarty’s Colours of Madeleine Trilogy. The Kingdom of Cello provides a rich backdrop for the characters’ struggles to return the missing royal family to Cello before their absence is discovered and is a major strength of the series.

Although the idea of a world linked to our own world is not new, the world of Cello is distinctly original and very attractive. What reader wouldn’t love to experience the Lake of Spells (only accessible to children no older than sixteen) and fish for the many spells there, or to visit the Cat Walk where cats of all sizes and species from all over the Kingdom gather to walk in the evening? The revelation that Cellians can be identified by a spray of colours which is visible on their inner elbow when lemon juice is applied is an appealing idea especially when you realise that Cellians transported to our world lose their memories of their former lives and have no idea that they are in fact from another world.  The Butterfly Child, Accidental Pilots and other Cellian oddities all add an element of magic and possibility to the world.

The provinces of Cello are all extremely different to each other as well as to our world. The technology minded Jagged Edgians are in stark contrast to the traditionally minded people of Old Quainte with their unusual and convoluted expressions. These differences add another dimension to the teenage themes explored in the books as characters see the world from totally different viewpoints depending on where they live– Keira from Jagged Edge sees the importance of endings while Elliott from the Farms needs beginnings.

Cello experiences Colour attacks and a system of warning bells has been put in place to keep people safe. Some colours can wound or even kill. Others can affect mood or perception. The importance of these colours and the Cello, to both Cello and our own world, revealed in the ending of the third book is plausible and resonates with current environmental theories.

Readers of Moriarty’s Ashbury/Brookfield novels will recognise her skill at supplementing her storytelling prose with letters, newspaper articles and extracts from the extremely irritating T.I. Candle’s guidebook. Often these play a key role in conveying information that will be essential to later story developments.

Comprising the novels A Corner of White, The Cracks in the Kingdom and A Tangle of Gold, the story begins with a girl in our world discovering a message from Cello in a broken parking meter. The teenage characters at the centre of the story both in Cello and our world experience usual teenage issues often amidst absent or disappointing parents. Finding a place where you feel you can fit in, as well as establishing your true identity, are key concerns. Discovering which cause is worth your support is not as easy as it may at first appear and may put you at odds with your friends.

If you haven’t read this series, track it down – you won’t be disappointed.

Jackie Crane
Reader

What are you reading?

It's a glorious sunny day here in Launceston - the perfect kind of day for a bit of al fresco reading!

I'm currently reading the glorious new book by Australian speculative fiction author, Marianne de Pierre's. Marianne is a very highly regarded author of adult speculative fiction. This is her first book for young adults. It is dark, decadent, hypnotic and magical, and is also definitely one for older readers (think Justine Larbalestier's Liar and you're probably in about the right age range).

The following blurb is from Marianne's website (http://www.burnbright.com.au/):

"In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute . . .


Retra doesn’t want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night, ever-youth and never-sleep. Retra is a Seal – sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn’t crave parties and pleasure, experience and freedom.

But her brother Joel left for Ixion two years ago, and Retra is determined to find him. Braving the intense pain of her obedience strip to escape the only home she’s ever known, Retra stows away on the barge that will take her to her brother.

When she can’t find Joel, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. Come to me, whispers a voice in her head. Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the Night Creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion?

Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures, but its secrets are deadly. Will friendship, and the creation of an eternal bond with a Riper, be enough to save her from the darkness?

Listen well, baby bats. Burn bright, but do not stray from the paths. Remember, when you live in a place of darkness you also live with creatures of the dark."

I am about halfway through this book and enjoying it immensely. The world de Pierres has created is so unique and spellbinding. I can't wait to finish it (and then it will be an impatient wait for the sequel).

Tell us, what are you reading on this gorgeous sunny day?