Summer Reading with Mark Smith

YA Book Stack

YA Book Stack
Summer Reading with Mark Smith
Dec 07, 2025 Season 4 Episode 12
Victorian Association for the Teaching of English

his episode includes a discussion of summer reading recommendations that includes:

The episode also contains discussions around:

  • Teachers benefit from reading YA themselves, not just for curriculum use but to stay connected to student interests, identify engaging texts, and model genuine enthusiasm for reading.
  • Reading for work vs reading for pleasure, and how hard it is to balance the joy of reading with the obligations of reading for reviews, panels, writing, or teaching.
  • YA in Australia is growing in diversity but still needs more representation, especially stories that reflect the rapidly changing demographics of Australian schools.
  • Teachers should prioritise student engagement when selecting texts. Page-turners matter, reluctant readers need accessible books, and educators sometimes overthink “how to teach” a book before considering whether students will actually read it.
  • Reasons why Three Boys Gone, Mark Smith's debut adult novel, will resonate with anyone working in schools today, and having to navigate the near-impossibility of perfect duty of care.
Episode Artwork Summer Reading with Mark Smith 33:31 Episode Artwork Margot McGovern on This Stays Between Us 27:22 Episode Artwork Linda and Marly Wells on Desert Tracks 34:21 Episode Artwork Ange Crawford on How to Be Normal 34:53 Episode Artwork Prue Bon / Booklisting 34:48 Episode Artwork Chemutai Glasheen on I am the Mau 31:02 Episode Artwork Erin Gough on Into the Mouth of the Wolf 38:59 Episode Artwork National Reconciliation Week with Dr Lilly Brown 40:11 Episode Artwork Kay Kerr's authentic writing on neurodiversity 27:05 Episode Artwork Solli Raphael on Starlight 17:48 Episode Artwork Keshe Chow on The Girl with No Reflection 25:17 Episode Artwork Summer Reading with Emily Gale 31:20 Episode Artwork Robyn Dennison on Blind Spot 53:04 Episode Artwork Will Kostakis on We Could Be Something 59:00 Episode Artwork Holden Sheppard on The Brink 1:14:16 Episode Artwork Malla Nunn on Sugar Town Queens 1:02:02 Episode Artwork Poppy Nwosu on Hometown Haunts 1:11:22 Episode Artwork Anna Whateley on Peta Lyre's Rating Normal 1:02:54 Episode Artwork Gary Lonesborough on The Boy from the Mish 1:01:38 Episode Artwork Rawah Arja on The F Team 1:11:26 Episode Artwork Leanne Hall on The Gaps 1:09:27