LoveOzYA committee member, Jess Walton, shares great non-fiction reads.

The LoveOzYA committee are a group of people who promote fantastic Australian YA and the events taking place across our country. We asked them to step away from their amazing website for a second to share their favourite YA titles.

Yassmin’s Story by Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Yassmin is such a great role model for teenagers. She’s a mechanical engineer, writer, public speaker and advocate for youth, women and Muslims in Australia. She speaks fearlessly about important issues, and this book will help teens do the same.

Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford

Clementine Ford is another fearless speaker and excellent role model for teens who want to fight injustice and change the world. Fight Like a Girl is a great introduction to feminism for young people. I’d love to see teens of all genders getting into it and learning about things like sexism and consent.

The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke

A lot of teenagers will be reading Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke at school this year, but I’d also love to see them reading The Hate Race, a memoir about growing up black in white, middle-class Australia. This is one of my favourite Australian books, and I think teenagers will find it powerful and enlightening.

Finding Nevo by Nevo Zisin

This wonderful memoir by a young non-binary Melbourne author is one that I’d love to see every teenager (and adult!) reading. It’s ultimately about finding yourself and being happy.  Young trans, non-binary and gender diverse people may find it particularly helpful to see themselves and some of their experiences represented in this story.

El Deafo by Cece Bell

I’m utterly devastated by the lack of Australian YA books by disabled authors, and the lack of YA books with disability rep. If I was doing a fiction list, Queens of Geek would be at the top of that list… but this is nonfiction! I’ve included this one book that is not Australian, because I think it’s an important nonfiction read. Cece Bell’s graphic novel memoir about growing up deaf is important, funny and beautiful. It’s often called middle grade, but I think it’s a perfect read for most teens too.

Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung

This is a beautiful memoir about growing up Chinese-Cambodian in Australia (specifically Footscray). I found it moving, funny and powerful. Alice Pung’s writing is absolutely beautiful, and I know a few teens who absolutely adore this book.