I’m always going to jump on reading Australian fiction, and a YA one is even more fun.
Royals is set in a suburban shopping mall - Shannon realises that time has stopped while she’s shopping, and that she’s all alone in the mall. She finds six more kids that have also been frozen there, most her age, but also a baby. They try to escape, but quickly realize that it’s not working, and settle into their new lives, spending the days shopping, eating and talking, and eventually working out how to return to their lives.
What I loved: All the Australian references - especially one of the characters doing an acknowledgement of country; Juno the baby and the interviews all the characters gave each other.
What I didn’t love: Instead of having chapters the book was broken down into four parts - it made it seem to drag at parts; having un-toilet trained puppies running around the mall; a scene at the end of the book where everything began multiplying that honestly scared me.
I received an ARC from Simon & Schuster Australia via NetGalley

Royals is a very strange Australian contemporary young adult novel that mashes up magical realism with teen angst into a nonsensical story that I would’ve given up on had it not been an ARC. I was sent an email inviting me to request it by the publisher and when I looked it up, there were no reviews available, but I thought the premise sounded interesting and I hadn’t read any YA in ages, so thought it would make a nice change. How wrong was I! This is my first 1-star read in over two years, and I feel bad about it, but I couldn’t find anything to like about it, it was deadly boring, and poorly written. It’s described as being like Lord of the Flies, but was more like Under the Dome for Gen Zers.

Shannon is a sixteen year old school student from an unspecified town to the West of Sydney, who wakes up in a mall to find her phone is frozen, she’s locked inside on her own, and the people she can see outside can’t seem to see or hear her. Then she finds five other teens and a baby in the same predicament. Scared and confused, they are initially suspicious of each other, but once they work out that anything they consume is miraculously replaced overnight so they can help themselves to whatever they like, it seems like a dream come true - but is it?

The main reason I kept going with this was for some explanation of what was going on, and to find out how they could escape the mall. I don’t want to post spoilers but can say that nothing is explained. The whole thing is told in Shannon’s immature first person past voice - which is perhaps the reason for the writing being so basic. She reports everything that they do, eat, find, and “steal” including every toilet visit, every dull conversation, and every cup of Bubble Tea (not something I’ve ever tried, it sounds disgusting, but Shannon drinks a lot of it - probably why she’s always going to the bathroom 🤣.)

The author has gone to great lengths to make her cast as diverse as possible, which felt rather forced. Much is made of Shannon’s androgynous looks, but she’s very insistent about how cis and straight she is. They’re all from very different backgrounds - it’s not even really mentioned how they all came to be in the same place, why they were selected, or how they can remember some things and not others. Then it ends leaving multiple frustrating plot holes. At least it was short. Obviously I’m not the intended audience, so perhaps younger teenagers will enjoy this, but I don’t recommend it for adults and won’t be reading this author again.
I received an ARC from Simon & Schuster Australia via NetGalley.

This was a very quick and easy read. Essentially a bunch of teens get stuck in a time loop and have to try workout how to get out but set in 2020/2021 Australia. Personally I was picturing Melbourne with how they talked about lockdowns but don’t know if there was ever a specific reference. Good representation in what could have been a very basic book but turned out better than your average YA. Personally, I enjoyed the book. It was a good mix of struggles and fun in a short time span. Would definitely recommend more towards teenage readers.

I was drawn to Royals out of curiosity based on the precis above. It intrigued me and I was interested to know what appeals to YA readers today. I think I should have chosen another story.

The story begins with Shannon waiting to meet her brother in the shopping centre. She falls asleep and when she wakes she notices her phone is stuck at 5.17pm. The centre is empty and as she walks around the centre she meets 5 other teenagers, all with their phones stuck at 5.17pm.

They discover they not only have an endless supply of food from the food court they can take anything they need from all the shops.

I enjoyed the beginning, but it gradually got more and more boring and repetitious. How many times do you have to mention bubble tea, Maccas and Forty Winks? The concept was good but there was virtually no plot and little depth to the story.

The characters were a diverse group but the attempt to be an ‘inclusive’ story got a bit over the top. They all become likeable as the story unfolds.

The shopping centre itself has its own personality and character with food and items taken from the shops being replenished overnight.
Maybe I’m a stuffy old grandmother but the use of four letter words concerned me especially for the younger teens in the YA group.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Tegan Bennett Daylight for providing me with an ARC of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

@netgalley and @simonandschuster

My rating 2*

ARC Review of Royals by Tegan Bennett Daylight
* * * * *
This is a read I would not typically go to, however, I was compelled by the storyline and interested to know its contents...and was left with a read that I enjoyed as well became satisfied with. A young supernatural/paranormal mystery that did not burn up on the energy right off the bat, took it slow, and left us with more of the characters' backstories than most stories do in one book.

Shannon was supposed to meet her brother, now she was trapped and confused in the mall with Jordan, James, Grace, Tiannah, Akira and little Juno - their clocks stuck on the same time with no Wi-Fi, no connections, no service and no one else in sight beyond the glass doors.
There is no way out.
Is there anyone coming to look for them?
Are they missing? Trapped forever? Is the answer to their troubles so simple?

We are introduced to all the characters, some with connects but mostely from completely different backgrounds and cultures and circles. We dive into all these diverse people through the eyes of Shannon, in a setting that is very calm for teenagers stuck in a odd situation. Not to forget little Juno, who provides another obstacle for all of them. Even as they endulge during their stay, they open themselves up. Connect fac-to-face unlike most young people these days.
I very much liked how this was read was not rushed, and allowed me to just take in the characters and their stories - trauma, sexuality, race, stereotypes, personalities - and how they all take to themselves and with a group with such a challenge.

The story was immersive, especially in its language and descriptions. I was able to clearly picture the shopping centre, it seemed to incorporate all the classic features of Australian shopping centres, so it felt incredibly familiar. Additionally, the voice was spot on for representing teenagers, way the characters interacted with and spoke of technology in particular felt authentic and not overly forced.

The characters were diverse, which was great, I can’t stand reading about the same character six times with only one little difference in each. Representation is so important so it was great to see here, I found all the characters interesting and likeable, though I think it seemed to resort to stereotypes at times. I found the premise of the story interesting, though I found the plot frustrating (particularly in its pacing) at times.

Ultimately, while I enjoyed this book and had a pleasant enough experience reading it, I was not its intended audience and thats why I simply enjoyed it and didn’t love it. The cover looks great and the length of the story is perfect for a YA audience, especially those intimidated by a lengthy read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for giving me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a magical blast from this truly magnificent novel. An absorbing story and impossible to put down. 75 years of age and blown away by the exceptional writing and storyline of this Young Adult fiction novel. Highly recommended to all readers and well worthy of five stars.

Although it isn't my usual type of read, I found myself drawn in by the blurb of Royals and how ridiculous it sounded. I also loved the idea of it being set in Australia and being able to recognise the shops and references.

Royals was pitched as Lord of The Flies for Gen Z and follows a group of 6 teenagers stuck indefinitely in a shopping centre with a baby, with no access to the internet or the outside world. Unlimited bubble tea, maccas, gaming consoles and designer clothes/shoes but they are forced to get to know each other in real life. It really was as ridiculous as it sounds and nothing at all like LOTF (aside from them being trapped).

I do think a younger YA audience might enjoy this one however I felt the plot was lacking any substance and parts of the book were a struggle to get through. Despite being in her 50's, the author wrote exactly like how a young teenager sounds, so much so that I had to check and make sure the author wasn't actually a 16 year old.

There was also a lot of diversity and representation in the characters which was nice to see, and I do feel like the characters developed a little bit throughout the novel. As a neurodivergent (ADHD) queer woman, I will only speak on the diversity/disability that I personally experience and represent. I do feel like the character with ADHD was over-stereotyped and there was some potential misinformation about their medication and behaviours that really bothered me. The character was also described as "taking up a lot of space" because of his ADHD which was quite frustrating to see written in a YA book as I have spent a lot of time in therapy as an adult trying to move away from that thought process. I would hate for a young person with ADHD to read that and think that others perceive them as "too much" or "taking up space" just because of their disability. There was also a comment about the MC 'looking like an atheist' which made absolutely no sense to me.

Overall, a quick read but probably not one that I would personally recommend, I'm hoping there are some changes made the the final version.

Thank you Simon Schuster Australia & NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This reminded my of Carousel by Brendan Ritchie but this feels like it is for a younger audience.

I enjoyed the first part of the book and felt satisfied with the ending, but the middle was quite dull, although I can see that the author was trying to give the reader more background about the characters. It just felt like a stilted, monotonous way of going about it. Even the characters tired of the routine.

In a nutshell, I like the concept of the story but not a lot happens and there seems to be no major peak or intrigue, just a lot of brand naming and descriptions of what they ate and names of shops they got things from.

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Imagine this. It’s a regular day. You’re at the mall waiting for your brother to show up so you can buy your parents a birthday gift. Next think you know you’ve fallen asleep. You awake to see your phone has frozen at 5:17pm and all the people have disappeared. What do you do?

Royals tracks a group of six teenagers who find themselves in this exact scenario. Throw a baby into the mix and you have a mysterious mall full of open shops, never ending food, no adults, and no rules.

This was honestly a fun read to start with, then it got a little spook, and then I couldn’t put it down. Like The Breakfast Club, you get a bunch of teens who may not have anything in common on the surface, but when thrown together they find similarities and form bonds which grow stronger over time.

I enjoyed how each character developed as the story unfolded. The way the mall slowly started to change. The way the characters embraced their new world. The way they opened up about life before the mall and life in the mall. The discoveries they made.

Thanks to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the chance to read this before it’s release on May 3!

“I’m pretty sick of hearing how woke teenagers are…”

Is what I also thought of this book.

I did not enjoy this book at all . It is a typical contrived 2020s YA fiction, which is to say the following are included and/or briefly mentioned for the sake of it:
- Bubble tea
- Mental health issues
- Person with disability
- “...instead we made snowmen. And snowwomen"
- Race diversity
- Other kinds of diversity, e.g. LGBTQ
- Environmental issues
- Brand placement
- Pop culture references

This book tries so hard to be woke and I could not stop rolling my eyes throughout this read (reflecting on this book has my eyes swivelling in their sockets). I did not care for the uninteresting but immensely diverse and modern characters nor the drivel of a story. There was not even clever/funny dialogue to try and save it.

I was also surprised to learn that the author was not a teenager who was giving it a go at writing a stream of subconscious daydream.

The moral of this is to not judge a book by its cover.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I requested this book because of the disabled character even though I thought the plot sounded ridiculous and honestly thought I would hate it. Turns out I didn’t. I still think the plot’s ridiculous, although I see what the author was trying to do, but I enjoyed the reading experience. The characters were diverse and surprisingly interesting and likeable.