No Words by Maryam Master

No Words by Maryam Master “Words have power.” (No Words by Maryam Master) Maryam Master’s debut children’s novel Exit Through the Gift Shop (illustrated by Astred Hicks) is shortlisted for the 2022 CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers category. No Words, her new children’s /middle-fiction novel is equally important and powerful. Not a memoir […]

How to Spell Catastrophe by Fiona Wood

How to Spell Catastrophe by Fiona Wood “Our word of the week is participation. More like ‘exclusion’ for me, not that anyone seems to care.” (How to Spell Catastrophe) Fiona Wood is one of Australia’s best contemporary writers of YA literature, evinced by the many awards her books have won. In fact, her three most […]

Our Stories ed. Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah

Our Stories ed. Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah The new Our Stories series of junior chapter books has a clear purpose and is engaging, character-driven and well-written. Ideal for children, the books feature large print, plenty of illustrations and even humour. When Granny Came to Stay by Alice Pung, illustrated by Sally Soweol Han, celebrates Pangzi’s Chinese […]

Girls in Boys’ Cars by Felicity Castagna

Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist Author Interview “Girls don’t go out into the world and take whatever they want. Girls have to compromise. Or maybe they don’t. I guess I didn’t in the end.” (Girls in Boys’ Cars) I can only write superlatives about Felicity Castagna’s second YA novel Girls in Boys’ Cars. It […]

self/less by AVIVA

self/less by AVIVA self/less is multidisciplinary artist and musician AVIVA’s debut novel. It is published by Pan Macmillan Australia. In this YA dystopia, 17-year-old Teddy lives a privileged life in Metropolis where creativity is a crime. Following her desire for freedom and change, she turns her world upside down. AVIVA writes about self/less: At its […]

The Airways by Jennifer Mills

The Airways by Jennifer Mills, published by Picador, Pan Macmillan Australia Literary Fiction, Author Interview “He closed his eyes and concentrated. He inhabited for a time that liminal space between consciousness and unconsciousness, where the mind began to believe it might wander free of the body. He thought of experiences that he could not quite […]

Exit Through the Gift Shop by Maryam Master

Exit Through the Gift Shop by Maryam Master, illustrated by Astred Hicks Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist Exit Through the Gift Shop is a stand-out middle-fiction novel for mature children in upper primary and for readers in junior secondary school. The combined title and cover are eye-catching. The voice of 12-year-old Ana is striking, memorable […]

Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer

“I believe I’m a good person. But what if I’m not?” (Instant Karma) Marissa Meyer is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of my favourite international YA writers. She is based in Washington. I reviewed her novels Heartless and The Renegades trilogy in the Weekend Australian: Heartless is an excellent imagining of […]

A.J. Betts and Rogue

Rogue (Pan Macmillan Australia) continues Hayley’s dystopian story – in a surprising, and very different setting – which began in Hive. Thank you for speaking to PaperbarkWords, A.J. Why have you written a duology? It is unusual to have two books rather than one stand-alone, a trilogy or a longer series. There’s no real reason, […]

Taryn Bashford and The Astrid Notes

Taryn Bashford has now written and published two YA novels, The Harper Effect and The Astrid Notes (Pan Macmillan Australia). Both are gripping and memorable, dealing with situations that are rarely encountered in Australian YA. Thank you for speaking to PaperbarkWords, Taryn. Thank you so much for having me and for your kind words about […]