readers advisory for all discussion

so, i have been seething jealously over all you people with your aussie connections, and i meant to make a list of all the books you have been reading that i want to try to get ahold of, but it got away from me. i figure this is as good a place as any to start compiling. so my request is a list of the (totally subjective) "best" contemporary aussie YA fiction. i have read almost all of the marchetta, and i know about the john marsden, but that's about it. tell me what's good, a little bit about why it's good, and maybe where i can get it all while i am here trapped in the USA...

^ Hear, hear, Aussies! (Still coming down off Jellicoe Road withdrawal...)

Flannery needs to get over here! She has connections and has read tons.

I have an "Aussie YA is the Cat's Meow" shelf that is filled with this stuff. Almost always, the reason why these books are so good is because they are less cheesy, involve realistic situations without the gloss-over, there usually aren't love triangles, they don't need any paranormal stuff going on, and the writing is descriptive and emotional.

Here are the ones you want:
Raw Blue - distinctively Aussie feel. About one college-aged girl who left her family and is living seaside and working at a restaurant as she tries to deal with a trauma.
Graffiti Moon (the US version is on Netgalley now) - A teenage girl is obsessed with a graffiti artist around town. She and her friends hang out with a group of guys they know from school on the last night of high school. One of them, of course, is both a boy whose nose she once broke AND the graffiti artist whose work she loves. There are several funny moments because they spend part of the evening going to all the different artwork sites and she has no clue that she is with the artist.
A Little Wanting Song - The grass is always greener.
Good Oil - Girl falls for older boy she works with at Woolworth's.
Fury - This opens with a teenager charged with murder and goes back in time to explain how she ended up there. Darker humor.
Six Impossible Things - I haven't read this one yet but it gets rave reviews from friends.
Pink - This one is fun. It's about a girl starting at a new school to reinvent herself. It deals with all sorts of issues but sexuality is one of the main issues.
Beatle Meets Destiny - I haven't read this one yet either but I will soon.

That's just a few. The ones that are available in the US are: Beatle, Wanting Song, Pink, and Graffiti Moon will be coming out soon.

Other ones that I haven't read yet that are getting great reviews:
Saltwater Vampires
Burn Bright
All I Ever Wanted
Blood Song
This is Shyness
The Midnight Zoo

My Aussie friends Nic and Nomes have shelves for Aussie YA:
Nomes' shelf
Nic's Shelf (230+ books)

On their profiles, they have links to their blogs with more info. I know that Nic and a few other bloggers are running a contest this week for both of Kirsty Eagar's books that is open internationally. (her books are Raw Blue and Saltwater Vampires)

Also, Missie over at The Unread Reader has been running Aussie YA book tours for people that review and blog. I think it is between the first bout and second at the moment, though.

I bought a few unobtainable e-books from several Aussie booksellers but I'm not sure if they closed that loophole.

I'm glad you posted this topic, Karen. I will be interested in checking out all of the responses myself. I've read a few Aussie YA books recently as part of the Aussie Author Challenge. Of course Marchetta is my favorite YA author (I prefer her contemporary novels), but I've read a few others as well. I definitely recommend Tomorrow, When the War began by John Marsden if you like YA adventure/invasion type novels. I need to read the entire Tomorrow series but I'm having problems finding a couple of the books.

I've gotten all of the books below at my local library, but I've seen most on Amazon as well. I'm planning a trip to Australia next year and will be picking up as many books as I can! I really want to get The Happiest Refugee and an elusive book on Rugby League.

Below are the Aussie YA books I've read. I just finished Jasper Jones and I really liked it. It's the story of an intelligent, well-read boy who gets involved in something sinister that he doesn't know how to handle. The subject matter is quite dark at times, but there are quite a few lighthearted moments between the kid and his best friend. The conversations between the two are humorous and very real. I also really enjoyed Getting the Girl. It's the third in a series about two brothers who are also best friends. I haven't actually read the first in the series as it wasn't available at the time. Both books were pretty good, but I liked the Getting the Girl as it focused on the thoughtful yet awkward and lonely younger brother. I wasn't sure whether or not to categorize Breath as a young adult novel. It is a coming of age story, but it's also dark with very adult themes. Another Marsden novel is Letters from the Inside. I didn't know anything about it when I read it and at first I was disappointed to find that it was written in the form of letters between pen pals. There ends up being a lot more to the story than I first expected.

Here is the link to my Aussie YA bookshelf:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

Has Beautiful Malice been mentioned yet? Pretty catchy story.

zuzak is australian?? i didn't even know! i have read the first 2 or three of the marsden and i love them. i managed to get all of them, but i am hoarding them a little bit, even though i know there is a series that branches off of them, so once i finish these it isn't exactly over. this list is fantastic so far!!

wait, where is the place you 'mericans buy your aussie YA?? i tried to have someone get me a book, and it failed.....

I think there's an Underground Aussie YA Network.

Recently, the hot spot to buy them from is Fishpond World. It is really reasonable considering it is free shipping. You can get Melina Marchetta's new book Froi of the Exiles for $21!

(but Eh is right that lots of us are just swapping copies with GR friends of hard to get books)

when i clicked on the link, it did not work....
i will try from home...

It works now, I fixed it.

yayyyy!!! love love love love love

I've never read books by her because they are never available in my library when i go (sigh) but I've heard that everything by Melina Marchetta is amazing!