The Paradise Generation

A standalone young adult dystopian adventure

Winner, Young Adult Fiction in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2025

Shortlisted for the Storylines Tessa Duder Award

They say we’re the Paradise Generation. No more wars or plagues or rapid sea rise. Nothing bad is supposed to happen to us.

But it does.

When Kieran was twelve, he crashed a “liberated” car deep in the suburban wilds. The accident left his cousin Lucas in hospital and Kieran pretty much done with breaking rules.

Four years later, he’s reconsidering. Lucas’s Allocated recovery time is almost up, and if Kieran can’t help him, Lucas is dead. Midnight hospital break-ins and dodgy internet remedies look a lot more tempting when you’ve tried everything else.

Meanwhile, Kieran finds an accomplice in Mira, a girl hiding losses of her own. He can’t help being drawn to her, but there’s one their Match is outlawed.

In their search for solutions, Kieran uncovers truths that make the rules meaningless. The truth could save Lucas, could sanction his match with Mira.

Or it could get him killed.

"The Paradise Generation is an exhilarating dystopian adventure, set in a future that has overcome climate change and disease – but at what cost? This smart, high stakes novel raises thought-provoking questions about injustice and inequality. ... The Paradise Generation is an extraordinary novel that balances both heart-pounding tension and emotional depth, from a highly talented, self-published, first-time author." - Judges comments, NZ Book Awards for Children & Young Adults

Readers say:

“has been an absolute roller coaster, and I’ve loved every second of it”

“I really like the vivid dystopian world … the behind-the-scenes worldbuilding is so rich and carefully thought out”

“hard to put down”