Every YA novel by an Asian Australian author coming out in 2024
Fantasy, family, romance and princesses
I’m so excited by this year’s line up of Australian young adult novels coming soon and I’m thrilled to see some particularly exciting titles by Asian Australian authors on the list!
Last year there were five novels and I’ve got four again this year (maybe five?). I want even more than that from Australian publishing – but in the meantime, here are the four titles from traditional publishers I’m looking forward to reading this year.
I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang
Release date: 5 March 2024
Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a ‘pleasure to have in class.’ It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She'd never send them of course - she'd rather die than hurt anyone's feelings - but it's a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie's work.
All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating co-captain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. Sadie doesn't have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them… that is, until they're accidentally sent out.
Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It's her worst nightmare - now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they're not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there's one person growing to appreciate the ‘real’ Sadie - Julius, the only boy she's sworn to hate…
As a big fan of Ann Liang’s If You Could See the Sun and This Time it’s Real, I am so excited to read her next young adult romance novel! She’s the queen of overachiever protagonists and creating nail-biting tension between her romantic leads. I can’t wait to meet Sadie and read what’s certain to be another enticing pageturner.
Katie Goes to KL by Su-May Tan
Release date: 12 March 2024
Sixteen-year-old Katie Chen lives in the unremarkable suburb of Narre Warren in Australia with her somewhat reclusive Malaysian father. Coming to Australia when she was five and losing her mother at seven, she has always struggled with issues of identity. Things quickly change when she goes back to Malaysia for her grandmother's funeral and discovers that her mother – long-thought dead – is alive.
Set in a fictionalised Kuala Lumpur (KL), Katie struggles to reconnect with her mother whom she discovers is Malay. Navigating KL's underground music scene and the underlying tensions of a country she doesn't understand, how far is Katie willing to go to find a place to belong?
Su-May Tan has previously published the short story collection Lake Malibu and Other Stories (shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards) but Katie Goes to KL is her YA debut and I can’t wait to read it! I’m so intrigued by the idea of a fictionalised KL and the dramatic hook of finding out that your mother is still alive.
The Girl with No Reflection by Keshe Chow
Release date: 6 August 2024 (US)
Princess Ying Yue believed in love… once upon a time. Yet when she’s chosen to wed the crown prince, Ying’s dreams of a fairy tale marriage quickly fall apart. Her husband-to-be is cold and indifferent, confining Ying to her room for reasons he won’t explain. Worse still are the rumours that swirl around the imperial palace: whispers of seven other royal brides who, after their own weddings, mysteriously disappeared.
Left alone with only her own reflection for company, Ying begins to see things. Strange things. Movements in the corners of her mirror. Colourful lights upon its surface. And when, on the eve of her wedding, she unwittingly tears open a gateway, she is pulled into a mirror world.
This realm is full of sentient reflections, including the enigmatic Mirror Prince. Unlike his real-world counterpart, the Mirror Prince is kind and compassionate, and before long Ying falls in love—the kind of love she always dreamed of.
But there is darkness in this new world, too. It turns out the two worlds have a long and blood-soaked history, and Ying has a part to play in the future of them both. And the brides who came before Ying? By the time they discovered what their role was, it was already too late.
The Girl with No Reflection won the Victorian Premier’s Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript in 2022 and I’m thrilled that it’s finally about to hit the shelves! The fantastical mirror world sounds so fascinating and I’m so intrigued by the mystery of the seven brides.
Serpent Sea (Spice Road #2) by Maiya Ibrahim
Release date: 17 September 2024
In this romantic, action-packed fantasy set in an Arabian- and Southwest Asian-inspired land, Imani and Taha must save their home from an invasion after the magical enchantment that hid them from the world is defeated.
Imani is a magic-wielding warrior sworn to protect her land from the monsters that roam the desert. But an even worse enemy now threatens the Sahir. As the powerful Harrowlanders march south with their greatest weapon—spice magic—Imani knows it’s only a matter of time before their invasion of her land begins… and it will be a losing battle for her people.
One wrong move could cost them their lives—and everyone they love. But they may find there is more than meets the eye crossing the Serpent Sea… and betrayal cuts deeper than any dagger.
I immediately added Spice Road, the first book in this series, to my TBR upon finding out about this book! It sounds like a brilliant blend of multiple genres – action, fantasy, romance – and as the eagerly anticipated follow up to a Sunday Times bestseller, I’m sure the sequel will splash across bookstores later this year.
Keeping an eye out…
It feels like it’s getting harder to specifically find upcoming YA novels written by Asian Australian authors so I’ll keep looking throughout the year and update this list if I find any others.
The third and final novel in the Monsters trilogy by Vanessa Len is scheduled for a 2024 release according to Goodreads. But there’s been no official information released yet so I’ll be keeping my beady eyes out for that one. I’m dying to know the ending to Joan’s story!