Once again, there is an amazing array of titles selected for this year’s CBCA Notable List. Books in the YA category range from those from well established Australian authors – like Garth Nix, Neil Grant, Robert Newton and Vikki Wakefield, alongside newly found authors like Lisa Fuller.
[Lisa has already received the David Unaipon Award for an Unpublished Indigenous Writer for Ghost Bird.]
There is also a range of genres and settings on the shortlist, including lead characters dealing with:
- coming of age issues (It Sounded Better in My Head),
- cross-cultural family complications (The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling & The Honeyman and the Hunter),
- broken families (Promise Me Happy)
- coping with changing teen relationships (When the Ground is Hard) and challenging misfit roles (Aurora Rising)
With such a great selection of books, it is not only hard to contemplate what the shortlist will be, but also which ones to read first. It’s certainly a great collection to guide our YA readers! Some have already featured on other award longlists like the Indies and the ABIA awards for 2020.
BOOK OF THE YEAR: OLDER READERS: NOTABLES 2020
The Man in the Water by David Burton
Devil’s Ballast by Meg Caddy
*The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews
The Last Balfour by Cait Duggan
How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox
Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller
The Honeyman and the Hunter by Neil Grant
*Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
*It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood
Monuments by Will Kostakis
All That Impossible Space by Anna Morgan
*Promise Me Happy by Robert Newton
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
*When the Ground is Hard by Malla Nunn
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard
*This Is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield
Take the Shot by Susan White
Impossible Music by Sean Williams
*These books have been/are being reviewed here.
# The full 2020 CBCA Longlist for all categories is worth a look for ALL reading ages.