Grace the Amazing (Aleesah Darlison, Wombat Books)
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
This tender middle-grade novel by well-established children’s author Aleesah Darlison (who wrote the popular junior series League of Llamas) explores friendship, coming to terms with death, and finding the courage...
A Small Collection of Happinesses (Zana Fraillon, illus Stephen Michael King, Lothian)
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
In the first pages of acclaimed author Zana Fraillon’s A Small Collection of Happinesses, Ada is ‘blown in…and dumped… right at the front gates of number 9 Hawkhurst Lane’. I...
Book of Hours (Clare McFadden, Walker)
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Book of Hours, written and illustrated by Clare McFadden (The Flying Orchestra), tells a life story in a series of dreamy vignettes. These postcard moments capture memories by the sea—of...
Suddenly Single at Sixty (Jo Peck, Text)
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Not long after Jo Peck’s 60th birthday, her husband drops a bombshell—he’s leaving her for a (much) younger woman. She is shocked and heartbroken that the life she’d worked towards—full...
Love & Rome (Jenna Lo Bianco, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Stella Chiaro is an Australian-Italian artist trying to find her place in the eternal city. With a one-way ticket back to Australia and dwindling funds, Stella has six months left...
Boots (Elizabeth Pulsford, illus Krista Brennan, Wombat Books)
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
The idea of walking in someone else’s shoes to evoke understanding and empathy is not a new concept, but Elizabeth Pulsford takes it further in her debut picture book, Boots,...
Books in the media this weekend, 23–24 March
Friday, 22 March 2024
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. National The Saturday Paper Appreciation (Liam Pieper, Hamish Hamilton) Crimes of the Cross (Anne Manne,...
‘The Gut Repair Plan’ enters top 10
Friday, 22 March 2024
Top 10 bestsellers What Happened to Nina? (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins) Bluey: Horray, It’s Easter! (Puffin) Bluey: Happy Easter (Puffin) Bluey: Easter (Puffin) RecipeTin Eats: Dinner (Nagi Maehashi, Macmillan) Atomic Habits (James Clear, RH Business) Fourth Wing (Rebecca...
Psykhe (Kate Forsyth, Vintage)
Tuesday, 19 March 2024
Kate Forsyth’s latest historical fiction, Psykhe, adds to her substantial body of work (The Crimson Thread, Bitter Greens) as it reimagines the Greek myth of Eros and Psyche. In the novel, Psykhe’s act...
Cheer Up, Blobfish! (Julie Murphy, illus Rachel Tribout, Affirm)
Tuesday, 19 March 2024
It’s time for The Festival of the Fish and everyone is excited, but the blobfish looks sad, and none of the sea creatures can cheer him up. This fun, rhyming...
Love Across Class (Rose Butler & Eve Vincent, MUP)
Tuesday, 19 March 2024
In Love Across Class, researchers Rose Butler and Eve Vincent seek to demystify the complex—and often obscured—role class can play in shaping romantic relationships. As class is often overlooked in social and political conversations (unlike...
Ghost Cities (Siang Lu, UQP)
Tuesday, 19 March 2024
Recently fired from his translating job at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney for lying about his translation skills and using Google Translate to do his job, Xiang Lu is a...
All the Beautiful Things You Love (Jonathan Seidler, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 19 March 2024
A romantic comedy told in reverse, All the Beautiful Things You Love charts Elly and Enzo's relationship over 10 years, leading up to their divorce. But what happens to their...
The Kindness Project (Deborah Abela, Puffin)
Tuesday, 19 March 2024
Nicolette is unconfident and shy and feels like she doesn’t fit in anywhere. However, she loves spending time with her nanna and takes comfort in her visits to her nursing...
Because I’m Not Myself, You See (Ariane Beeston, Black Inc.)
Tuesday, 19 March 2024
Ariane Beeston’s debut, Because I’m Not Myself, You See, chronicles her postpartum psychosis, as a mother and clinical psychologist. The memoir weaves personal experiences with scientific evidence, and makes recommendations...
McTiernan tops the chart
Friday, 15 March 2024
Top 10 bestsellers What Happened to Nina? (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins) Bluey: Horray, It’s Easter! (Puffin) Bluey: Happy Easter (Puffin) Bluey: Easter (Puffin) The 24th Hour (James Patterson, Century) Never Too Late (Danielle Steel, Macmillan) The...
Books in the media this weekend, 16–17 March
Friday, 15 March 2024
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. National The Saturday Paper Kind of, Sort of, Maybe... But Probably Not (Imbi Neeme, Viking)...
How to Avoid a Happy Life (Julia Lawrinson, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
How to Avoid a Happy Life is a lively memoir by Julia Lawrinson (Losing It), the author of over 15 books for young people. This memoir takes readers through a lifetime of sad and...
Peripathetic: Notes on (un)belonging (Cher Tan, NewSouth)
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
The nine essays in this collection, Peripathetic by Melbourne-based Cher Tan, use the form’s digressive capacity well. In elastic prose informed by wide reading, Tan heads down wordy, winding rabbit...
Safe Haven (Shankari Chandran, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Miles Franklin–winning author Shankari Chandran turns her focus to Australia’s inhumane practice of mandatory detention in her fourth novel, Safe Haven. As in Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, a focal...
The Unexpected Mess of It All (Gabrielle Tozer, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Gold Inky award-winning author Gabrielle Tozer’s fifth YA novel, The Unexpected Mess of it All, displays her trademark empathy, humour and cheekiness. Jamila’s life is an unexpected mess. Since their...
Cora Seen and Heard (Zanni Louise, Walker)
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
When Cora’s family moves to Tasmania to renovate a decrepit theatre, Cora, 12, is thrilled at the opportunity to reinvent herself as Cora 2.0: more confident, admired, and interesting. But...
What Stars Are For (Margeaux Davis, Affirm)
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
What Stars Are For is the first picture book by sewing pattern and soft toy designer Margeaux Davis. The emerging children’s book illustrator’s love for the natural world is informed...
To Sing of War (Catherine McKinnon, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
From Miles Franklin–shortlisted author Catherine McKinnon (Storyland), To Sing of War confronts the interconnectedness that binds humanity. Against the backdrop of WWII, we find ourselves immersed in the jungles of...
The Land Recalls You (Kirli Saunders, illus David Cragg & Noni Cragg, Scholastic)
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
The title of multi-awarded Gunai poet Kirli Saunders’s picture book The Land Recalls You honours the Stolen Generations and their descendants, as well as others who have been taken from Country, in a story...
Books by Maguire, McTiernan, Patterson and Lette debut in top 10
Friday, 8 March 2024
Top 10 bestsellers The Simple Dinner Edit (Nicole Maguire, Plum) What Happened to Nina? (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins) Bluey: Happy Easter (Puffin) Bluey: Horray, It’s Easter! (Puffin) The 24th Hour (James Patterson, Century) Bluey: Easter (Puffin)...
Books in the media this weekend, 9–10 March
Friday, 8 March 2024
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. This week's round-up will be updated as information becomes available. National The Saturday Paper Breath (Carly-Jay...
Our Flag, Our Story (Bernard Namok Jnr & Thomas Mayo, illus Tori-Jay Mordey, Magabala)
Tuesday, 5 March 2024
Reading Our Flag, Our Story: The Torres Strait Islander Flag by Bernard Namok Jnr and Thomas Mayo on so-called Australia Day feels incredibly poignant. In October 2023, Australians voted against establishing the...
Saltblood (Francesca de Tores, Bloomsbury)
Tuesday, 5 March 2024
Saltblood is an engrossing, deeply felt historical novel by Melbourne poet, author and academic Francesca de Tores (with previous works published as Francesca Haig), fictionalising the life of pirate Mary...
Country (Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson, illus Cheryl Davison, Wild Dog)
Tuesday, 5 March 2024
Country is a celebration of earth and sky, sun, moon and stars—central to First Nations Culture. Through intricate, warm and entrancing artwork by renowned artist and Walbunja, Ngarigo woman Cheryl...
