A. V. Mather Says: 2015 Hachette Roadshow - Forthcoming YA Fiction

I had the pleasure of attending the Hachette Roadshow last week, alongside fellow MDPWeb staffer, Joelene Pynnonen. The Roadshow is an annual event for those in the book trade and stops at major centres in Australia. It’s great fun and showcases the breadth of Hachette’s new and upcoming releases for Christmas and beyond.

It was easy to become giddy over the glittering array of food, bubbles, books and, yes, goodie bags. The mood was chatty and festive, the new releases tantalising, and the asparagus spears to die for!

For YA readers, there is much to look forward to in the coming months. Included in the gift bag was a copy of ‘Only Ever Yours’, by Louise O’Neill, a dark piece of hard-hitting fiction that has garnered international attention. It offers a view into a world in which girls are groomed to become ‘companions’ for the elite. Taught that their only value is in their perfection, the pressure becomes too much for two best friends. Everything starts to unravel in their final year of school, on the cusp of being chosen as brides, when the future is all that matters.

This one promises to be riveting and I can’t wait to read and review it.

Another to look out for is ‘The World According to Anna’, by Jostein Gaarder (of ‘Sophie’s World’ fame). Sixteen year old Anna starts having visions of a future time; a bleak world where she witnesses her own descendants sifting through the ashes that are left. She begins to believe that it is her destiny to change the future, or disaster will ensue.

Anyone who loved Lemony Snicket will want to catch ‘Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head’ by Lauren Oliver and HC Chester, for an overload of freaks, wonders and oddities. Fans of a good series can look forward to the VERY LAST EVER instalment of How to Train Your Dragon, ‘How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury’; the third in The Mapmaker Chronicles, ‘Breath of the Dragon’; and Book Two of Zarkora, ‘The Lost Kingdom’, by Nicholas and Alison Lochel.

I managed to exchange a few words with Nicholas and Alison, who were present on the night to promote their Zarkora series. The Brisbane-grown siblings have worked hard over the years as self-publishers, and it is wonderful to see it paying off so successfully. Stay tuned for an upcoming interview with the Lochels on burnbright.com, and for my own review of the first book of the series, ‘The Fyrelit Tragedy’.

The reading landscape is looking good for YA enthusiasts, thanks to the team at Hachette Australia. Make room on your bookshelves, folks, they’re all coming soon.