Are your teenagers after some great reading to get the new year started? We’ve enlisted the expertise of the fine folk at the Centre for Youth Literature in Melbourne to bring you a list of top ten reads to kick off 2015. Feast your eyes on these…

1. Every series – Ellie Marney 
Every Breath / Every Word / Every Move

A thrilling, modern adaptation of the world of Sherlock Holmes. It has all the crime you need, with a dash of the romance you want. If you haven’t yet started the series, now is the perfect time – the third book is due for release in March 2015

2. The Summer of Kicks – Dave Hackett

A warm, contemporary story of a dorky boy’s attempts to woo the popular girl by starting a band. A read that will have you laughing out loud.

3. Nona & Me – Clare Atkins

All the trials of high school, with added layers of rural hardships and racial tension. When Rosie’s childhood best friend returns after six years away she has to confront the divisions between her family ties and her current friendship group.

4. The Colours of Madeleine series – Jaclyn Moriarty
A Corner of White / The Cracks in the Kingdom / A Tangle of Gold

A gorgeous fantasy series about parallel worlds and the colours that bridge them. A Tangle of Gold is due for release in late 2015.

5. The Protected – Claire Zorn

An intimate story about grief, family, and high school bullying. Hannah is one of those characters that sticks with you, but be warned – this book is a heart-wringer.

6. There Will Be Lies – Nick Lake

After Shelby is hit by a car, everything she knew about her life begins to unravel. There’s a rise of psychological thrillers in the young adult market and There Will Be Lies is the next plot-twists-aplenty getting people talking.

7. All the Bright Places – Jennifer Niven

The trend of gritty contemporary stories continues in 2015. In All the Bright Places Finch and Violet have very different lives, but are brought together through their experiences of mental illness. Serious issues of grief and suicide are handled tenderly, and with beauty.

8. Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean – Kirsty Murray, Payal Dhar and Anita Roy (eds) (February 2015)

This collection has something for everyone, including a playscript and six graphic stories for those who like to feast upon
more than just prose. What they all have in common is a thread of the surreal, and characters with strength.

9. The Flywheel – Erin Gough (February 2015)

The Flywheel is – first and foremost – a great, contemporary book. Delilah is struggling to keep her Dad’s café in business
while he travels overseas, and to keep her friend Charlie out of trouble. It’s also an LGBTQI book that isn’t a coming-out story –
a reflection of the growing demand for more diverse stories.

10. Lockwood & Co series – Jonathon Stroud 
The Screaming Staircase / The Whispering Skull / The
Hollow Boy

If you like your mystery with chills you can’t go past Lockwood & Co – where London is overrun with ghosts and young people are the only ones able to see them. This is not a cuddly take on the paranormal – prepare to leave some lights on. The Whispering Skull has not been on the shelves for long, and The Hollow Boy is due out late 2015.

Image: Pixabay