Dystopian futures, weird science, war. It’s all here. Be challenged, engaged and entertained with three uncompromising writers for young adults – Gemma Malley, Caroline Green and Phil Earle.

The three writers talk about why we love the dark side of life – at least in our stories. What would happen if everything was really awful? It seems to be our favourite topic. And some really awful stuff happens in all these books… 

Gemma Malley’s dystopian trilogy began with the much praised The Killables and is followed by The Disappeared. Citizens of The City are graded according to how ‘Pure’ they are. Those labelled ‘K’ are deemed the most deviant and are never seen again… What happens to them, and what is happening beyond the perimeter of The City?

Caroline Green’s futuristic thriller, Cracks, was published to rave reviews. It has a very likeable protagonist whose whole past is beginning to look like fiction. Could he really be the subject of a weird scientific experiment? If he can’t even believe his own memories, what can he trust?

Phil Earle’s background working with troubled teens informed his novels Being Billy and Saving Daisy – stories of young people trying to cope with big problems in their lives which touched a chord with many readers. Heroic is also a tale of troubled lives, but this time it is the lives of young soldiers fighting in Afghanistan that take centre stage, and the difficulties a family has to cope with when a much loved brother comes home a very different person to the one who left.

13+ years