Crashing Down (Kate McCaffrey, Fremantle Press)

Kate McCaffrey is known for her emotionally hard-hitting, accurate portrayals of teens under pressure, and her latest novel Crashing Down is her best yet. Seventeen-year-old Lucy is a star student nearing the end of Year 12 and looking forward to the future when her boyfriend is severely injured in a car crash. In shock, and haunted by guilt over a fight they had just before the accident, Lucy is barely hanging on when another bombshell drops: she’s pregnant. McCaffrey has created something unique with Lucy: she’s a ‘sensible teenage girl’ who actually behaves like a sensible teenage girl. She’s mature and capable, willing to ask for help when she needs it, and able to learn from her mistakes. When Lucy finds out she’s pregnant, she trusts that her parents will be in her corner. She has adult conversations about her options, listening to the opinions of others but ultimately coming to her own conclusions. This is a book about teen pregnancy that also explores grief, confronts issues surrounding a woman’s right to choose, and—without implication of weakness—shows the mental scars that Lucy will have to bear. It is a powerful and moving story for teens aged 14 and up.

Meg Whelan works at the Hill of Content Bookshop in Melbourne