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WBN advance reviews >

Danger Road (A L Tait, Scholastic) 

Tuesday, 6 May 2025
In Danger Road, seasoned middle-grade author A L Tait has created a compelling standalone mystery about a cold case, small-town secrets, and the difficulties surrounding sibling dynamics. Set in a quiet...

George Goes to the Farm (Sinead Saint, Wild Dog) 

Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Playful and charming, George Goes to the Farm marks the debut of writer-illustrator Sinead Saint. Based on Saint’s own 11-year-old Groodle, the story follows George, a city dog who spends...

The Occupation (Chloe Adams, Penguin) 

Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Chloe Adams’ debut, The Occupation, brings to life the constraints placed on Australian women in the aftermath of the Second World War. The story follows Mary as she travels to...

Cloudmaker (Helen Milroy, Magabala) 

Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Acclaimed author-illustrator Helen Milroy, a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, returns with a creation story in her distinctive style, as seen in Sunny...

Salvage (Jennifer Mills, Picador) 

Tuesday, 29 April 2025
In Salvage, Jennifer Mills (The Airways, Dyschronia) weaves a haunting, speculative tale of two sisters navigating the fallout of a fractured world. Jude, rootless and always on the move, once...

Wait Here (Lucy Nelson, S&S) 

Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Lucy Nelson’s debut short story collection, Wait Here, is a striking reflection on women’s lives in all their beautiful complexity. Through narratives of varying lengths, Nelson deftly incorporates many perspectives...

An Academic Affair (Jodi McAlister, S&S) 

Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Jodi McAlister, who has previously written for young adults, made her adult rom-com debut with the Marry Me, Juliet trilogy. Continuing in this genre, An Academic Affair introduces us to...

A Beautiful Family (Jennifer Trevelyan, A&U) 

Tuesday, 22 April 2025
The narrator of Jennifer Trevelyan’s debut, A Beautiful Family, is 10-year-old Alix, a likeable and perceptive child. When her family arrive at their summer holiday house, she and her new friend Kahu...

Foreign Country (Marija Peričić, Ultimo) 

Tuesday, 22 April 2025
In Marija Peričić’s lyrical and haunting third novel, the foreign country is the site of dislocation and alienation wrought by migration, grief and trauma. Croatian-Australian nurse Eva, who resides in...

Gone (Michel Streich, T&H) 

Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Writer and illustrator Michel Streich tackles the sensitive subject of loss and the mysteries surrounding death in his accessible and poignant picture book, Gone. The story centres on a child who...

Golden (Jade Timms, Text) 

Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Jade Timms’s affecting debut novel, Golden, shortlisted for the 2023 Text Prize, is a charming book about friendship, first love, and reclaiming happiness after a devastating trauma. Seventeen-year-old Eddie’s cheerful...

The Pull of the Moon (Pip Smith, UWAP) 

Tuesday, 15 April 2025
In this bold, brave and boundary-pushing young adult novel, author Pip Smith (Half Wild) draws on her experience teaching asylum seekers and years of research to explore complex social themes....

Our New Gods (Thomas Vowles, UQP) 

Tuesday, 15 April 2025
Twisty and menacing, the new psychological literary thriller Our New Gods – set in Melbourne’s queer scene – is unsettling and memorable. Debut author Thomas Vowles hooks the reader early,...

Music Camp (Penny Tangey, UQP) 

Tuesday, 15 April 2025
Penny Tangey (Granbad, As Fast As I Can) returns to middle grade with Music Camp, a story set during a selective five-day interschool music camp. Miley lives with her mum...

Terraglossia (Debra Dank, Echo) 

Tuesday, 15 April 2025
Debra Dank, a Gudanji/Wakaja and Kalkadoon woman from the Barkly Tablelands in the Northern Territory and critically acclaimed author of We Come with This Place, returns with her powerful new...

The Name of the Sister (Gail Jones, Text) 

Tuesday, 8 April 2025
The latest novel from award-winning author Gail Jones, The Name of the Sister, is a literary whodunnit set in a small mining town. The book begins with a woman stumbling onto...