By: Sarah Ayoub
Genre: YFB - General fiction (Children's/Teenage)
Published by: Harper Collins
Published: 01 Mar 2016
ISBN: 9780732296858

Description

Five teenagers. Five lives. One final year. 

The school captain: Ryan has it all ... or at least he did, until an accident snatched his dreams away. How will he rebuild his life and what does the future hold for him now? 

The newcomer: Charlie's just moved interstate and she's determined not to fit in. She's just biding her time until Year 12 is over and she can head back to her real life and her real friends ... 

The loner: At school, nobody really notices Matty. But at home, Matty is everything. He's been single-handedly holding things together since his mum's breakdown, and he's never felt so alone. 

The popular girl: Well, the popular girl's best friend ... cool by association. Tammi's always bowed to peer pressure, but when the expectations become too much to handle, will she finally stand up for herself? 

The politician's daughter: Gillian's dad is one of the most recognisable people in the state and she's learning the hard way that life in the spotlight comes at a very heavy price. 

Five unlikely teammates thrust together against their will. Can they find a way to make their final year a memorable one or will their differences tear their world apart? 


Review

The Jock. The Newbie. The Queen Bee. The Outcast and The Square. High School runs on cliques and strict social structures; a place for everyone, and everyone in their place. Under the surface though things aren’t nearly as clear cut.


Golden boy Josh is nursing a deep anxiety after an injury has forced him to reassess his future after graduation; popular Tammi is chafing under the passive aggressive bullying of her so-called ‘best friend’ Lauren; Matty has always existed on the periphery at school, but he's barely managing at home where he has to single-handedly keep things together for the whole family; Gillian’s life seems charmed, but being a prominent politician’s daughter has its own challenges; and Charlie is just making time, waiting for the moment when she can finally leave High School (and everyone in it) and return to her old life in Melbourne.


When these five diverse teenagers are forced into signing up for the yearbook committee together everything they thought they knew about the others is challenged.


The Yearbook Committee is a modern-day Breakfast Club, playing out over the course of a year as five diverse teenagers who have been forced into working with each other learn to overcome their differences and see beyond the stereotypes.


Addressing such issues as cyber bullying, peer pressure, class issues, metal health and body shaming, The Yearbook Committee deals with some of the biggest challenges facing teenagers today in an accessible and readable story.


Reviewed by Lian