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.

When Apple’s mother returns after eleven years away, Apple feels whole again. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother’s homecoming is bittersweet. It’s only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are.

A story about sad endings.
A story about happy beginnings.
A story to make you realise who is special.

Hardcover, 330 pages

Published 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing (first published August 14th 2014)

Apple has always felt that her grandmother is strict and difficult to live with. So when her free-wheeling, relaxed mother shows up out of the blue and offers Apple to come live with her, Apple is quick to accept. But Apple’s mother has a surprise of her own, and what Apple thought would be a bonding experience with her mother becomes something much more. She encounters a woman who was never ready to be a mother, a brand new love, and she has to grow up fast.

Apple learns what is important to her through the mistakes that she makes and the new friendships she finds. Apple and Rain is a coming to age story, mixed with discovering the harsh realizations of life. It’s a heart-warming story of family and friendship, and of finding both in unexpected people and surprising ways.

The story is great for younger teens and reminded me a bit of Judy Blume’s work. What I enjoyed most about the story was Apple’s developing compassion for others and how she begins to see the bigger picture. I recommend this book to young girls who enjoy reading about social and family situations. I liked this story, and the endearing way the family finds to re-connect in hard times.

Christopher Glabb

Even though he’s only 15, Chris has not only run 2 blogs, but also creates videos on YouTube, at www.youtube.com/ChristopherGlabb.He currently blogs at www.teenonscene.com.

The only things he loves more than creating online content are cats, and coffee.

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How long have you been writing for MDPWeb, why did you join the group, and what do you like about being part of it?

I think I’ve been working with Marianne for about a year now. I joined because they were in need of a proper Fashion Blogger. What I love about the amazing group is the close knit relationship between all of us!

What creative piece are you working on, and what author would you liken your work too?

Recently, I’ve been focusing on a lot of video content on YouTube. Other than videos, I’ve been branching out my writing to more genres of writing, including an teen advice column.

What book have you most enjoyed reviewing for MDPWeb?

I don’t do a lot of book reviewing, but I have reviewed one book, and it was an amazing book about the incredible fashion in Shanghai.

What’s your favourite thing to do in your downtime?

When I have extra time, I enjoy playing with cats, and creating online  all kinds of content.

Is there somewhere else online/in bookstores we can find your work?

If you want to see my writing, you can visit my blog, www.teenonscene.com. If you’re more into video content, you can find me at www.youtube.com/ChristopherGlabb

What’s your favourite TV series?

I adore the show Americas Next Top Model because I’ve really developed a liking for Tyra Banks!

Who or what is your current crush?

Currently, I have a huge fashion crush on septum piercings. I don’t know why, but I think they’re so in right now.

Bel and Joelene discuss Hachette’s forthcoming YA books, which they heard all about at the Holly Black event in Sydney.

All of her life, Becca’s grandmother, Gemma, has told her the tale of Briar Rose. But this tale is not like the original. In Gemma’s tale only Briar Rose awakens from her hundred years of enchanted sleep.

As Gemma ages, she becomes convinced that she is the princess in that magical fairy tale. Before she dies she asks Becca to promise that she will find the truth behind her story. Without even knowing her grandmother’s real name, that promise is going to be almost impossible to keep. It is a vow that will take Becca far from home in search of castles, princes, and something much darker.

There’s something about fairy tales that draws people to them – and when fairy tales are re-imagined in modern skins, they become even more compelling; a classical story that everyone knows, but with more complex emotions and a possible twist. In Briar Rose, Yolen puts the traditional fairy tale grimness back into the story. Rather than the story serving as a vague morality tale, Yolen links it to the Holocaust to devastating effect.

The way the characters are portrayed when confronted with dire circumstances is at the emotional heart of this novel. There were heroes during the Holocaust but most of the people involved were just trying to survive to the best of their, often limited, ability. Yolen shows this: the men and women who took last stands – not because they thought that they could make a difference but to do something other than starve or freeze; the people who thought that war couldn’t affect them before they were proved wrong and dragged into the violence they had tried to ignore.

Despite the fact that this book is over twenty years old, there is so much in it that is ahead of its time. It’s centred on the relationship between two women, with Becca taking up a quest that her grandmother could not. The novel doesn’t boil the Holocaust down to being a tragedy that only affected Jews either. The other groups that were prosecuted are present.

While Gemma’s story – and the stories of those around her are captivating, Becca’s tends to drag. Her safe existence can’t compare with Gemma’s perilous one. Becca is needed as a framing device to the story, but I rushed through most of the scenes set in the present day.

The thing I love most about retold fairy tales is that – if done well – all of the emotional complexity that is missing from the original is worked into the retelling. In Briar Rose, the emotional impact is shattering. It’s the kind of fairy tale that needs to be told: one with history, depth and compassion. One that was an unfortunate reality for far too many people.

Briar Rose – Jane Yolen

Tor (1992)

ISBN: 9780765342300