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Catch
A unique and irresistible YA coming-of-age story about sixteen-year-old Beth, who discovers she has a life-saving gift. A superb novel about finding out what it takes to be an unlikely hero.
Sometimes people fall. It happens. Sometimes people are pushed. Sometimes people jump. And sometimes there's someone there to catch them.
The summer Beth turns sixteen, she grows. She grows so fast her bones hurt and she feels like throwing up. Everyone - including Etienne, the boy over the road - looks at her differently. Then she starts catching people. People who are falling out of trees or from great heights.
Soon Beth discovers that helping strangers sometimes hurts - hurts her and the people she loves. And it isn't great for her school grades, either. Will she find a way to balance family and friendship and basketball and romance and ... catching?
An extraordinary story about finding out who you are, and discovering who you want to be.
Sometimes people fall. It happens. Sometimes people are pushed. Sometimes people jump. And sometimes there's someone there to catch them.
The summer Beth turns sixteen, she grows. She grows so fast her bones hurt and she feels like throwing up. Everyone - including Etienne, the boy over the road - looks at her differently. Then she starts catching people. People who are falling out of trees or from great heights.
Soon Beth discovers that helping strangers sometimes hurts - hurts her and the people she loves. And it isn't great for her school grades, either. Will she find a way to balance family and friendship and basketball and romance and ... catching?
An extraordinary story about finding out who you are, and discovering who you want to be.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2025
2 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 26, 2025
Catch
Sarah Brill
4.5⭐️
This is such a lovely coming of age story. Our main character Beth is a 16yr old highschool student who discovers she has this life saving gift, she is able to sense when someone is about to fall and she has the strength to find and catch them.
Beth is such a likeable character. Whilst she has to manage the standard struggles that come with being a teenager, navigating school work and personal relationships whilst also maintaining the balance in her own family dynamic, she now has to manage this huge responsibility of making sure she can get to where she needs to be, on time, to catch those that are falling. Beth shows such kindness and courage throughout the story. She is someone you can get behind and want the best for her. I also really enjoyed the friendship she has with Lin. Beth didn't have to go through this all on her own and had Lin to confide in. Lin was great at collecting data and researching what could potentially be the reason for Beth's gift and devising strategies on how Beth can best manage her gift. There is also a lovely little romance in this story as well as some character development from those that she saved. It has made for a very interesting and unique story overall. Catch is a YA novel however I'm a middle aged woman and still took something away from it. I will definitely be recommending this story to others.
Sarah Brill
4.5⭐️
This is such a lovely coming of age story. Our main character Beth is a 16yr old highschool student who discovers she has this life saving gift, she is able to sense when someone is about to fall and she has the strength to find and catch them.
Beth is such a likeable character. Whilst she has to manage the standard struggles that come with being a teenager, navigating school work and personal relationships whilst also maintaining the balance in her own family dynamic, she now has to manage this huge responsibility of making sure she can get to where she needs to be, on time, to catch those that are falling. Beth shows such kindness and courage throughout the story. She is someone you can get behind and want the best for her. I also really enjoyed the friendship she has with Lin. Beth didn't have to go through this all on her own and had Lin to confide in. Lin was great at collecting data and researching what could potentially be the reason for Beth's gift and devising strategies on how Beth can best manage her gift. There is also a lovely little romance in this story as well as some character development from those that she saved. It has made for a very interesting and unique story overall. Catch is a YA novel however I'm a middle aged woman and still took something away from it. I will definitely be recommending this story to others.
July 11, 2025
Fresh, original, engaging.
Gobbled it up.
Gobbled it up.
November 24, 2025
Hmmmm. Maybe 2.5 stars?
I feel strongly that this book would have benefited from being re-written for a middlegrade audience. The character voice, plot and themes feel juvenile and lacking in depth for a book aimed at a YA audience and featuring an MC in year eleven. I feel like it would have worked better with the main character just leaving middle school, and then the story could have leaned more towards the comedic superhero elements and themes of finding strength in yourself against a more developed backdrop of feeling invisible and lost as you try to grow up and navigate the world (especially within the context of her sisters pregnancy). There is some slightly more mature content which probably makes this less suitable for the audience it feels written for, but I fear this won’t hit with the slightly older YA audience.
I feel strongly that this book would have benefited from being re-written for a middlegrade audience. The character voice, plot and themes feel juvenile and lacking in depth for a book aimed at a YA audience and featuring an MC in year eleven. I feel like it would have worked better with the main character just leaving middle school, and then the story could have leaned more towards the comedic superhero elements and themes of finding strength in yourself against a more developed backdrop of feeling invisible and lost as you try to grow up and navigate the world (especially within the context of her sisters pregnancy). There is some slightly more mature content which probably makes this less suitable for the audience it feels written for, but I fear this won’t hit with the slightly older YA audience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2025
soooo that was the ending? rude.
October 23, 2025
It comes from nowhere. Sudden nausea as if she’s going to throw up. Beth stops walking, puts her shopping down then looks up. Holding out her arms just in time, a man dressed in paint splattered overalls drops into them. He’s just as surprised as she is, but they say nothing as she steadies him on his feet.
At home, there’s no time to think about it, let alone tell anyone. Her parents are preparing for visitors, wanting to make a good impression. They are the parents of Beth’s sister’s boyfriend Rik, and her sister has some news.
Beth knew the secret, but a pregnancy announcement is far from what both sets of parents were expecting. Beth is left alone with her own shocking news, as her homelife suddenly gets a whole lot more complicated.
Her family has noticed a different change in her. She’s grown taller over the summer break, her arms longer too. Is this why she’s being catching falling items at home? Boys at school look at her differently too, along with her sister’s best friend, Etienne.
She’d be able to enjoy the attention if it wasn’t for the strange nausea that creeps up on her. Then a strong feeling deep in her gut. A desperate need to be somewhere. She doesn’t know just where that is at first, but follows the feeling, breaking school rules on the way. It happens again. She stops underneath a window and the school caretaker falls into her arms.
Terribly confused and a little freaked out, she knows she has to tell someone. Maybe her best friend Lin will understand. Over the following weeks, it happens again and again. But it is taking over her life at school and home, and most importantly coming between something wonderful and new with Etienne.
Although being able to Catch, saving lives over and over; Catch is more about main character Beth’s relationships. There is no way she can ignore the feeling to run and save someone, but it comes at all times of the day and night.
This has detrimental effects all around her, but explaining herself is even harder. Catch is about responsibility, new love, family bonds and friendships, all within an astonishing premise.
Basketball is a background thread which is also new to Beth, as she has never been into sports. The court setting is yet another place she has to try and be ‘normal’, but must come second to her urge to Catch. Each Catch saves a life, but adds tension to Beth’s.
Intriguing read.
At home, there’s no time to think about it, let alone tell anyone. Her parents are preparing for visitors, wanting to make a good impression. They are the parents of Beth’s sister’s boyfriend Rik, and her sister has some news.
Beth knew the secret, but a pregnancy announcement is far from what both sets of parents were expecting. Beth is left alone with her own shocking news, as her homelife suddenly gets a whole lot more complicated.
Her family has noticed a different change in her. She’s grown taller over the summer break, her arms longer too. Is this why she’s being catching falling items at home? Boys at school look at her differently too, along with her sister’s best friend, Etienne.
She’d be able to enjoy the attention if it wasn’t for the strange nausea that creeps up on her. Then a strong feeling deep in her gut. A desperate need to be somewhere. She doesn’t know just where that is at first, but follows the feeling, breaking school rules on the way. It happens again. She stops underneath a window and the school caretaker falls into her arms.
Terribly confused and a little freaked out, she knows she has to tell someone. Maybe her best friend Lin will understand. Over the following weeks, it happens again and again. But it is taking over her life at school and home, and most importantly coming between something wonderful and new with Etienne.
Although being able to Catch, saving lives over and over; Catch is more about main character Beth’s relationships. There is no way she can ignore the feeling to run and save someone, but it comes at all times of the day and night.
This has detrimental effects all around her, but explaining herself is even harder. Catch is about responsibility, new love, family bonds and friendships, all within an astonishing premise.
Basketball is a background thread which is also new to Beth, as she has never been into sports. The court setting is yet another place she has to try and be ‘normal’, but must come second to her urge to Catch. Each Catch saves a life, but adds tension to Beth’s.
Intriguing read.
September 19, 2025
Wow, I really enjoyed this book. To the point I couldn’t sleep for two nights because the catching element really got stuck in my head!
This story is a YA coming of age story, with a superpower element (because let’s face it, it’s definitely a superpower). There’s a romance subplot which is cute but full of tension.
Set in Australia, we follow Beth, a 16 year old grade 11 student, who has developed a sense of when someone is falling. Whether by accident, pushed, or sadly jumped. When this happens, Beth gets extremely nauseous and has to drop everything and run to get there in time to catch them. It is such a beautiful, yet heartbreaking concept.
Beth needs to navigate this, as well as an overbearing mum, failing grades, working, joining the basketball team and her first proper romance with Etienne.
I honestly think this is such a beautiful story. The family bonds, especially Beth and her sister Meg. Of friendships! I adore Rock!
My only issue really was the ending! It felt like it ended quite abruptly. I don’t know if this is a standalone or part of a series. If it’s a series and we get to see her life a year or two later then the ending is ok. If not I think I would have liked maybe an epilogue with a year later or something, but that’s just my personal preference!
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for sending me a PR box!
This story is a YA coming of age story, with a superpower element (because let’s face it, it’s definitely a superpower). There’s a romance subplot which is cute but full of tension.
Set in Australia, we follow Beth, a 16 year old grade 11 student, who has developed a sense of when someone is falling. Whether by accident, pushed, or sadly jumped. When this happens, Beth gets extremely nauseous and has to drop everything and run to get there in time to catch them. It is such a beautiful, yet heartbreaking concept.
Beth needs to navigate this, as well as an overbearing mum, failing grades, working, joining the basketball team and her first proper romance with Etienne.
I honestly think this is such a beautiful story. The family bonds, especially Beth and her sister Meg. Of friendships! I adore Rock!
My only issue really was the ending! It felt like it ended quite abruptly. I don’t know if this is a standalone or part of a series. If it’s a series and we get to see her life a year or two later then the ending is ok. If not I think I would have liked maybe an epilogue with a year later or something, but that’s just my personal preference!
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for sending me a PR box!
December 7, 2025
Throughout this book, I wondered what the narrative point was, and if there would be a moral.
At the end of the book, I am still wondering this.
I'm not usually this brutal of a reviewer, but I did find this book a bit frustrating that I was never motivated to pick it up again to keep reading.
The characters never really developed or changed, and the constant being told things, rather than shown, made for a rather dull read, where I was constantly at arms length, at a point in life where I could've really used the motivation.
The book never offended me, I did like that she (and other female characters) didn't change for no man, and that's an important narrative to keep sown into literature.
But sadly this was a pretty hard pass and felt like a very long read, although it wasn't.
At the end of the book, I am still wondering this.
I'm not usually this brutal of a reviewer, but I did find this book a bit frustrating that I was never motivated to pick it up again to keep reading.
The characters never really developed or changed, and the constant being told things, rather than shown, made for a rather dull read, where I was constantly at arms length, at a point in life where I could've really used the motivation.
The book never offended me, I did like that she (and other female characters) didn't change for no man, and that's an important narrative to keep sown into literature.
But sadly this was a pretty hard pass and felt like a very long read, although it wasn't.
September 6, 2025
Catch is an original, engaging story focusing on 16 year old Beth, who has the ability to sense when people are falling and then she catches them, preventing them from being injured or killed.
Beth has many issues going on in her life, including family and romantic dramas. She endeavours to find herself amongst other people’s problems that she feels responsible for dealing with.
This book is aimed at a young audience. I think it would be suitable for people aged around 13 years. At times the content can be quite heavy, however the writing is very simple. I personally liked the diverse representation of characters due to names from various origins.
Beth has many issues going on in her life, including family and romantic dramas. She endeavours to find herself amongst other people’s problems that she feels responsible for dealing with.
This book is aimed at a young audience. I think it would be suitable for people aged around 13 years. At times the content can be quite heavy, however the writing is very simple. I personally liked the diverse representation of characters due to names from various origins.
October 15, 2025
I absolutely loved this story so much that I’ll be reading the book a second time in the next few months. Beth is such an inspiring character, juggling schoolwork, friendships, family matters, romance, and a superpower that saves lives. As a late 20-something, I was transported back to my high school days while reading the book. It’s a beautiful story that helped me get through some difficult times in my life. Beth was there to catch me just in time.
January 3, 2026
A fresh and original YA novel, really enjoyable to read. I liked how Beth accepted her new situation (catching people) fairly quickly and it was the people closest to her that had to make the adjustment towards acceptance. I also liked the calm pragmatism of Beth's best friend Lin and the support and advice she was always on hand to provide.
December 1, 2025
Even though this book was very YA compared to my usual tastes, I loved this unique coming of age story!
I loved the cover and the unique story line and felt that this was so different to any other YA I had read and felt it still tackled some really important themes and it is very well
I loved the cover and the unique story line and felt that this was so different to any other YA I had read and felt it still tackled some really important themes and it is very well
November 1, 2025
I read this delightful coming-of-age drama in one day. Despite having the unlikely premise of a girl being able to sense and catch falling people, Beth's story is entirely believable. Her struggles with her newfound power and how it defines her will ring true for any adolescent or adult with a good memory - the confusing experience of feeling both invisible and hyper visible, special and weird, heavy with empathy and self-absorbed. A well-drawn family and a bit of romance made this a very satisfying story.
December 9, 2025
This shouldn't have been boring, and yet, I was bored
October 15, 2025
“Sometimes life suddenly changes. For me, everything changed on a Friday.” p1
What a great opening line. And the first chapter had me right in to the action. I really liked the pace of the book. Perfect for a YA reader who is of no risk of getting bored here.
I also really liked the balance with the characterisation. Even though the story was very strong and felt quite magical, the range of interesting and likeable characters was also so fascinating. I particularly liked the main character Beth and her family and seeing how they navigated everything that life was throwing at them throughout this story.
The book had some serious themes (including suicide) and was really heartfelt. For me it felt more poignant that overly sad.
It has definitely stayed with me after reading it, I don’t think I have read anything quite like it before.
Thank you to the publisher and Sarah Krill for gifting me this copy of the book to read and review.
What a great opening line. And the first chapter had me right in to the action. I really liked the pace of the book. Perfect for a YA reader who is of no risk of getting bored here.
I also really liked the balance with the characterisation. Even though the story was very strong and felt quite magical, the range of interesting and likeable characters was also so fascinating. I particularly liked the main character Beth and her family and seeing how they navigated everything that life was throwing at them throughout this story.
The book had some serious themes (including suicide) and was really heartfelt. For me it felt more poignant that overly sad.
It has definitely stayed with me after reading it, I don’t think I have read anything quite like it before.
Thank you to the publisher and Sarah Krill for gifting me this copy of the book to read and review.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews