Book Talk

Book Talk

From The Library Team

Good books are windows and mirrors, reflecting the age of their creation yet also shedding light on the reader’s own world.  Each year in Australia, for the past eighty years, Australian books for children and teens have been nominated as ‘Book of the Year’, awarded books gaining gold stickers on the cover which we all may remember as young readers borrowing from the school library. These prize- winning books highlight the shifting book landscape, offering windows and mirrors to a world which is perhaps very different to the world of young readers’ parents and grandparents

This year, six Australia books for teens have once again been nominated as Book the Year, the winner to be announced in Book Week in August. The shortlist offers fascinating insights into the world of 2025. We may observe broad diverse representation in terms of cultural background, sexual orientation, neurodiversity and more. Indigenous characters now inhabit many narratives. The current reading landscape also demonstrates that the teen novel market is dominated by rom-coms and social realist stories that are gritty, honest and authentic.

The 2025 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Older Readers Shortlist is:

• A Wreck of Seabirds by Karleah Olson (Fremantle Press)- This is a tightly written, atmospheric novel that captures the depths of human compassion.

‘Both grappling with grief and loss, Briony and Ren are brought together in their hometown, where Ren has returned to care for his dying father and Briony remains hopeful of finding her missing sister, Sarah. Meanwhile, Sarah and her best friend Aria are hopelessly trapped on a remote island off the coast, and nobody has a clue where they have gone.’

• Birdy by Sharon Kernot (Text Publishing)- Birdy is a tender warm-hearted verse novel about the pain of loss and shame, the beauty of words, and the healing power of small acts of kindness.

‘Maddy is mute. Since the Incident she has barely spoken. And now she and her mother and brother are staying in a farmhouse on an old apricot orchard not far from town. It’s a chance to rest and recuperate – or a way to hide further away from the world.

Alice is waiting. Since Birdy, her darling daughter, disappeared forty-five years ago, she has sat in her house waiting for her to come home. Alice says Maddy reminds her of Birdy, and Maddy feels a strange connection to the long-lost girl. In the quiet not-speaking and waiting, amid the clutter of the old woman’s house, Maddy and Alice slowly become friends. Until Maddy takes something that’s not hers.’

• Comes the Night by Isobelle Carmody (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)- A superb YA fantasy set in the near future, full of secrets, high stakes, peril, deceptions and dream walkers

‘Will lives with his father in a future domed Canberra where citizens are safe from extreme weather events, dangerous solar radiation and civil unrest. He does not question his carefully controlled existence until the recurrence of an old nightmare propels him on a dangerous quest.
Gradually Will discovers his dreams hold cryptic clues that lead him into a shadowy alternate dimension. Here he must grapple with dark forces that operate in both worlds, with the help of his best friend Ender, her brilliant but difficult twin sister Magda, and a mysterious gift from his uncle.’

• I’m Not Really Here by Gary Lonesborough (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)- Emotionally compelling, honest and warm, I’m Not Really Here is a beautiful novel about navigating family and friendships and finding a way through grief.

‘When 17-year-old Jonah arrives in a new town – Patience – with his dad and younger brothers, it feels like a foreign place. A new town means he needs to make new friends – which isn’t always easy. Especially when he’s wrestling with his body image, and his memories of his mother.
When he joins the local footy team so he can spend more time with his new crush, Harley, he feels like he’s moving closer to something good. But even though he knows what he wants, it doesn’t mean he’s ready.’

• Into the Mouth of the Wolf by Erin Gough (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)- An extraordinary novel that explores love and grief in a world wracked by the impact of climate change.

‘Iris lives on the run with her mother, Rohan. They’re travelling to escape the earthquakes, though of course that’s impossible. And they’re being followed. One day, Rohan insists Iris repeat the phrase in bocca al lupo: into the mouth of the wolf. The next day, Rohan’s vanished, leaving no clues about where she’s gone besides a contact in an unknown town. Entirely alone and fearing the worst, Iris reaches out to a stranger for help.

When Lena gets Iris’s message, she’s busy panic-studying for year 12 and helping run her family’s hostel. She’s intrigued by Iris, and can’t deny there’s a spark between them – but she’s also worried. A dead body has just washed up at the beach in Glassy Bay. And Lena’s old best friend – who’s just returned after an unexplained absence – seems to know something about it.’

• The Skin I’m In by Steph Tisdell (Macmillan Australia)- A powerful story of belonging from an Indigenous author, a narrative about finding out who you are and loving yourself during the transformation of teenage years.

‘Layla is in her final year of school. It’s the last year to make sure that the next major phase of her life begins correctly because she’s got big plans.
She just wants to be a normal teenager and to fit in but when her troubled cousin Marley comes to stay, he challenges everything she thought she was.’

As writer Vera Nazarian stated, ‘Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light’. 

Enjoy your reading!

The Library Team