#AussieYAChallenge 2026

08 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

by Amy in Aussie YA Challenge Tags: , , , , , ,

The #AussieYAChallenge is a challenge created by Amy at Lost in a Good Book as an attempt to read more Australian young adult novels.

Doing a switcheroo for this month’s Long Lost Reviews because it seems my announcement for the 2026 #AussieYAChallenge has gotten out ahead of me so I’ll post my #LLR next week.

Entering its third year my #AussieYAChallenge is something I have grown to love more and more. I love finding new Australian young adult books and finally making the effort to read books I have had lovingly on my shelf for honestly, like 10+ years at this point and should probably have read long ago.

This challenge is open for anyone who wants to participate and you complete at your own pace throughout the year, or whenever you chose to start. There is no limit, no review requirements, just a chance to expand on your reading.

The #LoveOzYA is a strong brand and getting to focus some attention on it with my reading has brought me a lot of amazing stories. I hope if you follow this challenge, whether you participate or not, you will see the great variety and talent we have with our YA authors.

For the 2026 Challenge I am tapping that Nix level again, 12 books, 12 months. I hope to go beyond this year but I know if I set myself a higher number it’s only going to end badly. The excitement at exceeding (if it happens) is enough for now.

Keep an eye on my posts through the year as reviews for last year’s reads come through. I will also try and get some of this year’s reads up a bit sooner.

If you are interested in participating head to the #AussieYAChallenge page and see what’s involved.

Happy Reading!

#AussieYAChallenge 2025 Wrap Up

31 Dec 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in Aussie YA Challenge, Young Adult Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Over the course of the two years I have done challenge I have read 24 Aussie YA books. Which is a pretty good bump considering my #LoveOzYA reading had dropped off in recent years. I am still blaming the minimal amount of Aussie YA in audio, but I also have two bookcases choccas with Aussie titles I could pick up at any time so it’s not entirely the fault of the publishing industry.

I was worried I had maybe fallen by the wayside after my September update, but given the new titles on my final list I am pretty pleased with how I’ve ended up. Despite planning on reading 12 books a year I never actually planned the twelve. I was happy if it went over, I was picking stuff up willy nilly, not keeping track of numbers. It’s quite serendipitous that I landed on 12. I get to meet my Nix level reading goal without rushing to make up numbers at the eleventh hour which is a bonus.

Some of my absolute favourites were Impossible Music by Sean Williams and Because of You by Pip Harry. Both these stories took me into a world I knew about but not intimately and seeing the experiences of these characters was beautiful and heartbreaking, not to mention powerful. This is why I love Aussie YA, with such short stories we can really pack an emotional punch and make incredibly memorable stories.

Other choices were some I had been eying off at the library for months before finally picking them up. Tobias Madden knocking it out of the park with fun and interesting stories, and unexpected surprises with new author Clayton Zane Comber, not to mention Shivaun Plozza killing it once again.

Another reason I started this challenge wasn’t only to tick off a list, but to finally pick up the authors I’ve been wanting to read for years. It’s all well and good to say I want to read that, or it’s on my TBR list (700+ strong so what hope do I really have), but now I can actually follow through and share our great authors with everyone and maybe spread a bit of that #LoveOzYA love.

I am keen to see what new books I read next year, some old hopefully, some new definitely. The Aussie YA book world is filled with so many different stories and experiences it is a joy to pick up and fall into that unique Australian voice that makes our books so beloved.

If you participated alongside me I hope your challenge went as successful as you wanted and I hope you join me again with the challenge next year!

 

The final list:

All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield

 Tin Heart by Shivaun Plozza

 Because of You by Pip Harry

Wrong Answers Only by Tobias Madden

 100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze by Clayton Zane Comber

Take A Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden

Surface Tension by Meg McKinlay

Impossible Music by Sean Williams

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

Flip by Rebecca Fraser

The Day the Bridge Fell by Coral Vass

Here’s the Thing by Emily O’Beirne

#AussieYAChallenge Update 2

02 Sep 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in Aussie YA Challenge, Young Adult Tags: , , , , , , , ,

September snuck up on me in a weird way, but as I started writing this I was thinking thankfully my Aussie YA Challenge had been chugging along consistently; at least I felt like I’d been having a good run. Comparing my first update to my second I am not as pleased, but I am still pleased…I think. Two were July and one was an August read which is failing my one a month plan, but I have now read eight so I am technically on track. Given the hard task of finding Aussie YA in audio form, and how hard it is to find time to read a physical book it is a good addition at any rate. The problem is other, non Aussie, books are also around and they are shiny and intriguing and terribly distracting. How weird it is to say you’ve read 99 books but only 8 have been Aussie YA. That’s some kind of fail, right?

Once again I am boldly taking chances on books simply because they fill the challenge which is giving me some great reads that I have never heard of and may never have tired. It is also making me finally read books I’ve had on my TBR list for literal years which can’t be a bad thing.

I will endeavour to hit my goal by my final update and I am excited to see what other great stories I find.

Latest Additions:

Take A Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden

Surface Tension by Meg McKinlay

Impossible Music by Sean Williams

 

Take A Bow, Noah Mitchell was a nice story about online friends, the truth, and realising a few things about your family.

Surface Tension was a fascinating story that I find myself thinking of a lot. A town that gets intentionally flooded and the power of a single voice in righting wrongs of the past.

Impossible Music was fascinating in how the newly deaf learn to adjust and the impact it has on your dreams and identify.

 

The total list so far:

All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield

 Tin Heart by Shivaun Plozza

 Because of You by Pip Harry

Wrong Answers Only by Tobias Madden

 100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze by Clayton Zane Comber

Take A Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden

Surface Tension by Meg McKinlay

Impossible Music by Sean Williams

 

I hope your own Aussie YA Challenge goals are going well and you have discovered some amazing reads yourself. Feel free to shout out in the comments some you have read so far, or even those you are looking forward to reading. If you’re interested in signing up it’s not to late, head over to my info page and declare your goal on social media, your website, or in the comments of this years post.

#AussieYAChallenge Update

30 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in Aussie YA Challenge, Young Adult Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

My first update of the year was looking a tad woeful for a while but then I found a few Aussie YA on audio which bumped my numbers a little at the last minute. In the end I did three audio, one ebook, and one physical so that was exciting. The books I read were pretty awesome, all unique, and had that wonderful Australian feel to them.

I’d forgotten how convenient it can be to have an ebook too. It’s really no less convenient to have an audio except you don’t need to worry about headphones or being able to hear the narrator if you’re in a loud area. Granted the reading ones took a long time, but it really helped me savour the story, and I looked forward to coming back to the story when I had a chance to keep reading.

One fun thing about this challenge is it’s making me try any Aussie YA that I come across because it fits my criteria. Which may not be the best approach, and the book still has to sound ok, but I am taking chances on stuff because is a #LoveOzYA title or the author is Australian. I definitely found some beautiful reads this way so far.

The list so far:

All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield

 Tin Heart by Shivaun Plozza

 Because of You by Pip Harry

Wrong Answers Only by Tobias Madden

 100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze by Clayton Zane Comber

 

Because of You by Pip Henry was a gorgeous story of a young girl experiencing homelessness and the school girl who volunteers at a shelter she visits.

Tin Heart is an emotional story about a transplant recipient who wants to show her thanks but risks crossing a dangerous barrier of the no contact rule from her donor family.

All I Ever Wanted follows Mim who is living in the suburbs with a criminal family and a need to escape.

Wrong Answers Only was one I’d looked forward to for months and I’m glad it paid off. A story of taking chances and being brave, about expectations and the battles against your body, your mind, and letting go.

100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze had a great voice and was another story about being brave, taking chances, and discovering how small decisions can change your whole life.

Like all books not every one of these were perfect, amazing, or to my exact taste, but I am still glad I read them. I got to see these stories of characters in different situations and experiences. This is what I love about Australian YA, we have these big bold stories, often in very short compact books that are about the teenage experience but aren’t confined to the playground or classroom dynamics.

I already have a few titles in my TBR list and I certainly have a massive stack of physical books piled up at home so I look forward to seeing what the next update brings.

I hope your own Aussie YA Challenge goals are going well and you have discovered some amazing reads yourself. Feel free to shout out in the comments some you have read so far, or even those you are looking forward to reading. If you’re interested in signing up it’s not to late, head over to my info page and declare your goal on social media, your website, or in the comments of this years post.

Introducing the Aussie YA Challenge

01 Feb 2024 6 Comments

by Amy in Aussie YA Challenge Tags: , , ,

The Aussie YA Challenge is a challenge created by Amy at Lost in a Good Book as an attempt to read more Australian young adult novels.

As I was writing my goals for the year I got the idea in my head of creating a challenge to help me read (and hopefully review) more Aussie YA. I almost decided against it but the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea of challenging myself this way. I’m not a stranger to Australian YA, I simply find I never read as much of it as I’d like. There are so many fabulous books out there and it always seems to be such a small portion of my reading list each year, despite me buying or borrowing it constantly. I found doing other reading challenges has helped improve my reading habits until I was picking up certain books naturally and I am hoping this one will do the same thing.

Like my Book Bingo and the former Australian Women Writers Challenge, the #AussieYAChallenge is a reading challenge you complete at your own pace throughout the year, or whenever you chose to start. The challenge itself won’t have regularly monthly check ins, but rather you self-monitor your own challenge and share your thoughts using the #AussieYAChallenge hashtag so that everyone participating can enjoy them.

I have taken some guidance from the style of the AWW Challenge and made different levels to strive for. I always went way over the recommended amounts, but I am starting out small and even if I pick the highest tier and go well beyond that’s not a bad thing, but also I haven’t set myself up to fail. Also if people would like to take on the challenge I want to make it as welcoming as possible.

If you are interested in what’s involved and looking for places to start finding books check out the #AussieYAChallenge page and join up.

I will be aiming for the Nix level, which is 12 books. That means I only need to read one book a month, and having already read one this year I am right on track. I am hoping I will read more but I am trying not to be too ambitious.

I’d love to know if other people are doing this challenge with me, I’d also love any recommendations if you’ve recently read something amazing. I plan to have a few check in points through the year where I can see how well I have gone so feel free to share your achievements and pick up some new titles to devour.

I hope this challenge helps promote the great Aussie YA we have in this country and I will no doubt discover some real hidden gems on this journey.