20% OFF* all Young Adult titles in July!

So… YA Matters on many levels. Really. There are levels. What we mean to say is that YA talks about a whole lot of matters, but that it also matters. YA has purpose and intention and it matters to a whole lot of people. And it matters because it can do so much, say so much, about so many things. It has the power to talk to, and about, so many people and…matters. And they may be matters like ‘Issues’ with a capital I, like caring for a mother with degenerative MS, or issues like coming to terms with having made a fool of yourself. It could be about trying to survive being black in a town when you could you be shot by a policeman on your way home from a party. It could be about being held like a prisoner because you are a refugee. It could be about coming out to your friends, or telling someone that you love them. Maybe it’s about learning to ‘own’ the size of your butt, or feeling empowered when you see someone regain their magic and take back what’s theirs. Maybe it’s about escaping a bit or feeling excited, overwhelmed, happy, confused or like your heart has just been ripped out.

YA Matters. Again, it really does. It’s about seeing yourself and your story out in the world, and about meeting others and their stories, too.

So, read something that matters. Read some Young Adult stories.

 

A Song Only I Can Hear
Barry Jonsberg
RRP $16.99
Though categorised as middle fiction, A Song Only I Can Hear comes highly recommended to teens and adults as well. A sublime first love story and a radically empathetic take on trans identity, Song is essential reading.

 

 

 

 

Between Us
Clare Atkins
RRP $19.99

A topical and thought-provoking tale of two teenagers who find love through impossible boundaries: one being a barbed wire fence. Anahita is an asylum seeker only allowed out of detention for school, and Jono is the biracial son of a Vietnamese immigrant, struggling with his own demons.
Clare Atkins compassionately and with great care explores racism, the plight of asylum seekers and mental health in this powerful novel.

 

 

 

Hive
A.J. Betts
RRP $16.99
Curiosity is a hook, and it has latched itself onto Hayley, making her examine her world as she knows it. It starts with the impossible: a drop of water. But what starts as a drip leads to a lie, a death, a boy, a beast, and too many awful questions. This first book of the duology will grip you in its tentacles and won’t let you go until the very last page, and leave you clamouring for the next!

 

 

 

 

Learning Curves of Vanessa Partridge
Clare Strahan
RRP $19.99

Vanessa Partridge has decided this summer will be different. She’s going to try new things, re-invent herself. But she’s about to discover that finding herself isn’t so easy. Strahan has created a funny, flawed, and lovable character in Vanessa. This is one summer you won’t forget.

 

 

 

 

Lifel1k3
Jay Kristoff
RRP $19.99
As harsh and bloodthirsty as Mad Max and as romantic and grand as Romeo and Juliet – throw in a bit of X-Men and you have yourself a thrilling story that is epic to the extreme! Robots vs humans is given a fresh and addictive reboot in the first book of this new series by The Illuminae Files co-mastermind Jay Kristoff.

 

 

 

 

The Fall
Tristan Bancks
RRP $16.99
Like a shock of caffeine to the system, this book should definitely not be read before bed. Wince-inducing descriptions and plot twist whirlwinds are the ingredients of choice in this suspenseful and page turning thriller about a boy who witnesses a crime through his window…and then locks eyes with the killer! Prepare for the heebie-jeebies…

 

 

 

 

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages
Ed. Saundra Mitchell
IMPORT

Seventeen incredible YA authors from all across the queer spectrum bring us a beautiful collection of short stories following queer teens through history, and through many genres. A few Kino favourites make an appearance – Mackenzi Lee, Shaun David Hutchinson and Anna-Marie McLemore! Prepare for all the feels.

 

 

 

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
Dashka Slater
RRP $19.99

From award-winning journalist Dashka Slater comes the true story of what happened on the 57 Bus in Oakland, between an agender teenager, born male, in a gauzy skirt and an African-American teen with a lighter who can’t imagine the outcome of what he’s about to do. Slater delves deeply to produce a thoughtful, heartbreaking and hopeful analysis of an incident that changed two teens, their families and a community.

 

 

Children of Blood and Bone
Tomi Adeyemi
RRP $16.99

Not just an amazing jacket! Banned magic could save her people, but Zelie is only just learning how to use it. Now so much could depend on her abilities. With unlikely support and a King determined to stop her at any cost this will be a race to the end – and what an explosive finish to the first book in this trilogy! Extraordinary world-building and compelling storytelling, this is epic fantasy at its very best.

 

 

 

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
Carolyn Mackler
RRP $14.99

We first read this 15 years ago, and adored the story of imperfect Virginia, with her perfect family, as she comes to recognize that things are not always as they seem. It’s a quirky coming-of-age story that is ultimately wonderfully empowering. Updated for a 2018 audience, with a sequel to follow, The Universe is Expanding and So Am I.

 

 

 

Munmun
Jesse Andrews
RRP $19.99

Though it has one of the most outlandish premises in all of young adult fiction, Jesse Andrews’ magical realist take on income inequality still manages to punch the heart with incredible force. Even if he’s punching on a tilt. Subversive, radical, melancholy and viciously funny, Munmun is urgent fiction.

 

 

 

 

Weight of a Thousand Feathers
Brian Conaghan
RRP $16.99

This stunning, incredibly emotional read, follows Bobby Seed, who has become the primary carer for his mother, whose body is degenerating due to MS, and his younger brother who doesn’t really understand what’s going on. As if life isn’t difficult enough when you’re sixteen and questioning your sexuality, but Bobby will be faced with probably the most difficult thing he’ll ever be asked to do. Beautiful moments of humour in this tender, gut-wrenching story. Have the tissues ready.

 

 

 

 

READ THESE BEFORE…

 

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
Mackenzi Lee
RRP $29.99

A humorous and addictive adventure through continental Europe, where everything that could go wrong, does. Compulsory reading so you can become just as excited as we are for the next book out later this year!

 

 

 

 

The Glittering Court
Richelle Mead
RRP $19.99

Compelling, thought-provoking and intriguing. Mead gives us a strong, feisty character in Adelaide, in this timely story. Read it and Midnight Jewel before the thrilling conclusion in The Emerald Sea, due this July 2018.

 

 

 

 

The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking Book 1
Patrick Ness
RRP $17.99

Hard to avoid hyperbole when you’re talking about the finest YA novel ever written. Uncompromising and morally uncomfortable sci-fi of the most terribly moving variety, prepare to ugly cry. Movie now please.

 

 

 

 

Laurinda
Alice Pung
RRP $19.99

The smartest ‘real world’ YA novel in town, a story about finding your feet and finding yourself. And Michelle Law is currently adapting this for a feature film!

 

 

 

 

 

Moby Dick
Herman Melville
RRP $12.99

Revisit or introduce yourself to this classic tale of revenge and madness. Read this before it is re-imagined – told in the perspective of the whale – by one of this generations best writers, two-time Carnegie winner Patrick Ness!

 

 

 

 

Mortal Engines
Philip Reeve
RRP $17.99

The hero’s a ponderous coward, the love interest is a disfigured murderer, they all live atop a roaming predator city on the hunt and everyone you like is going to die. We eagerly await the film. Watch trailer here.

 

 

 

 

Northern Lights: His Dark Materials Book 1
Philip Pullman
RRP $19.99

Two children on a mission to euthanise God travel between universes and try to stop sexuality and spirituality from leaking out of the universe. Or something? We’re long overdue for a reread and so are you. TV adaptation coming soon!

 

 

 

 

Strange the Dreamer
Laini Taylor
RRP $16.99

A dark and dreamy romantic fantasy that will be one of the most vivid, beautiful love stories you will ever read. Sequel Muse of Nightmares is out in October 2018!

 

 

 

 

 

The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas
RRP $17.99

A girl witnesses her best friend shot and killed by a police officer. He was unarmed. This starts one of the most powerful books of 2017, required reading for adults and teens alike. The upcoming film will be one to watch out for!

 

 

 

 

Warcross
Marie Lu
RRP $24.99

Your hangover from Ready Player One is cured with this cross-continental sci-fi epic set in the world of virtual reality gaming.  Second book Wildcard is out in September 2018!

 

 

 

 

 

* Not in conjunction with any other offer. Discount valid in store and online and includes Chinese and Japanese titles. Ends 31 July 2018.