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sam_hartwig's review
5.0
Exceptional collection of short stories. The best of the best of Australian Young Adult literature.
ksophialydia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
christineponkey's review against another edition
3.0
The short stories were kind of a hit or miss with me - I enjoyed some more than others. Nevertheless, it's nice to see a collection and celebration of stories from Australian YA authors.
laurenkara's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH??????
Quick rundown of ratings:
One Small Step by Aime Kaufman - ★★★★★ - F/F romance on Mars? YES PLEASE.
I Can See the Ending by Will Kostakis - ★★★★★ - EVERYTHING WILL WRITES IS AN AUTOMATIC FAVOURITE. THIS MADE MY HEART HURT IN THE BEST WAY.
In a Heartbeat by Alice Pung - ★★ - I appreciated the sentiment of this. Teen pregnancy is definitely something that deserves better rep, but there was SO MUCH GIRL HATE AND RACISM? NO THANK YOU.
First Casualty by Michael Pryor - ★★★ - Kinda interesting. Kinda dry. Super spacey with interesting political themes.
Sundays by Melissa Keil - ★★★ - Characters were kinda annoying, but redeemed themselves and have really stuck with me. I LOVED the writing style.
Missing Persons by Elie Marney - ★★★★ - I GOTTA READ THE EVERY BREATH SERIES ASAP IF THIS IS ANYTHING TO GO BY.
Oona Underground by Lili Wilkinson - ★★★★★ - HOLY CRAP I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. IT WAS SO STRANGE AND THERE WAS AN UNDERGROUND DRAIN WITCH WHO TOLD YOUR FUTURE. F/F ROMANCE THAT MADE MY DEAD HEART BEAT.
The Feeling from Over Here by Gabrielle Tozer - ★★★★ - MC was biracial. This bought up a lot of feelings I wanted to forget about school ??? Loved the concept of the bus trip. Loved that the ending was realistic.
Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory by Danielle Binks - ★★★★ - Deaf character. Might have cried a little. Really related to the themes of wanting to get out of the town your living in. The ending made this go from a 3 to a 4.
Competition Entry #349 by Jaclyn Moriarty - ★★★★ - THIS WAS WEIRD AS HELL? BUT I REALLY LIKED IT! Definitely one of the more unique time travelling stories I've read.
YOU ALL GOTTA READ THIS BECAUSE AUSTRALIAN YA IS EVERYTHING ?????? AND IT DESERVES MORE LOVE AND RECOGNITION. GO GO GO GOOOO!!!!!
Quick rundown of ratings:
One Small Step by Aime Kaufman - ★★★★★ - F/F romance on Mars? YES PLEASE.
I Can See the Ending by Will Kostakis - ★★★★★ - EVERYTHING WILL WRITES IS AN AUTOMATIC FAVOURITE. THIS MADE MY HEART HURT IN THE BEST WAY.
In a Heartbeat by Alice Pung - ★★ - I appreciated the sentiment of this. Teen pregnancy is definitely something that deserves better rep, but there was SO MUCH GIRL HATE AND RACISM? NO THANK YOU.
First Casualty by Michael Pryor - ★★★ - Kinda interesting. Kinda dry. Super spacey with interesting political themes.
Sundays by Melissa Keil - ★★★ - Characters were kinda annoying, but redeemed themselves and have really stuck with me. I LOVED the writing style.
Missing Persons by Elie Marney - ★★★★ - I GOTTA READ THE EVERY BREATH SERIES ASAP IF THIS IS ANYTHING TO GO BY.
Oona Underground by Lili Wilkinson - ★★★★★ - HOLY CRAP I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. IT WAS SO STRANGE AND THERE WAS AN UNDERGROUND DRAIN WITCH WHO TOLD YOUR FUTURE. F/F ROMANCE THAT MADE MY DEAD HEART BEAT.
The Feeling from Over Here by Gabrielle Tozer - ★★★★ - MC was biracial. This bought up a lot of feelings I wanted to forget about school ??? Loved the concept of the bus trip. Loved that the ending was realistic.
Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory by Danielle Binks - ★★★★ - Deaf character. Might have cried a little. Really related to the themes of wanting to get out of the town your living in. The ending made this go from a 3 to a 4.
Competition Entry #349 by Jaclyn Moriarty - ★★★★ - THIS WAS WEIRD AS HELL? BUT I REALLY LIKED IT! Definitely one of the more unique time travelling stories I've read.
YOU ALL GOTTA READ THIS BECAUSE AUSTRALIAN YA IS EVERYTHING ?????? AND IT DESERVES MORE LOVE AND RECOGNITION. GO GO GO GOOOO!!!!!
kalliste's review
4.0
This was a great introduction to some Australian YA authors I hadn't read before. For the most part I enjoyed the stories, with only one or two I didn't particularly like.
I'd have liked it more if they were all set in Australia.
I'd have liked it more if they were all set in Australia.
rollforlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Short story collections are always a mixed bag. This was a good mix. Several excellent, all interesting.
missbookiverse's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
All in all this was cute and pretty much what I expected from the title and the feel-good cover design. I did not expect it to contain SciFi stories (Amie Kaufman, Michael Pryor) though – I liked both of these the least (just not my jam), but I did enjoy the speculative fiction ones (Will Kostakis, Jaclyn Moriarty). I enjoy reading stories from Australian authors because they often feel fresher and more down-to-earth than their US-American equivalents. Also, the inclusion of diversity feels more natural (lots of diversity in this collection, concerning sexuality, ethnicity, disabilities).
My favorite stories include:
*In A Heartbeat by Alice Pung (how mothers deal with teenage pregnancies)
*Sundays by Melissa Keil (when school ends and everything changes and everybody leaves but you)
*Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory by Danielle Binks (also about people leaving but with great deafness representation)
All in all this was cute and pretty much what I expected from the title and the feel-good cover design. I did not expect it to contain SciFi stories (Amie Kaufman, Michael Pryor) though – I liked both of these the least (just not my jam), but I did enjoy the speculative fiction ones (Will Kostakis, Jaclyn Moriarty). I enjoy reading stories from Australian authors because they often feel fresher and more down-to-earth than their US-American equivalents. Also, the inclusion of diversity feels more natural (lots of diversity in this collection, concerning sexuality, ethnicity, disabilities).
My favorite stories include:
*In A Heartbeat by Alice Pung (how mothers deal with teenage pregnancies)
*Sundays by Melissa Keil (when school ends and everything changes and everybody leaves but you)
*Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory by Danielle Binks (also about people leaving but with great deafness representation)
esshgee's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful collection of short stories by Australian YA writers - and I enjoyed ALL of them (which is odd, as usually there's one or two in a collection that I find uninteresting). My favourite would have to be I Can See the Ending by Will Kostakis, followed closely by both Competition Entry #349 by Jaclyn Moriarty and First Casualty by Michael Pryor. Glad I finally got around to reading this :)
jessiehulk98's review against another edition
5.0
Great selection of short stories.
I loved them all, even though some of them were a drag.
My favourite is definitely Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory by Danielle Binks. It's just... There's no words to describe that one!
I loved them all, even though some of them were a drag.
My favourite is definitely Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory by Danielle Binks. It's just... There's no words to describe that one!
pantsreads's review
4.0
Really great collection of Australian YA from authors I now want to read more from.
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.