Quiet Magic: Emily Rodda on ‘The Shop at Hoopers Bend’
11 May 2017
Emily Rodda’s latest novel The Shop at Hoopers Bend is a return to the author’s earlier books, where the magic is ‘about following your instincts’ rather than fantasy realms. Fay...
Heavyweight division: Peter Carnavas on ‘The Elephant’
3 May 2017
Best known for his picture books, Peter Carnavas’ junior fiction novel The Elephant (UQP, July) ‘paints a portrait of a small family coming to terms with a tragedy through love,...
Crime teen investigation: Tristan Bancks on ‘The Fall’
3 May 2017
In Tristan Bancks’ middle-grade novel The Fall, 12-year-old Sam Garner finds himself investigating a crime after witnessing a body falling from his apartment building. Bancks spoke to reviewer Braiden Asciak....
Get cultured: Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost on ‘Do Not Lick This Book’
5 April 2017
Writer Idan Ben-Barak and illustrator Julian Frost’s guide to microbes is a ‘fun, beautifully designed and repulsive [picture] book’ that will have kids ‘[delighting] in the gross elements’, writes reviewer...
Spirited away: Gabrielle Wang on ‘The Beast of Hushing Woods’
27 February 2017
Gabrielle Wang’s The Beast of Hushing Woods (Puffin, April) is a ‘lyrical, dreamlike fable for confident readers aged 10 and up’, which ‘marries snippets of Eastern mythology with a setting...
Movie mayhem: Alex Miles on ‘Mammoth Mistake’
27 February 2017
Mammoth Mistake is the first book in Alex Miles’ new ‘Olive Black’ series, about a 10-year-old actress who juggles friendships, rivals and on-set hijinks. Reviewer Bec Kavanagh spoke to the...
Comic timing: Peter Helliar on ‘Frankie Fish and the Sonic Suitcase’
15 February 2017
Comedian Peter Helliar’s first children’s book Frankie Fish and the Sonic Suitcase (HGE, February) is a time-travel adventure starring 12-year-old Frankie and his cranky grandad, who has a hook for...
Unlocking the memories: J C Burke on ‘The Things We Promise’
8 February 2017
Set in the 1990s around the HIV/AIDS crisis, J C Burke’s YA novel The Things We Promise (A&U, March) is a ‘heartbreaking examination of grief, love and prejudice from the...
