Disappointing parents, crossed wires and being misunderstood. Parents are a pain in the arse, aren’t they? Especially if they are famous and uninterested in you, yet expect you to show up when it’s convenient for them. Audrey can’t stand her mother - a totally infuriating ex-psychotherapist. She's touring the world this summer for her self-help book ‘Someday Daughter’, giving motivational speeches and leading meditation classes. Audrey has plans too, and it's not joining a book tour - it's a medical internship. But inevitably, Audrey goes, her mother sweetening the deal by hiring a celebrated doctor to introduce Audrey to various medical departments during their tour. That relationship turns out to be rather complicated. Her mother is also supporting three interns on the tour, one of whom keeps looking at Audrey with a degree of pity and pain that Audrey dislikes. Grappling with a long-distance relationship that’s falling apart and the absolute hell of being the media face of the ‘Someday Daughter’ the summer is fraught with difficulty. This is a book about #findingyourself #feelingtrapped #parents #Pressureaboutthefuture and #peoplepleasing

A slow burn love story wrapped in high school tension anxiety and hatred. Are you a people please? Being careful not to upset anyone the whole time? Meet Sadie, straight A student, school captain and overachiever. Her way of venting frustration is to write venomous draft emails about the selfish and annoying people in her life: classmates and teachers. But one day these emails are leaked, and Julius, her arch rival receives 42 of Sadie’s angry emails. Obviously, the whole school is talking about the bitchy backstabbing emails and Sadie is totally mortified. This is a book about the dangers of being a #peoplepleaser #overachieving and coping with #perfectionsism

Lou doesn’t fit in, her family is broken but she finds an unlikely friendship in a Paris train station. Lou has a dead sister, and a mother who has completely checked out.  She’s so smart she’s been bumped up 2 years but is a complete loner. Worst of all she has to give a presentation to her 16-year-old classmates and hates public speaking. She meets No, an 18-year-old homeless girl at the train station who becomes her friend, her confidant and her escape from loneliness. The friendship thing isn’t easy though, especially not when family becomes involved and No’s drinking problem surfaces. It’s young adult book about homelessness, #loneliness #grief, #depression and a a little about #addiction. It’s for you if you’ve ever thought of running away from home or you’re struggling to understand someone else’s grief. "Sometimes it seems as though something's lacking inside me, like there's a crossed wire, a part that's not working, a manufacturing error. Not, as you might think, something extra, but something missing."

Imogen is straight. Or is she? Dive into Imogen’s brain and see the inner workings of a great friend, wondering where she fits in the LGBTQ world. On visiting her best friend, Lillie, at college, Imogen must play a queer role to keep up with Lillie’s little lie. Suddenly, her world shifts as she experiences acceptance and has a sense of belonging that’s new to her. But is she just a people pleaser? Fitting in and going along with what other people want? Is her fascination with Tess just because she’s flirty and cool, or is it more? This book examines labels in the queer space and whether or not they are helpful if you’re going through a phase of questioning your identity. “It’s like there’s this idea that you have to earn your label through suffering. And then you have to prove it with who you date, how you dress, how other people perceive you.” A book for a #peoplepleaser or someone with questions about #sexualidentity

Deeply dark and disturbing witchcraft, demons and curses set in reality. Jude, Ema and Zara have all experienced grief. All are looking for answers and are prepared to do anything to get it. Jude’s leg is really causing her trouble. She smells of suffer and every night her and her demon battle it out for power. Zara’s sister was murdered almost a year ago and she’s running out of time to bring her back. Ema seeks revenge, stalking me in the dark. Connecting them are threads of loss, loneliness and witchcraft. These characters are weirdly relatable, given their strange circumstances. The writing is earthy, funny and in places rather terrifying. “The gift of fear was given to her by the women she grew up around: nannies, teachers, friends, lovers. From them all she learned to carry her keys between her fingers like knuckle-dusters.” This is a book about the vulnerability and strength of women in a man’s world and for you if you love the thrill of being terrified. A book for #escapism #grief #loneliness #isolation.

Based on the true circumstances of an imprisoned people in modern Australia - a tale of hope and a fight for freedom. Subhi was born behind the wire fence of an Australian permanent detention centre. He doesn’t know ‘free’, like his sister does. His imagination roams like a wind, collecting odd treasures in his dreams and he talks to a rubber duck like an invisible friend. One night, Jimmie appears. She’s on the outside, puzzled by the place she has found. She can’t read the stories of her mother left her, but Subhi can. “Jimmie wants to ask more. Wants to find out how they can help, so that no one has to sew their lips together. Wants to know why they have been locked up in there for so long. Why no one is listening.” Rebellion is coming. Lives are in danger and the pair have to be braver than they’ve ever had to be. A book about #displacement #racism and #rejection .

Terminally ill teenagers falling in love. Hazel is totally depressed and dying. She sits in the meeting for dying teenagers - in “the literal heart of Jesus” - listening to them talk about their illnesses, their parents and how generally crap life is for them right now but that they need to be grateful for the things they do have. She carries her oxygen tank to and from the meetings and the rest of the time she watches TV. It’s a relief when Gus walks in to one of those meetings, who’s funny and healthy and totally into her. Their conversations are witty as they fall helplessly and tragically in love surrounded by disease, disability and death. You will definitely cry and you will definitely chuckle, but you might not look at terminally ill people the same way again. “When you’re as charming and physically attractive as myself, it’s easy enough to win over people’s you meet. But getting strangers to love you…now, that’s the trick.” A #comingofage story about #cancer #disability #dealingwithdeath #heartbreak

Sisters with special powers uncover the secrets of the political and religious war they’ve been dragged into. Faron is powerful and celebrated, revered by her people and chosen by the gods. But on the inside she’s rebellious, selfish and feels trapped in a role she didn’t choose. Elara would do anything to protect her little sister, Faron, but she has a burning desire to prove herself every bit as useful to her country and every bit as worthy. Both sisters are traumatised by the war they fought and won when they were just twelve and thirteen years old. Now, five years later, their peacetime is under threat and their sisterly bound is put to the test. “Being forced to learn the language of your oppressors is an oppression of the mind.” This book contains some dragon riding, people being possessed and badly beaten. It’s for fantasy lovers and those wanting to explore #politics #warandconflict and #feelingtrapped

People are a mystery to Christopher, but he wants to be a detective. Christopher describes himself as “a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties.” His obsession with the truth leads him to investigate the death of a neighbourhood dog, but because of his Asperger’s, people’s behaviour and emotions can be just as confusing as the mystery he sets out to solve.  Some readers have said this is book negatively depicts autism, but I think a lot of Christopher’s traits are admirable (he loves the truth and he is seriously determined), and I loved being inside his head and seeing things the way he does. Of course, autism is a spectrum, so I didn’t take from this that his experience represents every autistic person. Since it’s written from Christopher’s perspective, you get a sense of how overstimulating and overwhelming unfamiliar places are to him, and it gives some insight into how some autistic people might try to decode behaviour. Plus, it’s really funny, down to the black and white way Christopher sees the world.  “I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.” This book is for exploring #autism #aspergers #neurodivergence

When the floor disappears from under your feet, how do you find your way?  Everything is changing for Claude: she’s about to graduate high school, her parents are splitting up and, because her dad ‘needs some space’, Claude is turfed out of the town she grew up in. Even worse, leaving Mary Grove means she has to leave her best friend Saz behind.  So, when Claude meets rough around the edges Jeremiah, her world is turned upside down all over again.  She also really, really wants to have sex, but it has to be with the right person.  For me, this book is about being okay, in the moment, even when things are uncertain. It’s about staying true to yourself and having faith that the people who mean the most will stay true to you, too.  And one final thing that’s not to be left out: this book does a good job normalising feelings around losing virginity for different types of sexuality.  “All I can think is how one minute the floor was there and now it’s not. How you could go through an entire day, every day, not thinking about the floor or the ground. because you just assume it will always be there. Until it isn’t.” This book is for #exploringsexuality #change #comingofage #friendship #parentsbreakingup