Book Review: Royals by Tegan Bennett Daylight

 Royals

by

Tegan Bennett Daylight

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

 

Publication date: 3rd May 2023

 

Genre: Young Adult

 

Pages: 280

 

RRP: $19.99AU (Paperback) 

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

 

My review of Royals

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"!! 

 

My rating 4 / 5    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommended age: 12+

Allusion to sex

Underage drinking

About the author

Photograph © Tegan Bennett Daylight

Tegan Bennett Daylight is a writer, teacher and critic. Her books include the Stella Award shortlisted Six Bedrooms and the novels Safety and Bombora.  She lives in the Blue Mountains with her husband and two children.