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WBN advance reviews >

Meltdown (Lauren Novak, HarperCollins) 

Tuesday, 9 December 2025
Meltdown is a heavily researched yet highly accessible examination of “mum rage”, the gendered term the book uses to describe anger experienced in motherhood, exploring why it happens and how...

Red Star Rebels (Amie Kaufman, A&U Children’s) 

Tuesday, 9 December 2025
Amie Kaufman is a well-known name in young adult speculative fiction, particularly for the bestselling Starbound and Illuminae Files series (co-authored with Megan Spooner and Jay Kristoff respectively). Red Star...

Romeo v Juliet (RA Spratt, Penguin) 

Tuesday, 9 December 2025
Bestselling author RA Spratt’s Romeo v Juliet is a light-hearted time-travelling comedy that will appeal to older middle-grade and younger YA audiences aged 12 and up. When 16-year-old Selby, a...

My Brother Otto (Ingrid Laguna, Text) 

My Brother Otto Tuesday, 9 December 2025
In My Brother Otto, Ingrid Laguna (Edie Tells a Lie) explores the emotional upheaval of welcoming and losing a new sibling. Quinn is 11 years old and happy being an...

Two Tongues (Maria van Neerven, UQP) 

Tuesday, 9 December 2025
Two Tongues is a memoir of language and memory told through poetry. Mununjali woman from the Yugambeh nation Maria van Neerven structures the collection in three chronological parts, tracing her...

Bugger (Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Hachette) 

The cover of "Bugger" by Michael Mohammed Ahmad. Tuesday, 9 December 2025
Bugger by Michael Mohammed Ahmad (The Lebs, The Tribe) is a heart-wrenching investigation into child sex abuse. Its protagonist, Hamoodi, is an isolated 10-year-old who adores Power Rangers and lives...

The Sisterhood Rules (Kathy Lette, Aria) 

The cover of "The Sisterhood Rules" by Kathy Lette. Tuesday, 9 December 2025
Bawdy, cheeky and resoundingly “punny”, Kathy Lette’s latest romp, The Sisterhood Rules, is 100% on brand. Twin sisters Isabel and Verity have been estranged for five years, ever since Verity...

The Duke’s Secret (Sue Williams, A&U) 

Tuesday, 2 December 2025
In The Duke’s Secret, the latest historical fiction by Sue Williams (The Governor, His Wife and His Mistress), journalist Ava Washington sets out to verify a family legend. According to...

In a Common Hour (Sita Walker, Ultimo) 

Tuesday, 2 December 2025
Dedicated to the Queensland state school teachers she works alongside, Sita Walker’s debut novel, In a Common Hour, offers readers a story with universal school politics. Over the course of...

The Last Resort (Amanda Hewitt, Echo) 

Tuesday, 25 November 2025
Amanda Hewitt’s debut, The Last Resort, opens with Abbey, newly divorced and reeling from the end of her marriage, as she seeks solace in the Maldives. During a late-night swim,...

The Other Child (Susi Fox, Penguin) 

Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Susi Fox’s The Other Child opens with obstetrician Lauren De Vale returning to work after the birth of her second child, Charlotte, and finding it harder than she expected. Lauren...

Dreamwives (Claire Novak, HarperCollins) 

Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Claire Novak’s Dreamwives is a hearty and entertaining contemporary “mum-com” novel that pays tribute to and shines a light on women's invisible labour. Katrina and Michelle are no strangers to...

Might Cry Later (Kay Kerr, Macmillan) 

Tuesday, 11 November 2025
In Kay Kerr’s adult fiction debut, Might Cry Later, Nora Byrne is burnt out and struggling to reclaim herself after blowing up her life in Melbourne. By Christmas, she’s back...

Dark Desert Road (Tim Ayliffe, Echo) 

The cover of "Dark Desert Road" by Tim Ayliffe. Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Tim Ayliffe’s Dark Desert Road follows identical twins Kit and Billie, who grew up under their father’s violent rule – a man scarred by his trauma from serving in Afghanistan....