‘Kahu, a member of the Māori tribe of Whangara, New Zealand, fights to prove her love, her leadership, and her destiny. Her people claim descent from Kahutia Te Rangi, the legendary “whale rider.” In every generation since Kahutia, a male heir has inherited the title of chief. But now there is no male heir, and the… Continue reading The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
‘I remember how you were, not how you are. We were we until we became you and I.’ Midori and Âu Cô are international university students tasting freedom from family for the first time. They discover Melbourne and each other. All is well until the tsunami that swamps their world… Midori and Âu Cô… Continue reading Dragons, grief and love in ‘The Wave’ by Hoa Pham
As co-hosts of the #AsianLitBingo initiative, we’re excited to share interviews with authors towards the end of May. I’m grateful to Samira Ahmed for taking the time to answer questions here on the blog. Lookout for her debut YA contemporary book in January 2018 via Soho Teen (US) and May 2018 via Allen and Unwin (Aus).… Continue reading Author Interview: Samira Ahmed – Author of Love, Hate and Other Filters
A cappella just got a makeover. Jordan Sun is embarking on her junior year at the Kensington-Blaine Boarding School for the Performing Arts, hopeful that this will be her time: the year she finally gets cast in the school musical. But when her low Alto 2 voice gets her shut out for the third straight… Continue reading Noteworthy by Riley Redgate
LIKE NANCY DREW, BUT NOT… Craving a taste of teenage life, Asiya Haque defies her parents to go for a walk (really, it was just a walk!) in the woods with Michael, her kind-of-friend/crush/the guy with the sweetest smile she’s ever seen. Her tiny transgression goes completely off track when they stumble on a dead… Continue reading God Smites and Other Muslim Girl Problems by Ishara Deen
Two sisters from the Philippines, abandoned by their father and living in impoverished circumstances in Louisiana, fight to make their lives better. Soledad has always been able to escape into the stories she creates. Just like her mother always could. And Soledad has needed that escape more than ever in the five years since her… Continue reading The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly
My 2016 favourites list in three parts: Part 1 – YA Speculative fiction and fantasy, Part 2 – Adult Speculative fiction and fantasy & Part 3 – Contemporary fiction and Non-fiction. Thanks to all the readers who have dropped by for these lists! Onto the final one: Contemporary fiction Becoming Kirrali Lewis by Jane Harrison A great… Continue reading Year in Books 2016 – Part 3 – Contemporary fiction & Non-fiction
