Favourite Aussie YA 2010 - Me :)

This year I read 55 Aussie YA books

22 of them were re-reads (okay, I am a HUGE fan of making time to re-read favourites - one of my favourite things to do is curl up with a familiar and favourite book and hang out with the characters again in their world). My re-reads included:

•  the entire tomorrow series (7 books) which feels like home to me more than any other series. I will never tire of visiting Ellie and Homer and the gang.
•  all my Jaclyn Moriarty books. Completely love those books. I BEG OF YOU if you have not read Jaclyn Moriarty TRACK HER DOWN. She is my favourite author. She is available internationally. Oh, I love her so.
• all my verse novels: Steven Herrick and Margaret Wild being my top Aussie verse writers. I am always astounded by their brilliance each time I re-read them. As if I don't quite remember just how astonishingly good they are from the first time around
• I re-read some Marchetta brilliance
• and a bundle of books I wanted to re-visit because it had been a while...

33 of the Aussie YA books I read this year were brand new to me. Yippee! And lots of them I fell in love with. I'm not going to post ALL my faves but I have narrowed down nine that shine (*round of applause* what an accomplishment). OKAY, so I started doing an honourable mention section - but it was getting out of control...

A lot of them were from the CBCA notables (22 titles) and short-list. My library purchases all titles from the CBCA every year

So, without further blah blah, here's nine of my favourite Aussie reads this year (In no particular order) : They are not perhaps the best I read - more the ones that just completely resonated with me, you know, just because...

I reviewed all but the bottom two, Marchetta and Zusak - both stunning masterpieces. I so can't wait to re-read all of these already - they are firmly wedged in on my favourites shelf. Here's hoping you guys get a chance to read some of these too!

Six of them were released this year - the other three are slightly older titles. Five of them were debuts :) All of them were outrageously awesome. Only THREE of them are available internationally - ouch :(

As for Good Oil. When I first read it - I really enjoyed it. A lot. The funny thing is - 6 months later and I am still thinking about it. All the time. My love for the book grew astronomically in retrospect. I get that people (especially those who don't do much contemporary) maybe could read it and not find the magic in there. But for me ~ it just really struck a chord. And I guess that's why best-of lists are so personal. But Good Oil, oh how I love you <3

Mini mention to Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen ~  no one has mentioned it yet and I had such a good time reading it. It also was this years winner of CBCA (best book for older readers.

As for questions I asked other bloggers regarding their all-time faves ~ I have 5 favourite Aussie authors that I have adored since I was a teenager AND I'll get around to posting that tomorrow... :)

x Nomes

The Best of Aussie YA (1) The Book Gryffin

The Best of Aussie YA - Mini Series

some of the featured books...

About the mini series & best of Aussie YA current give-away

To launch the mini series we have Tye:  The Book Gryffin - who runs a fabulous and informative blog, always  inspiring with a lovely lovely focus on some of the Aussie stuff. Any books she endorses, you'll love.  - one of my very favourite corners on the internet to hang out in :) 

1. The Aussie YA scene is so strong at the moment - with so many BRILLIANT titles that came out this year. What tops your list of favourite Aussie YA reads this year?

Tye: Oooooooooohhhhhhh! Could you have asked a harder question???? This is very difficult to answer, because I am SO proud of ALL our Aussie YA Authors! So. Trying to do the impossible and narrow it down to a few. Hmmmm. 

My TOP 3 this year would have to be: Five Parts Dead- Tim Pegler, The Pipers Son- Melina Marchetta and This Is Shyness- Leanne Hall.

2. . What books from previous years are on your all-time favourite Aussie YA list?

Tye: I LOVE this question!!! My top favorites EVER in Aussie YA are without doubt... On The Jellicoe Road- Melina Marchetta, The Beginners Guide To Living- Lia Hills, So Much To Tell You- John Marsden, Once- Morris Gleitzman, Game As Ned- Tim Pegler, Loathing Lola- William Kostakis and Saving Francesca- Melina Marchetta. These are titles I have re read many times and every single time, they never fail to ‘get’ me. They still pack the same punch on a re read as they did the very first time I read them. That to me is the mark of a truly great read.

3. Any lesser known Aussie YA books/authors you adore?

Tye: I would have to say Tim Pegler. It doesn’t seem to me that he has the following he deserves. He is such a beautiful author, his novels are so poignant. Not to mention, he is a truly lovely person. When he came to visit our school, he had the kids eating out of the palm of his hand. They adored him and still talk about that visit today. He is very humble and deserves to be given a bit of the rockstar treatment, though having said that I am sure he would HATE it! 

Another amazing Aussie author to watch, who is nowhere near as familiar as she deserves to be, is Lia Hills. Lia is an OUTSTANDING author and her book The Beginners Guide To Living is my absolute favourite YA Aussie Read this year, even though it was published in 2009.

4. What upcoming titles are you hanging out for?

Tye: Cannot wait for Angel Creek Sally Rippin, coming in March 2011. And I am always enthralled to see what the winning novel from the Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing will be. This year gave us Leanne Hall- This Is Shyness. I am hopeful to see something new from our other amazing Aussies next year :)

Quick 5: Choose the book you'd recommend to someone in the mood for:

• Tear Jerker - The Beginner's Guide To Living - Lia Hills
• Awesome Male POV- Game As Ned- Tim Pegler.
• Quirky and hilarious- Six Impossible Things- Fiona Wood
• A story that lingers- On The Jellicoe Road- Melina Marchetta
• A book you cant put down- Grace- Morris Gleitzman.

Thank you ever so much Tye! 
Don't forget to check out Ty's blog 'The Book Gryffin'

Five Parts Dead by Tim Pegler

Dan has dodged the Reaper again. If he were a cat, five of his nine lives would be gone—when his mates didn’t even get second chances. He’s still grieving their deaths when he’s dragged on a family holiday at a remote island lighthouse.

Left alone, at what feels like the end of the earth, Dan starts sensing a mysterious girl. Is she a dream? Or has he somehow hooked into the spirit world?

The lighthouse logbook helps illuminate some of the girl’s tragic story but Dan will have to dig deeper to find answers and the inspiration to embrace life again.

Tim Pegler gets inside the minds and hearts of teenagers and captures their voices—spot on.

Five Parts Dead would have to be among one of the best books for teens I have read. 

Tim Pegler is some sort of plotting genius. He has two timelines, Dan's present day holiday at the island (which also includes flashbacks to his life before the accident) and the second story of the people who lived at the light house which is unveiled through the light house log and some research at a local museum. 

The pacing is so well done that everything unfolds brilliantly, always leaving more mystery and secrets for the reader - the whole mass of story and emotions and mystery is all explored in just under 200 pages and it's incredible how much power and emotion is packed into such a short space. One of the dangers of weaving different time lines and characters together is that I often end up being more invested in one of the stories than the other. Not so here - in fact, I felt deeply immersed in all the characters and their journeys.

It's eerie. Okay, so I was reading it home alone in the middle of the night during a coastal storm. And, initially,  I felt freaked out in a goosebumpy delicious way which then changed to a complete wide-eyed horror as the story progressed. There's some gore and creepy stuff going down.

It has a very sexy, very teen love story in there.

Not only is the story stunning - both timelines, but the characters, make this book far more than just a captivating story. They're the kind of characters that feel real, that are captured in smart, succinct dialogue and individual nuances. They're characters that make you ache and laugh and it was so easy for me to visualise them and find myself caring for them immensely. 

Me and Five Parts Dead

I don't cry in books. Sometimes I call books tear jerkers because they really tug at my emotions. I was happily grinning away one page and completely invested in the story, madly flipping through pages, and then - BAM - the next minute my eyes have welled up and tears are spilling over and I felt like I had been ripped open. It's been a long time since I've bawled in a book.

Other cool cool stuff:

• Pip (funky 17 year old girl)- reads Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, out in the sun on the island. Loved that :)
• Dan's a twin. I love twin stuff in books. And this is cool as his twin is a sister.
• the car crash scene is the best I have ever read, anywhere. Talk about graphic - I was wide-eyed and hit hard. Mesmerising prose. I don't think the images created in my mind will ever leave me.
• there's some freaky haunting stuff in here. Including an exorcism scene - which is creepier as it's notated factually in the light house log book. 
• there's some cannibalistic stuff going down. Everyone loves a bit of cannibalism, yeah :)
• I got right inside Dan's head space - such an honest and funny and heart-felt male POV. I really love the guy. And he's having such a rough time...

Recommended: Five Parts Dead is on my favourites shelf (obviously) and I can't wait until my boys (and my girl) are old enough to read it. It's a perfect novel for all ages, that will capture the imagination of all readers - but it's especially brilliant for boys and reluctant readers. This is a book that will not only mesmerise readers, but one that will linger. And did I mention it's funny? I so love books that make me grin :)

I personally can't wait to read it again.

Five Parts Dead is available in Australia now

Five Parts Dead @ goodreads

Five Parts Dead @ The Book Gryffin "I have oft praised Melina Marchetta for her beautifully developed characters and till I read Tim Pegler, I had thought she was alone in her ability to make me long to meet her protagonists in real life. Not only did I spend a great deal of time yearning for Tim’s characters to be real, I have spent a significant amount of time thinking about them since I closed the cover on Five Parts Dead."


Snapshot of a novel Tim Pegler's written notes - his first ideas/inspiration for the novel. This is completely awesome!


Reviews of Five Parts Dead Professionals who are so more eloquent and succinct than I and who love this book as much as I do.