Eileen Merriman has published three books for young adults, and one for adults in the past three years, including her March release A Trio of Sophies. Pamela Morrow has just published her first book for young adults, called Hello Strange. The books are completely different in content, but what they share is a respect for the emotions of teenagers. We asked them to discuss that aspect of each of their work for The Sapling. Eileen: Congratulations on the publication of your deb

Eileen Merriman has been a constant fixture in the Aotearoa YA scene since the 2017 release of her debut, Pieces of You. Each of her books has taken an unflinching approach towards teenage lives and their associated challenges and issues. This week, her latest book, A Trio of Sophies, has hit shelves, and here are the first few chapters to get you hooked. Day 64 Today is the first of September, the first day of spring, and it’s been sixty-four days since I last saw Sophie Abe

The Young Adult finalists in the NZCYA Awards encompass a variety of approaches to fantasy, a touch of dystopia, political intrigue and coming of age storytelling. The Young Adult category also happens to be one where the target demographic is full of some super talented writers. So we asked a couple of Toitoi Journal-ists – alumnae of the celebrated children's literary journal – to provide us with their reviews. Here's what Stella Weston and Tasmyn Kibblewhite shared with us

Sarah Forster reviews another fantastic YA book by Eileen Merriman, and a book by Philippa Werry telling a WW1 story from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl at home, working as a telegram delivery girl. Both books are well-written and highly recommended. Invisibly Breathing, by Eileen Merriman How on Earth is Eileen Merriman writing a book a year and making each one better than the previous one?! This tale of two troubled 16-year-olds finding in each other an oasis from e

How does an author not only get their book published, but get their book shortlisted for the Best First Book award? We asked each of this year's finalists how they went from unpublished amateur to finalist. Eileen Merriman, finalist for Pieces of You (Penguin Random House) Everyone always asks how I can possibly find time to write, but for me it’s a compulsion. I stopped writing when I went to university and didn’t start again until almost twenty years and several exams later

A moving novel about learning to find happiness in the face of uncertainty and discovering a love that transcends the boundary between life and death. Seventeen-year-old Alex Byrd is about to have the worst day of her life, and the best. A routine blood test that will reveal her leukaemia has returned, but she also meets Jamie Orange. Both teenagers have big dreams, but also big obstacles to overcome. 'Promise me you won't try to die,' I said. 'Ever.' 'Promise me you won't ei

Earlier this month we published a short excerpt from Pieces of You, a major new YA novel from a debut Kiwi author. We asked Denis Wright, YA novelist and experienced high school English teacher to give us his verdict. Let me say from the outset that I am most definitely not the target audience for this YA novel, but any novel I can read in two sittings has to be doing something right – and this one does a lot right. I will retract a little on not being the target audience, be