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
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
What I’ve enjoyed with my Book Bingo cards of late is reading whatever books through the year and come December seeing what I can put into my card, then trying to find something to read to fill in the final few boxes if there are any left. I think this time a few choices could be a bit stronger, and of course, one year this will backfire miserably, but for now we’re safe.
Frankie Vega is angry. Just ask the guy whose nose she broke. Or the cop investigating the burglary she witnessed, or her cheating ex-boyfriend or her aunt who’s tired of giving second chances…When a kid shows up claiming to be Frankie’s half brother, it opens the door to a past she doesn’t want to remember. And when that kid goes missing, the only person willing to help is a boy with stupidly blue eyes … and secrets of his own. Frankie’s search for the truth might change her life, or cost her everything. 
