Kids' Book Review: #LoveOzYA September Update with Cath Crowley

To support the #LoveOzYA initiative, each month Kids' Book Review will ask an Australian YA author to share their favourite Australian young adult titles - what they are reading, what they've read and what books are on their TBR pile. We'll also include a list of Australian author YA new releases for the month. Our guest author for September is Cath Crowley, author of the Gracie Faltrain series, Graffiti Moon and the newly released Words in Deep Blue.

What are you currently reading?
I’m a huge re-reader. If I love a book I visit it over and over. I’m currently re-reading The Astrologer’s Daughter by Rebecca Lim, and reading We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.

What are your recent OzYA favourites?
I loved Emily Gale’s The Other Side of Summer and Kirsty Eager’s Summer Skin. I’ve just finished reading Osamah Sami’s Good Muslim Boy, which is hilarious and sad and a brilliant read. Loved too Randa-Abdel Fattah’s When Michael Met Mina and Fiona Wood’s Cloudwish (huge fan of Wildlife and Six Impossible Things).

What 5 OzYA titles are currently in your TBR pile?
The Boundless Sublime by Lili Wilkinson
Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland
Any book that Rebecca Lim writes next
The Pause by John Larkin
The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn

What advice would you give to aspiring YA authors?
My advice would be to read widely – read YA and books for other age groups. Feed your writing –art, the written and spoken word, films, friends, new people and places – curiosity is essential. Be aware of the market, but don’t be limited by it. The books that have stayed with me have broken boundaries of some kind. Finish it – finish the book you’re working on. When it gets hard, when it feels impossible, keep going. We need storytellers.

Can you tell us a little bit about your current writing project?I'm writing a book with Fiona Wood and Simmone Howell about three characters – Ady, Clem and Kate. I’ve learnt a lot about the craft of writing through Fiona and Simmone, about the importance of dreaming and structure. And it’s the most fun I’ve had writing in a long time.

Visit Cath Crowley's website for more information about her books and author events.

September YA New Releases