Queen of the Night

The dark is dangerous. So is the past. So are your dreams.

For six months Nia—Wildgirl—has tried to forget Wolfboy, the mysterious boy she spent one night with in Shyness—the boy who said he’d call but didn’t.

Then Wolfboy calls. The things he tells her pull her back to the suburb of Shyness, where the sun doesn’t rise and dreams and reality are difficult to separate. There, Doctor Gregory has seemingly disappeared, the Darkness is changing and Wolfboy’s friend is in trouble. And Nia decides to become Wildgirl once more.

The sequel to the 2009 Text Prize-winning This Is Shyness is about the difficulty of recreating the past—about how the Darkness no longer sets Wolfboy and Wildgirl free.

Leanne Hall’s Queen of the Night was launched at an event at Readings Carlton in March. Read the brilliant launch speech that fellow YA author Cath Crowley gave on the night.

One of Leanne’s talented fans has created a wonderful illustration of Wolfboy and Wildgirl in Shyness. Have a look and a read of her blog here.

Praise for Queen of the Night:

‘Queen of the Night is everything fans are hoping of a follow-up to the mad-cap surrealism of This is Shyness. Leanne Hall returns triumphant with her delectable prose and whimsical storytelling, pulling readers back into the darkness to know what happened after Wolfboy and Wildgirl’s not-quite-happily-ever-after.’

Alpha Reader

‘Second novels are notoriously hard to write, especially when, as here, the first novel, This is Shyness, won an award (The Text Prize) and has an eager following. Which makes Queen of the Night a triumph. The writing in this sequel is as beautiful and as mesmerizing, but the plot is stronger and has more substance without losing any of the earlier edginess and wayward imagination.’

Readings Monthly

‘An atmospheric, touching sequel to this Melbourne writer’s debut young adult novel, the multi-award winning This is Shyness.’

Herald Sun

‘If entering the world of This Is Shyness was like wandering into a darkened hall of mirrors, returning to it in Queen of the Night is like sliding from wakefulness back into a welcome dream. Hall continues to gently twist the seam between fantasy and reality, creating an alternate version of Melbourne that is shaded with the fanciful and strange, the curious and bizarre….If Beatle Meets Destiny was a flirty love note to Melbourne, then Queen of the Night is a kiss blown to this eclectic, secretive city, and a gentle acknowledgement of the hidden worlds it holds within.’ Read the full review here.

Back in the Midnight Garden blog

‘I absolutely loved this book. Whereas Shyness skewed more toward the fantastic, Queen of the Night is an equal blend of reality and dream, hope and disappointment, light and night. It doesn’t try to recapture the lulling enchantment that was so special about Shyness, but rather walks you back hand- in-hand while fully conscious. And reality? It can be just as magical and unforgettable as a dream. Rating: 5/5 stars.’

Young Adult Anonymous blog