3.5 stars for this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this arc.
This was an interesting story that was a little bit different. A sort of young adult dystopian tale of six teenagers and a baby who find themselves trapped in a plaza on some sort of time loop.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters and thought it was a really good premise. I felt as though the end was a little rushed, and at times it was a bit of an info dump, but it was still an enjoyable read. Lovable characters, a setting that most kids would probably love to find themselves trapped in, and a mystery - why and how were they stuck, and how would they get out?

This is the type of book my teenage self would have loved! I feel most people in their life would have had the dream or thought of what it would be like being locked in a shop or plaza, and this book brings that fantasy to life
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The storyline is a little odd with no real reason or solution as to how the teens and child became trapped. Their antics are interactions are amusing though. And I feel like they definitely went through some personal growth while in the plaza.
It was a relatively quick and easy book to read.

Not a bad book! Although some parts were a little dialogue-heavy, as this novel focuses more on relationships of those trapped versus a plot per-se, it fits what the author set out to do. I was originally weary of a baby being in the story but found that Juno wasn’t an annoyance at all, and that a lot of the characters were enjoyable. Specifically James & Akira. Targeted at a younger audience, the breakfast club themes run throughout. My critique would be that I would have liked more explanation on why everything was happening, the mystery of it. But it was all over relatively fast.

Received an ARC via Netgalley thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia.

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I didn't know where it was going to go and in the end I feel that it didn't really go anwywhere.
Don't misunderstand me, there were good bits, and overall I enjoyed reading it. I guess the end wasn't as impactful as I had expected. It's a book more about the journey really.

There were interesting scenes here and there, and some YA topics covered. If you are a young reader in the aimed at age group of YA and need something with a lighter feel and themes (compared to full dystopian genre), a story about connections I would say this is a read for you.

‘I noticed it but I didn’t think about it.’

Shannon was supposed to meet her twin brother Liam at the local shopping mall in Western Sydney. They were going to buy their parents birthday gifts. But somehow, as Shannon is scrolling through her Instagram feed, something changes. The next thing she knows the time on her ‘phone is frozen at 5:17 pm and the mall seems empty. And Shannon can neither attract the attention of anyone outside (although she can see them) nor open the doors to get out. Gulp.

Shannon finds there are five other teenagers in the same situation: Jordan, James, Grace, Tiannah and Akira. And a baby girl. She is too young to talk, and they name her Juno.

There’s plenty of food in the mall, and all of the shops seem to be open. But there is no internet, no wi-fi and all the clocks are stuck on 5:17 pm. There are no adults and no rules to follow.

‘There was everything to do and so there was nothing to do.’

Here we are, in a modern version of the island in William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’. How will these six very different teenagers manage? How long will they be captive? And how will they manage the responsibility of a baby?

As the story unfolds, we learn more about each of the teenagers. The longer they spend together the more they open up about their lives before the mall. While the food supply is never ending, there is still rubbish to deal with. There are plenty of beds as well as an endless supply of clothing for all and nappies for Juno.
As the novel unfolded, we learn more about each of the teenagers, their aspirations, and their challenges. They are trapped in a disconnected world, totally foreign to them with no adult guidance. And as they talk to each other and share responsibility for Juno’s care, we see a group of responsible young people making the best of a challenging situation.

Once I accepted the situation the teenagers were in (and stopped wondering about ‘why’ and ‘how’) I really enjoyed this novel. I am much, much older than the target audience for this YA novel but Tegan Bennett Daylight brought these teenagers to life in a way I could understand and empathise with.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

“Royals” is a disappointing young adult novel. A set-up with considerable potential is wasted on a story which doesn’t explore any of the questions raised, and which has a deeply unsatisfying resolution which similarly dodges the questions. Please note that despite my best efforts, this particular review does include some spoilers.

Six young people find themselves trapped in a shopping centre. It’s not clear what’s happened; one moment they are in a crowded shopping centre, the next everyone else has disappeared and they cannot leave. The diverse group must work together to survive, and to care for the baby they’ve found alone in the centre.

The world building is exceptionally poor, with no underlying logic. For example, when the kids become trapped, it initially seems that perhaps it was because each was alone, out of sight of other people – except that Grace and Tiannah were together. So there is no clear reason why just these people became trapped. It’s not age either, because Juno is a baby, and Grace is a tween, while the others are teens.

It is possible to ignore this, but there are other things you need to avoid thinking about. The stock in the shops replenishes daily, but over a period of months there doesn’t seem to be any change in the stock. The kids don’t notice. Time passes – the kids’ hair grows, they menstruate, Juno develops – but it doesn’t occur to the kids to think about why nothing else changes.

I was also puzzled by how half arsed their attempts to get out of the shopping centre were. Okay, they’re teenagers. But they have the resources of a shopping centre at their disposal. Why didn’t anyone think of using tools? Of trying to set off the fire alarms? Putting a poster in the window? It would have made a more interesting story if they hadn’t given up so quickly and easily and accepted their fate.

The resolution also simply ignores pretty much every question generated by the main part of the novel. For example, what, if anything, happens around the physical changes experienced during the course of the novel, some of which are visible?

This felt a bit like a novel written by someone who wanted to write something science fictiony, but who didn’t want to go to the effort of truly developing her world and thinking through the consequences of the events. There’s a clever opening event, and she clearly knew how she wanted to end it – but didn’t do the work of thinking about the implications of anything. The result is highly unsatisfying. So much is left unaddressed. It’s not left in a “here’s something to think about” way. It truly does feel like the author couldn’t be bothered and has no clue herself.

The author might argue that her central concern was actually the relationships between the group as they deal with their ordeal. It’s a self consciously diverse group, with equal numbers of males and females, a physically disabled person, a person with mental health issues, and a variety of racial backgrounds. It felt a little like ticking boxes, to be honest.

I found the relationship development to be rather shallow. I had trouble keeping a couple of the boys separate in my mind - they weren’t really distinct characters. And although Daylight does a decent job of showing developing friendships, she doesn’t do much to address the inevitable conflicts that would arise.

As you can tell, I was very disappointed in this novel. The initial premise was intriguing, and that’s what drew me to the novel. However, it’s not used very effectively, and there’s not much else in the novel to compensate for it. I ended this frustrated and annoyed, feeling I’d been gypped.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book

Royals is a story about a diverse group of young people and a baby trapped in a mall. They can look out the windows and see people but they appear to be in an alternative reality time warp the mall doors are closed but they can’t escape. The world outside the widows goes on.

The story is suitable for young adults, they are stuck for days with all the gratification of being able to eat, drink, wear and acquire all the bling both in electronics and jewelry.

This is a story for young adults in both words and deeds. I read it to the end which I admit was a bit confusing. Otherwise it was mostly an entertaining read for an older adult.!!
3 stars

This setting of this book is a really interesting concept which is what drew me to it: six teens get trapped in a shopping mall in some kind of weird time loop and then discover a baby that they have to look after. They have everything from the shops available to them but their phones don’t work and they can’t leave.
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One of the fun aspects I really enjoyed about this story is that, because it is Australian, all the shops in the food court as well as in the mall, are shops that I can go to any time I like. I didn’t realise how much of an impact it would have on me until I was reading about them.
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While the story is likened to Lord of the Flies, the characters themselves reject the notion that they will devolve into that kind of societal construct and proceed to show just how mature they can be. It is a really interesting study in human behaviour.
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I do wish, however, that there was a little more explanation about why this whole situation has happened. Why were these characters caught up? Coincidence? Why was the baby taken?
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All in all, Royals is an enjoyable read. Recommended for high school age.

Thanks to #netgalley for the advance copy.

This book is about being locked in a shopping centre, we’ve probably all wondered, what would you do to pass the time?
I’m sure teens would find it fascinating to shop freely in their favourite stores, eat whatever you felt like and not be answerable to parents or adults!
The storyline is a bit long winded, each day is similar as the shopping centre becomes more of a routine. I found the Australian setting great as it was relatable, the teens worked together to find their daily needs and discovery what they are capable of.
The characters were individually different but were a comfort to each other, as they finally escaped their entrapment, they seemed more mature for their experience!
The story unfolds to reveal resourceful teens, clearly accepting of others, as should be the case.

Thanks to the publisher, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3/5 Stars

Royals is one of those undefinable-genre books. Set in an Australian mall, the story is based on a group of young-adults who find themselves effectively stranded in the mall. With a baby. Cut off from space and time and with only each other, and the mall shops, to rely on, it's similar to an unusual, modern-day spin on Lord of the Flies.

If you haven't read Lord of the Flies (and if you didn't have to do so for school, why would you?) it's a cautionary tale about exposing young men to the freedom of an adult-less society and watching how civilsation disintergrates. Interestingly, in Royals, that ISN'T what happens, and our band of misfits interact more like The Breakfast Club than wild savages.

Daylight uses a lot of Australian specific words that may not be commonly understood (as with say British or American slang), e.g. eshay, Koori and Kamilaroi. Whilst it's good to read books outside your comfort-zone, I find having to look up too much interupts the flow of the book and I struggle to get into the story - which is something I feel may have happened here. The story is also surreal - what I would imagine living inside a Dali painting is like.

It's hard to write reams about the story as not a whole lot happens. It is also never made clear how and why these kids were "chosen", how they got out and if, as with Dorothy, the way home was there the entire time...

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

First off, I understand that I'm not the target audience, however the writing style was painful. I'm not sure even my 15 year old neice would be able to get into it.

I’d describe Royals as a mix between The Tribe x The Society x The Breakfast Club, jam packed with references to YA books and movies, with an exploration of diversity. Royals follows a group of teenagers (and a baby) who find themselves trapped in a shopping centre in a bizarre time loop situation and try to find a way to survive and get back to their own lives.

I think it’s important to start off by saying I’m not the target audience, nor do I usually read books of this particular variety - but I appreciated so much of the Australian culture references that were thrown in the book, from the Sumo Salad to the JB HIFI discussions. Also appreciates the mention of how difficult it is to dress babies, and the pink lady apple supremacy.

In terms of plot, I found the book to be mostly a very basic plot line of - oh no we’re stuck let’s go eat and watch movies. So much of plot was taken up by discussions of movies and tv shows, which started to feel excessive - is it inaccurate about teenagers? No, of course there’s plenty of kids relating to each other through pop culture, hell I sure did. Was there pretty much no explanation behind the whole situation? Yes.

I found the characters themselves to be lacking in any character until we got to the interview portion of the book, it felt like the very best part of the whole book was getting the interviews. Each character is truly built up by that point, but it just took a lot of time to do so - yet I found that our main character Shannon still had virtually nothing interesting to say, more what she reflected on within herself after getting to know the others. I feel like the diversity was fantastic, but felt very over saturated at the same time the way it was presented.

There were a few format issues which I would chalk up to an early release, but the thing that particularly stuck with me was the way it was written. It felt like a teenage girl writing in her diary, yet it was her incredibly simplistic and superficial commentary that would feel more like she’s retelling to someone physically with her. Yes, they are teenagers, yes they are reflecting on things that they’ve taught each other, but the way she explains movies and stories to the reader feels as though she’s having a conversation with them rather than a proper depiction of what’s going on inside the shopping centre. It just felt a bit off, not that I’m expecting 16 year olds to have the most depth in casual conversation, but even down to the comment “You never know who’s been vaccinated” was a very bizarre thing to thrown in there, although I imagine it’s meant to be a throwaway comment that relates to Jordan’s story when you look back.

A minor point, now I’ll never be able to watch Moon without it being spoiled which is sad. Not that I’ve ever heard of it in my life.. but still spoilers are sad guys. I still don’t get what happened, and I’m not impressed by the fast food - even if it’s changed daily - being still “fresh” at the end of the day? Plus I don’t quite understand why all the shops starting multiplying at the end either.

Overall, this isn’t a book for me but it truly did grow on me, I would recommend to YA readers interested in a bit of a bizarre unexplained magical time loop event? Definitely a less unhinged version of The Tribe and The Society.

Royals by Tegan Bennett Daylight is probably not a book I would normally pick up, however I was sent a request from the publisher and it sounded a little quirky, and I enjoy books that are a bit different.

A group of teenagers find themselves locked in a shopping centre, all technology frozen. I loved the concept of this story! The teenagers don't know each other and there are no phones, which means no texting, no Snapchat, no Instagram. They are going to have to talk to each other, face to face!! 🤯

Tegan Bennett Daylight has used a group of Western Sydney teenagers as her protagonists. I think the author is showing a side to these teens we don't often hear. They are responsible and basically kindhearted. A group of kids who wouldn't normally hang-out together were forced to rely on each other.

The story bogged down a little in the middle and it was a little contrived with its range of diversity but I was happy to let that all slip by because I loved the magical realism element and how the teens opened up to each other and that the whole story was so quirky and we weren't given any reason for the whole thing. The book finishes and the reader is still left with a why. When I finished reading I was like "what just happened"!!
12+ years
allusions to sex
underage drinking

I read this in less than 24 hours and felt so sad that it was finished. The ending frustrated me a little, only because I felt so connected to the characters that I didn't want to leave them behind without knowing how things turned out - without spoilers, you do know how things end but I really wanted to know every last thing! The premise is intriguing and the characters loveable and authentic. I can see this becoming a favourite for many.

At 5:17 pm, one sunny Thursday evening, Shannon looks up from her frozen phone and realises that the shopping plaza is empty.. She is trapped, alone, and frightened. There's no signal to the outside world and the passers by cannot see her. But she not completely alone after all, as she meets 5 other teens - Jordan, James, Tianna, Grace and Akira trapped in the empty halls of the mall with her, as well as the infant Juno. As the realisation of their predicament sinks in, the group bunker down in one of the empty shops and band together to survive. As time passes their memory of Before becomes more and more fragile.

Are they missed? Are people looking for them? How long will they be there for? How much time has already passed? When will the food run out?

If you're expecting this to be a Lord of the Flies style tale, you'd be way off - rather Royals is a Breakfast Club meets Groundhog Day tale of unlikely friendships set in an endless sunshiny Thursday.

This was a particularly modern novel - clearly set within the last two years as the Sydney covid lockdowns are references as a fixed point in time, and mentioning contemporary celebrities Megan Thee Stallion and Harry Styles. The Plaza could be any shopping centre in Australia, and the teens any of the teens you'd see hanging around: Shannon, slightly androgynous with blue hair and filled with anxiety. Jordan, amputee in a wheelchair with a penchant for tight shirts. James, sporty ADHDer , always moving and always a stable rock of support. Tianna, Koori, glam Big Sister Energy, mother hen to the motley crew. Grace, also Koori, Tianna's cousin, youngest, but at the same time worldly and wise beyond her years. Akira, pretentious, awkwardly bookish and the one who sets the ball in motion for the finale.

There are some heavy topics addresses within the story - mental health crises (per Shannon's brother, which does require a trigger warning), sexuality, discrimination, racism and materialism. Also vaccines, as we learn through the characters interviews with each other, as they try to preserve the memory of Before.

This was a quick page turner of a book, even though, paradoxically, some passages felt like they dragged. It was a quick fun read that ultimately ended too soon. The title Royals references a conversation midway through the book, as the characters compare themselves to archaic royalty as they luxuriate on pilfered .luxuries and feast on [spoilers] ;) .

I would like to see this as book one of a series - to find out WHY and HOW and WHY THEM and were there others? What happened After? So many unanswered questions at the end of this book.

Many thanks to Tegan Bennett Daylight, Simon & Schuster Australia and NetGalley. for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

A bunch of teens are trapped in a mall, victim of some weird time glitch that appears to allow the world to roll on outside without them. Interesting premise, right? I thought so.

And the group of kids who are stuck in the mall is an interesting one. It was fun to watch these very different personalities learn to get along as the days stretched out with nothing much to do and nowhere much to go.

I think I would have enjoyed this one more if I hadn't had so many questions about the why of the time glitch. Why was it just teens left behind (and a single baby)? Why did the food court and the shops replenish themselves each night, but the trash didn't disappear? Why did the kids stuck in the loop keep growing and changing while the puppies in the pet store remained puppies?

But overall, this was a quick, fun read and very contemporary - the 2020 COVID lockdowns were referenced a couple of times to really put it into its place and time.

Wanted to DNF on page 17 because it dragged unvaccinated in such a random way that didn’t even make sense… I just think it was really unnecessary. I really only kept going because I was already intrigued by the story and wanted to know what had happened. Also because this was an advanced read and I wanted to create an honest review. However, 15% into the book I just couldn’t keep going. The writing wasted what I wanted at all, it was like Urban dictionary threw up on the manuscript. The ‘modernised language’ was just way too much and needed to be toned down a lot. It’s unfortunate because they story could have been great but I just couldn’t get through the actual writing.

It was an interesting read with a variety of characters which I enjoyed. I found it easy to read. I liked their diverse backgrounds and different ages. I felt like the middle of the story seemed to drag on with everyday shopping life dragging on. I would have preferred to read more about the ending and even find out what happened after they left the shopping centre.
I received an ARC from Simon & Schuster Australia via NetGalley.

This was surprisingly entertaining.
I loved how the friendships developed, and how they slowly figured out what was going along at the same pace the reader did.
I loved the diversity in the cast of characters and how each individual was well rounded even though we only get Shannon's POV.
I'm left with a bunch of questions though.
How did this happen?
Why did this happen?
How does everyone else react to the event?
What happens after?
There's sort of a The Dome/Groundhog Day/Breakfast Club vibe to this.
I couldn't put it down and I could totally see this being made into a movie or short series.
I received an advance copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tegan Bennett Daylight & Simon & Schuster Australia for this ARC of Royals.

The description drew a very interesting premise of six teenagers (and a baby) seemingly stranded in a shopping centre alone, with no answer to the internet or the outside world.
The novel offers a strong start, with a lot of varied modern representation, spanning over race, neurodivergence, sexual orientation and gender. It's a fun read, and seems to reference Tomorrow when the war began, the Breakfast Club & the Hunger Games. It feels like the author draws heavily on the experiences of lockdowns throughout most of Australia in 2020 - 2021, however all the title seems to remind me of is that Lorde song.

The voice of the protagonist seems very convincing as an Australian teenage girl (although I wouldn't be an authority on the matter) - that I was surprised to read that the author is in fact an adult.

However after the midway point the plot does become a bit repetitive, with a lot of the same actions taking place again and again. Further, the ending was rushed and seemed to come out of nowhere.