2026 CBCA Book of the Year - Notables

Updated March 10, 2026
C
City of Belmont Ruth Faulkner Library
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2026 CBCA Book of the Year - Notables

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Cruel is the light
Clark, Sophie
Paper Book
A brutal war between demons and humanity has raged across Europe for over a century. At its heart are two elite soldiers- SELENE ALLEVA, a powerful exorcist trained at the prestigious Vatican Academy, and foot soldier, JULES LACROIX, unrivalled in battle.
Darkest night, brightest star
Jonsberg, Barry
Paper Book
What makes a good man? Morgan Pickford isn't sure yet, but he's doing his best to find out, even though it's complicated. A life-affirming YA novel about fractured families, tough talk, masculinity, finding friendship and overturning expectations from an internationally acclaimed, bestselling...
Eleanor Jones is playing with fire
Doak, Amy
Paper Book
Eleanor Jones isn't looking for trouble. But someone is starting fires in Cooinda - and the first one looks like a murder. Eleanor is determined not to get involved, but when she receives a note warning her to 'keep quiet' she can't help but work out who sent it. Who...
A murder is going down
Emery, Kate
Paper Book
A brilliant and hilarious cosy YA crime from the author of My Family and Other Suspects, with a mystery that will keep readers guessing to the very last page. For fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.
Never thought I'd end up here
Liang, Ann
Paper Book
Leah Zhang has spent her whole life in LA - it's all she's ever known. But after accidentally wishing her cousin ill health and a very depressing marriage at her wedding, her parents stage an intervention. She's forgotten most of her Mandarin, has zero regard for etiquette, and can't hold a...
The set-up girl
Vey, Sasha
Paper Book
The only thing worse than having a secret crush on the hottest boy in class? Setting him up with your best friend! A fresh and contemporary romantic comedy for fans of Alice Oseman, Tobias Madden and Sophie Gonzales.
Tenderly, I am devoured
Clipstone, Lyndall
Paper Book
Expelled from her prestigious boarding school, eighteen-year-old Lark returns home in disgrace to discover her family on the brink of financial ruin. Desperate to save them, she accepts a marriage of convenience ... to Therion, an underworld god worshipped by Lark's isolated coastal hometown. ...
This stays between us
McGovern, Margot
Paper Book
Four girls share a cabin in an abandoned town where the ghost of Smiling Jack haunts isolated campers. Shelley is the new girl with her own haunted past. Mack made things awkward by kissing her best friend. Priya thinks she's ready to take the next step...
Unhallowed halls
Wilkinson, Lili
Paper Book
DARK ACADEMIA...WITH DEMONS. A teen girl travels to an exclusive boarding school after a deadly incident at her old school, but the wood-paneled halls of Agathion are built over centuries of secrets--including an ancient society which may have ties to demonic magic--in this dark...
The worst perfect moment
Plozza, Shivaun
Paper Book
Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, tender and edgy, this inventive romance asks what it means to be truly happy. Tegan Masters is dead. She's sixteen and she's dead and she's standing in the parking lot of the Marybelle Motor Lodge, the single most...
Chickenpox
Lai, Remy
Paper Book
This hilarious and heartwarming contemporary middle-grade graphic novel is about eldest sister Abby, who is sick of being trapped at home with her FOUR younger siblings as they all suffer from the chickenpox--for fans of Guts and Allergic. All big sister...
Creature Clinic
Than, Gavin Aung.
Paper Book
What do you do with a sick dragon, a concussed troll, or a unicorn with a broken horn? You take them to the only place that can help: Creature Clinic! From Super Sidekicks creator and New York Times-bestselling cartoonist Gavin Aung Than comes this...
Frances bloom
Nannestad, Katrina.
Paper Book
Relish in mischief, adventure and the most unusual family ever, with the bestselling and multi-award-winning Katrina Nannestad. Frances Bloom lives all alone in a cottage by the sea. She's having a marvellous time until her nasty teacher, Ms Thistle, learns there is no-one...
The hits and misses of Melody Moss
Dallimore, Helen
Paper Book
'Mum said when I turned twelve, things would start to change. I didn't think she meant EVERYTHING.' Melody Moss is starting high school and EVERYTHING is going WRONG! Her BFF has forgotten the Forever bit and has found New Friends (aka The Clones). ...
Inked
Wasson, Karen
Paper Book
★ The bestselling new-release Australian graphic novel of 2025! ★ For fans of Remy Lai's Pawcasso and Raina Telgemeier's Drama comes this hilarious enemies-to-besties graphic novel, about a kid who just wants to blend in...
Little bones
Bigna, Sandy
Paper Book
Since the accident, eleven-year-old Bones spends her time drawing animal skeletons and scavenging for dead things to add to her collection. She's drifted away from her friends and doesn't want to make new ones, especially not with her chatty new neighbour, Tenny. One night, under a full...
Run
Armstrong, Sarah
Paper Book
For fans of Tristan Bancks and Katherine Rundell comes this electrifying middle-grade novel about a twelve-year-old called Cas, who runs away to avoid a reunion with his estranged father. Cas soon finds himself lost in the wilderness, completely alone and without help. Or is he?<...
Seriously Soccer
Stanton, Matt
Paper Book
Dribble and laugh your head off with the super-popular Funny Kid series! Every kid wants to laugh, but Max is the boy who can make it happen. When Max discovers that everyone is more interested in watching soccer than his stand-up routine, he needs to come up with a...
Song of a thousand seas
Fraillon, Zana
Paper Book
All day long we can hear that Sea howl prowling wild inside our brains and every part of us is straining to feel it taste it twirl it whirl it swirl it inside our body again. Houdini the octopus lives in an...
Too Big to Be a Fairy
Thomas, Kiah.
Paper Book
In the hilarious first story from the A Little Bit Lola series, Lola has a BIG plan to get rich quick - and to buy the most beautiful pair of roller skates she's ever seen!  Everyone in Lola's family has wheels except Lola. So,...
Castle Crashing
Rowe, Andrea.
Paper Book
Bonnie knows how to build sandcastles best, but her friends insist on building their own castles every way but Bonnie's way. They sift and sculpt and burrow in the soft, white sand, happily playing by their own rules. No-one listens to Bonnie. Soon, her anger boils over and she storms off...
Derek
Donaldson, Anne
Paper Book
Derek is a fish with many questions. Why is the universe round? Where do bubbles come from? Why does food rain down from above? But the question Derek asks himself more than any other is: 'Why am I alone?' From new talent Anne Donaldson and bestselling...
Earthspeak : boodjar wangkiny.
McCann, Sean
Paper Book
A joyful story celebrating the natural world, the sharing of culture through Noongar language and the awe that comes from seeing, hearing and feeling how elemental forces shape the earth.
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