June Reading Guide | страница 12

	young adult fiction
The Girl With A Thousand Faces Sunyi Dean Paperback $ 34.99 Mercy Chan is a triad exorcist with a mysterious past. After washing up on the shores of Hong Kong with no memory during World War II, she found a home in Kowloon Walled City, an infamous, ghost-infested slum full of lost and traumatised civilians. Since the war ended, Mercy has rebuilt her life and found work as a ghost-talker for the local triad, dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt this place. But the past she can’ t remember won’ t let her go. An unusually powerful ghost lurks in Kowloon’ s waterways. As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game she begins to realise that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making. romantasy	The Boy Maeve Kai Ash Australian Author Paperback \| Age: 12-15 $ 21.99 He only knows two things for sure: his name is Maeve and he’ s a boy. It’ s 2002, and 14-year-old Maeve – an adopted, closeted trans boy – is facing another lonely year at school. At least he’ s got Jeremy, his lifelong imaginary friend, for company. But even Jeremy, in all their wild wisdom, can’ t explain the weird things that are happening to Maeve. Maeve is full of questions – about his birth family and adoption, about Beattie and Jeremy, and about himself. But the answers are out of this world … and Maeve may have to give up everything he’ s ever known to discover the truth. For fans of Margo Lanagan and Alison Evans, comes this dazzling, beguiling novel about a trans boy, his adopted family, and the search for self-acceptance.	Shadow Reaper # 1 Lynette Noni Australian Author Paperback \| Age: 14 + $ 23.99 $ 27.99 The city of Aravell is in peril, plagued by a deadly blackmist that kills all it touches, and reapers who roam the streets, stealing magic from innocent children in their thirst for power. 17-year-old Viridia Solace has trained for years to hunt these reapers, but their ranks keep growing, led by the man who murdered her parents – the Reaper Priest. When the Priest’ s most loyal follower, Reeve Ashton, is captured, he offers Viri a chance to avenge her parents … for a price. She knows better than to bargain with a reaper, let alone this reaper, but his offer is too good to resist. Soon she’ s breaking him out of prison, colluding with his crew of magic thieves, and following him deep into the blackmist forest in search of an ancient legend, all so they can stop the Reaper Priest’ s plot to doom the city. Shadow Reaper is the start of a breathtaking new duology from international bestselling author Lynette Noni.	The Game Of Oaths S. C. Bandreddi Paperback \| Age: 14 + $ 27.99 The high stakes of The Hunger Games meets the rich magical setting of Caraval, and the ensemble cast of Six of Crows. Power, revenge and sisterhood combine in this heart-pounding YA fantasy debut, set in a magical circus in Belle Époque Paris. Trapeze artist Falan Sunkara is a performer in Paris’ famous magical circus, ruled by Jean-Pierre, ringmaster and Enchanteur, one of the few magicians in the city legally allowed to use magic for entertainment. Each year, 12 members must compete in the Game of Oaths, a brutal tournament watched by the city’ s elite. Only one will survive. Last year, Falan’ s sister was one of the unlucky 11. This year, Falan is out for revenge. young adult non-fiction
The Assassin’ s Way J. M. Kearl Paperback Available June 16 $ 34.99 Never go out at night. Lock the doors. Ignore the screams. Those are the rules Aesira lives by to survive the monsters that stalk her village. But everything changes when it’ s revealed she’ s been born with the power to fight the vampires she’ s spent her life fearing. Aesira is thrust into the elite and secretive League of Assassins, where mercy is weakness and fear is forbidden. Now her survival depends on her ruthless trainer, Vander. And the only thing more lethal than his blade is the desire he awakens in her. Because the greatest threat in Nighthaven might not be the monsters lurking in the dark... It might be him. J. M. Kearl is a bestselling fantasy romance author. The Elf Queen Saga is beloved by thousands of people.				The League Of Dangerous Young Ladies J. A. Morgenstein Paperback \| Age: 12 + $ 19.99 Enola Holmes meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this thrilling YA fantasy adventure from debut author J. A. Morgenstein. It’ s 1909 and Rose Moriarty – teenage daughter of Sherlock Holmes’ greatest enemy – has made a name for herself fighting monsters and solving crimes. But that was before Rose met the one mystery she couldn’ t solve – the disappearance of her headmistress. On the very day Rose receives word that an old friend is dying, the shadowy Count Christoph and his ward Clara show up at her door. Rose has already figured out why they’ re here( to hire her) and what’ s in their bag( an ancient orb with incredible powers), but questions remain. Can Rose convince these strangers to help save her friend’ s life?	One Knight Stand: Lady’ s Knight # 2 Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner Australian Author Paperback \| Age: 14 + $ 26.99 Dearest reader... let me catch you up. Gwen, our lady knight. Isobelle, our knight’ s lady. They fight monsters, and they’ re in love. Well, they fought one monster, once. And while they are in love, they haven’ t discussed that fact with each other, and neither wants to be the first to bring it up. This is going to be fine. This story includes: a sea monster, brooding redemption arcs, a cursed town, a crumbling dark tower, an evil sorceress, and much much more.( Ignore all the tentacles, everything is definitely fine...) Saddle up your dragons, we’ re going on a road trip in this outrageously funny cosy fantasy YA sequel to medieval romp Lady’ s Knight.‘ More fun than cheesecake on a stick!’ – Jodi Meadows, co-author of My Lady Jane.	What If You Could Jacinda Ardern, Ruby Shamir( ad.) Paperback \| Age: 14 + $ 26.99 From the former prime minister of New Zealand comes a guide for teens on chasing your dreams and embracing the unexpected qualities that truly make a person strong. When Jacinda Ardern became prime minister of New Zealand, she was one of the youngest people in the world leading a country. Many people thought she would never succeed – herself included. As she soon learned, though, it was exactly those attributes that made her into the empathetic, adaptable, and effective leader that she was. While sharing her own experiences and challenges as a young person, and then as prime minister, Jacinda Ardern encourages readers to realise that true strength, success, and power come from embracing ourselves just as we are – imposter syndrome and all.

Staff review

The Midnight Train

Matt Haig

Paperback

$ 34.99

Library to enjoy The Midnight Train, but there is a fun little easter egg from The Midnight Library that will immediately delight fans of the series. In The Midnight Train, Wilbur, the protagonist, is at the end of his life. He’ s lonely and still stuck on a tragic event from his past. When he does pass on, he is happy to see a familiar face from his childhood at last – Agnes, the previous owner of the local bookstore Wilbur worked at. For the remaining portion of the book, Agnes will be his guide, joining him on the midnight train as they hurtle through Wilbur’ s life, the last stop being the afterlife. That is if Wilbur can stick to the rules. The Midnight Train is a beautiful and heart-warming novel, perfect for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold. A love letter to books and bookstores, which is why I think this one resonated so much with me.‘ Books,’ Agnes says to Wilbur,‘ are mirrors for the soul. So if you catch a glimpse of someone’ s soul, you will know the mirror for them’. Sadly, whilst we can’ t rave about books in person, to then be able to recommend the right mirror, the right book, The Midnight Train shines because it relates to us all, reflecting our shared hopes and fears. To end this review, I would like to quote Agnes. When Wilbur is rightfully fearful about reliving some of his worst memories, he asks Agnes,‘ But what if there are things that I did wrong?’ and Agnes says:‘ That, Old Bean, means you have lived.’

The Midnight Library, the first book by Haig to take place in the Midnight world, was the first book I reviewed since starting work at Collins Booksellers, and so this series holds a very special place in my heart. Expectations were, needless to say, very high, but The Midnight Train met and exceeded them. You don’ t have to have read The Midnight

Reviewed by Ozlem from Collins Booksellers Moonee Ponds Published by Allen & Unwin

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	young adult fiction
The Girl With A Thousand Faces Sunyi Dean Paperback $ 34.99 Mercy Chan is a triad exorcist with a mysterious past. After washing up on the shores of Hong Kong with no memory during World War II, she found a home in Kowloon Walled City, an infamous, ghost-infested slum full of lost and traumatised civilians. Since the war ended, Mercy has rebuilt her life and found work as a ghost-talker for the local triad, dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt this place. But the past she can’ t remember won’ t let her go. An unusually powerful ghost lurks in Kowloon’ s waterways. As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game she begins to realise that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making. romantasy	The Boy Maeve Kai Ash Australian Author Paperback \| Age: 12-15 $ 21.99 He only knows two things for sure: his name is Maeve and he’ s a boy. It’ s 2002, and 14-year-old Maeve – an adopted, closeted trans boy – is facing another lonely year at school. At least he’ s got Jeremy, his lifelong imaginary friend, for company. But even Jeremy, in all their wild wisdom, can’ t explain the weird things that are happening to Maeve. Maeve is full of questions – about his birth family and adoption, about Beattie and Jeremy, and about himself. But the answers are out of this world … and Maeve may have to give up everything he’ s ever known to discover the truth. For fans of Margo Lanagan and Alison Evans, comes this dazzling, beguiling novel about a trans boy, his adopted family, and the search for self-acceptance.	Shadow Reaper # 1 Lynette Noni Australian Author Paperback \| Age: 14 + $ 23.99 $ 27.99 The city of Aravell is in peril, plagued by a deadly blackmist that kills all it touches, and reapers who roam the streets, stealing magic from innocent children in their thirst for power. 17-year-old Viridia Solace has trained for years to hunt these reapers, but their ranks keep growing, led by the man who murdered her parents – the Reaper Priest. When the Priest’ s most loyal follower, Reeve Ashton, is captured, he offers Viri a chance to avenge her parents … for a price. She knows better than to bargain with a reaper, let alone this reaper, but his offer is too good to resist. Soon she’ s breaking him out of prison, colluding with his crew of magic thieves, and following him deep into the blackmist forest in search of an ancient legend, all so they can stop the Reaper Priest’ s plot to doom the city. Shadow Reaper is the start of a breathtaking new duology from international bestselling author Lynette Noni.	The Game Of Oaths S. C. Bandreddi Paperback \| Age: 14 + $ 27.99 The high stakes of The Hunger Games meets the rich magical setting of Caraval, and the ensemble cast of Six of Crows. Power, revenge and sisterhood combine in this heart-pounding YA fantasy debut, set in a magical circus in Belle Époque Paris. Trapeze artist Falan Sunkara is a performer in Paris’ famous magical circus, ruled by Jean-Pierre, ringmaster and Enchanteur, one of the few magicians in the city legally allowed to use magic for entertainment. Each year, 12 members must compete in the Game of Oaths, a brutal tournament watched by the city’ s elite. Only one will survive. Last year, Falan’ s sister was one of the unlucky 11. This year, Falan is out for revenge. young adult non-fiction
The Assassin’ s Way J. M. Kearl Paperback Available June 16 $ 34.99 Never go out at night. Lock the doors. Ignore the screams. Those are the rules Aesira lives by to survive the monsters that stalk her village. But everything changes when it’ s revealed she’ s been born with the power to fight the vampires she’ s spent her life fearing. Aesira is thrust into the elite and secretive League of Assassins, where mercy is weakness and fear is forbidden. Now her survival depends on her ruthless trainer, Vander. And the only thing more lethal than his blade is the desire he awakens in her. Because the greatest threat in Nighthaven might not be the monsters lurking in the dark... It might be him. J. M. Kearl is a bestselling fantasy romance author. The Elf Queen Saga is beloved by thousands of people.				The League Of Dangerous Young Ladies J. A. Morgenstein Paperback \| Age: 12 + $ 19.99 Enola Holmes meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this thrilling YA fantasy adventure from debut author J. A. Morgenstein. It’ s 1909 and Rose Moriarty – teenage daughter of Sherlock Holmes’ greatest enemy – has made a name for herself fighting monsters and solving crimes. But that was before Rose met the one mystery she couldn’ t solve – the disappearance of her headmistress. On the very day Rose receives word that an old friend is dying, the shadowy Count Christoph and his ward Clara show up at her door. Rose has already figured out why they’ re here( to hire her) and what’ s in their bag( an ancient orb with incredible powers), but questions remain. Can Rose convince these strangers to help save her friend’ s life?	One Knight Stand: Lady’ s Knight # 2 Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner Australian Author Paperback \| Age: 14 + $ 26.99 Dearest reader... let me catch you up. Gwen, our lady knight. Isobelle, our knight’ s lady. They fight monsters, and they’ re in love. Well, they fought one monster, once. And while they are in love, they haven’ t discussed that fact with each other, and neither wants to be the first to bring it up. This is going to be fine. This story includes: a sea monster, brooding redemption arcs, a cursed town, a crumbling dark tower, an evil sorceress, and much much more.( Ignore all the tentacles, everything is definitely fine...) Saddle up your dragons, we’ re going on a road trip in this outrageously funny cosy fantasy YA sequel to medieval romp Lady’ s Knight.‘ More fun than cheesecake on a stick!’ – Jodi Meadows, co-author of My Lady Jane.	What If You Could Jacinda Ardern, Ruby Shamir( ad.) Paperback \| Age: 14 + $ 26.99 From the former prime minister of New Zealand comes a guide for teens on chasing your dreams and embracing the unexpected qualities that truly make a person strong. When Jacinda Ardern became prime minister of New Zealand, she was one of the youngest people in the world leading a country. Many people thought she would never succeed – herself included. As she soon learned, though, it was exactly those attributes that made her into the empathetic, adaptable, and effective leader that she was. While sharing her own experiences and challenges as a young person, and then as prime minister, Jacinda Ardern encourages readers to realise that true strength, success, and power come from embracing ourselves just as we are – imposter syndrome and all.