Big Love (Megan Jacobson, illus by Beck Feiner, Walker Studio)
Children’s picture book
Released November 2021, reviewed by Bronte Coates.
This sweet picture book debut draws an immediate comparison with children’s bookshelf classic Guess How Much I Love You. As the borders...
Danged Black Thing (Eugen Bacon, Transit Lounge)
Fiction
Released November 2021, reviewed by Jing Xuan Teo.
Lyrical, rich, oftentimes dark and sometimes hopeful, Danged Black Thing is a speculative fiction collection that takes the reader on a journey from Africa...
Skimming Stones (Maria Papas, Fremantle Press)
Fiction
Released November 2021, reviewed by Joanne Shiells.
Thrombolites—living rocks made from microbes—exist in only a few places on Earth, including Lake Clifton, south of Perth. Here, the...
Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales (ed by Poppy Nwosu, Wakefield Press)
Fiction
Released November 2021, reviewed by Jordi Kerr.
To the library of #LoveOzYA anthologies (Begin, End, Begin; Meet Me at the Intersection; Underdog; Kindred) comes Hometown Haunts, a new...
The Younger Wife (Sally Hepworth, Macmillan)
Fiction
Released November 2021, reviewed by Kate Cuthbert.
Readers won’t be shocked to learn that Sally Hepworth’s new novel The Younger Wife features a May–December romance between a younger woman...
The One That Got Away: Travelling in the time of Covid (Ken Haley, Transit Lounge)
Nonfiction
Released November 2021, reviewed by Nathan Smith.
The One That Got Away documents journalist and travel writer Ken Haley’s year evading the pandemic. While many of us...
Tomorrow is a Brand-New Day (Davina Bell, illus by Allison Colpoys, Scribble)
Children’s picture book
Released November 2021, reviewed by Fay Helfenbaum.
Tomorrow is a Brand-New Day is an ode to making a mistake and then making things right. It follows two...
Marcie Gill and the Caravan Park Cat (Monica McInerney, illus by Danny Snell, Puffin)
Younger readers
Released November 2021, reviewed by Annie Waters.
With a dozen adult novels under her belt, Monica McInerney is now turning her hand to children’s fiction and her first foray into middle-grade...
The Dogs (John Hughes, Upswell)
Fiction
Released October 2021, reviewed by Jack Rowland.
John Hughes, whose last book No One was shortlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin, grapples with the idea of whether...
The Greatest Mistakes That Went Right (Maddy Mara, illus by Cheryl Orsini, Affirm Press)
Children’s picture book
Released November 2021, reviewed by Thuy On.
Many kids are afraid to try new things because they are scared of not getting it right the first time;...
Terciel and Elinor (Garth Nix, A&U)
Young adult
Released November 2021, reviewed by Stefen Brazulaitis.
Garth Nix’s ‘Old Kingdom’ books have been a perennial staple of YA sections in bookstores for the past 25 years,...
Another Day in the Colony (Chelsea Watego, UQP)
Nonfiction
Released November 2021, reviewed by Timmah Ball.
Chelsea Watego’s debut essay collection Another Day in the Colony documents the sustained racism First Peoples suffer in this continent. Through critical...
How Decent Folk Behave (Maxine Beneba Clarke, Hachette)
Poetry
Released November 2021, reviewed by Chris Alphonso.
How Decent Folk Behave is an exploration of the systemic failures that have led to lockdowns, massacres, violence against women...
How to Repaint a Life (Steven Herrick, UQP)
Young adult
Released October 2021, reviewed by Karys McEwen.
How to Repaint a Life is the latest offering from Steven Herrick, author of award-winning young adult titles including The Simple Gift and The...
Norton and the Borrowing Bear (Gabriel Evans, Berbay)
Children’s picture book
Released October 2021, reviewed by Michael Earp.
Gabriel Evans is fast becoming one of the most consistently delightful Australian picture book creators of recent years. With each...
She’s a Killer (Kirsten McDougall, VUP)
Fiction
Released October 2021, reviewed by Brad Jefferies.
This fun, dark-comedy thriller is led by one of the most memorable characters I’ve encountered in recent contemporary fiction. Alice is in her late 30s, a near-genius...
The First Scientists (Corey Tutt, illus by Blak Douglas, Hardie Grant)
Younger readers
Released October 2021, reviewed by Hannah Gardiner.
In The First Scientists, Corey Tutt, founder of the Deadly Science charity and NSW Young Person of the Year 2020, brings us...
Wild Abandon (Emily Bitto, A&U)
Fiction
Released October 2021, reviewed by Anthea Yang.
Emily Bitto’s second novel paints a portrait of a young man as he grapples with love, relationships and his place...
The Dancer: A biography for Philippa Cullen (Evelyn Juers, Giramondo)
Nonfiction
Released October 2021, reviewed by Jeremy George.
Dead in 1975 at 25 years old, the Australian avant-garde dancer, teacher and artist Philippa Cullen lived a tragically short...
Social Queue (Kay Kerr, Text)
Young adult
Released October 2021, reviewed by Erin Wamala.
Neurodiverse teenager Zoe is undertaking an internship at an online media company when her first assignment, about the struggles of...
