#LoveOzYA – Coastal

This fortnight’s #LoveOzYA theme is Coastal.

 

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Three Coastal Australian YA Books

Indigo Blue – Jessica Watson – Lothian Children’s Books – Published 11 January 2018

Alex feels like a fish out of water in her new hometown – the sleepy little lakeside village of Boreen Point where she is reluctantly sent to live with her slightly eccentric aunt for her final year of high school. As a distraction from what is quickly shaping up to be a very lonely year, Alex spends her savings on a rundown little yacht and throws herself into restoring it.

I haven’t read this book yet, but I have an ARC waiting for me, which is really exciting. Set on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, this book is sure to celebrate everything great about Coastal Aus.


One Would Think The Deep – Claire Zorn – University of Queensland Press – Published 13 June 2016

It’s 1997 and seventeen-year-old Sam is mourning the sudden loss of his mum …

With nothing but his skateboard and a few belongings in a garbage bag, Sam goes to live with the strangers his mum cut ties with seven years ago: Aunty Lorraine and his cousins Shane and Minty. Despite the suspicion and hostility emanating from their fibro shack, Sam reverts to his childhood habit of following Minty around and is soon surfing with Minty to cut through the static fuzz in his head.

This is another book on my to-read list. I loved Claire Zorn’s The Protected and One Would Think The Deep promises the same depth of emotion set against the surfing culture of Australia’s coast. In 2017, One Would Think The Deep won the CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers.


Summer series – C.J Duggan – Smashwords – Published 2012-2015

Enter a world of sweltering Aussie summers, fabulously addictive characters and sweet intoxicating romance in C.J Duggan’s SUMMER SERIES.

Okay, this one doesn’t technically fit this week’s Coastal theme. Firstly, the Summer series is NA rather than YA, but it’s fine for mature YA readers. It’s also not set on the Coast of Australia, rather a bit further inland, but a lot of the books include road trips, beach visits, trips to the lake, and everything that ‘coastal’ and ‘summer’ makes me think about.


Want more Coastal Oz YA? Check out more picks here.