Thursday, July 13, 2017

Yellow by Megan Jacobson

Paperback library copy. I think I need one!
From the publisher:
Kirra and the ghost make a pact. She'll prove who murdered him almost twenty years ago if he makes her popular, gets her parents back together, and promises not to haunt her. But things aren't so simple, and Kirra realises that people can be haunted in more ways than one.

There's a reason this book has been shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year Award.


Up front - I absolutely adored this book. It was sitting on the school library's 'you need to read this' table, which I like to clean out before each holidays, since so few of the students seem to do the same. I started reading the paperback last night, but then when I realised I had heaps to do today, I downloaded the audiobook version so I could listen while doing all the boring crap around the house that needed to be done.

Yellow is a book I wish I had written. The setting was very familiar for me - the 90s time period took me back to my own teenage years, and the far north coast of NSW was where I spent last week! In saying that, it didn't feel dated. It was purely the lack of phones and computers that made me realise that it wasn't entirely 'contemporary'. Additionally, the setting is Australian without being over-the-top 'I'm a country bogan look at my sheep, I'm in love with a cowboy'. The characters are recognisable without being stereotypical, and the situations Kirra finds herself in, strangely, nostalgically, relatable.

The supernatural elements weren't over the top, and were almost an aside, which I really liked. About 8 pages in, I did have an 'uh-oh, I think I'm going to hate this and need to put it aside' moment with an incident involving an animal, but thankfully it was just that, a small incident that didn't have too big an impact on the rest of the story.

Without even meaning to, this book satisfies this week's theme of High School for the #LoveOzYABloggers event!

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#LoveOzYABloggers is hosted by #LoveOzYA, a community led organisation dedicated to promoting Australian young adult literature. Keep up to date with all new Aussie YA releases with their monthly newsletter, or find out what’s happening with News and Events, or submit your own!

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