#LoveOzYABlogger: Series

#LoveOzYABloggers is a meme to fuel the conversation providing themed prompts that bloggers or anyone on social media can respond to fortnightly.
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 Series

Of course I have to endorse two series straight away, having used them in a #LoveOzYa previously for Fantasy and Feels, and unusually for me they’re both by male writers (since I usually read female writers):

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix.

You know, originally this was just a single novel, Sabriel, but then it was expanded into a trilogy comprising of Lirael and Abhorsen, which was actually supposed to be only one book but Lirael was getting long enough that Nix found a place to split it. Then he went a finally delivered in Clariel, which was a prequel we’d been promised for years, and then he returned to the modern timeline with Goldenhand, a direct sequel to Abhorsen.

Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden, whom I met at a signing, and whom said he liked my non de plume. This series is about a group of teenage friends who are drawn into playing guerillas in a war with an unspecified country (but hints are dropped in the books that they may be from an overpopulated Asian country, come to take over Australia for its land. They are also depicted in the film and TV series as Asian) and use their general farm, rural, and local knowledge to try to fuck things up as badly as possible. Originally only supposed to be a trilogy, the group are flown to New Zealand at the end of the third book, only to return as saboteurs in the next and stretching out to a seven book series with a trilogy called The Ellie Chronicles spinning off to narrate life after the war.

I’m also going to rate the Silver Brumby series by Elyne Mitchell here, since it was a book series I read growing up. It could probably be found in the Children’s section nowadays, depending how you qualify ‘Young Adult’, but it was written in 1958 before YA really had its own distinct place in the bookshop. The only downside to this series is that only the first book really concentrates on Thowra, the magnificent and legendary ‘silver’ brumby living in the NSW highlands. The other books concern his beautiful and wildly independent daughter Kunama, her son Baringa, and Thowra’s sons Lightning and Wirramirra. Thowra shows up as cameos in some of these novels, but he’ll always be my favourite brumby.

An Aussies YA series I really want to read is the Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta. I tried listening to the audiobook of the first novel, Finnikin of the Rock, but it was really heavy and I found my wandering concentration not a good match. I want to read a physical copy, but like everything, it’s going to have to wait until I have time.

What about you? What are your Aussie YA series recommendations? Have you read any of my recommendations, and what did you think of them? Comment below!

Nemo
Nemo

About Nemo

A lover of kittens and all things sparkly, Nemo has a degree in English Literature and specialises in reviewing contemporary, paranormal, mystery/thriller, historical, sci-fi and fantasy Young Adult fiction. She is especially drawn to novels about princesses, strong female friendships, magical powers, and assassins.

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