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Because I Love Him (Ashlee Donohue, Magabala) 

Nonfiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Becca Whitehead.

Because I Love Him is an intelligent and insightful reply to the question, ‘Why are you with him?'. As a...

Grace the Amazing (Aleesah Darlison, Wombat Books) 

Younger readers

Released May 2024, reviewed by Charlotte Callander .

This tender middle-grade novel by well-established children’s author Aleesah Darlison (who wrote the popular junior series League of Llamas) explores...

A Small Collection of Happinesses (Zana Fraillon, illus Stephen Michael King, Lothian) 

Younger readers

Released May 2024, reviewed by Katy Briggs.

In the first pages of acclaimed author Zana Fraillon’s A Small Collection of Happinesses, Ada is ‘blown in…and dumped… right...

Book of Hours (Clare McFadden, Walker) 

Children’s picture book

Released May 2024, reviewed by George Banach-Salas.

Book of Hours, written and illustrated by Clare McFadden (The Flying Orchestra), tells a life story in a series of...

Bright Objects (Ruby Todd, A&U) 

Fiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Annie Waters.

Sylvia Knight works at a funeral home—the same one that buried her husband after an unsolved hit-and-run. Two years on,...

Suddenly Single at Sixty (Jo Peck, Text) 

Nonfiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Fay Helfenbaum .

Not long after Jo Peck’s 60th birthday, her husband drops a bombshell—he’s leaving her for a (much) younger woman. She...

The Lost Letters of Rose Carey (Julie Bennett, S&S) 

Fiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Nadia Heisler.

Inspired by the life of the Australian swimmer and film icon Annette Kellerman, The Lost Letters of Rose Carey follows two heroines:...

Love & Rome (Jenna Lo Bianco, Macmillan) 

Fiction

Released June 2024, reviewed by Ana Brawls.

Stella Chiaro is an Australian-Italian artist trying to find her place in the eternal city. With a one-way ticket back...

Boots (Elizabeth Pulsford, illus Krista Brennan, Wombat Books) 

Children’s picture book

Released May 2024, reviewed by M H Alessandrino.

The idea of walking in someone else’s shoes to evoke understanding and empathy is not a new concept, but Elizabeth...

Psykhe (Kate Forsyth, Vintage) 

Fiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Alexandra Ashburner-Hill .

Kate Forsyth’s latest historical fiction, Psykhe, adds to her substantial body of work (The Crimson Thread, Bitter Greens) as it reimagines the Greek...

Cheer Up, Blobfish! (Julie Murphy, illus Rachel Tribout, Affirm) 

Children’s picture book

Released May 2024, reviewed by M H Alessandrino .

It’s time for The Festival of the Fish and everyone is excited, but the blobfish looks sad, and none of...

Love Across Class (Rose Butler & Eve Vincent, MUP) 

Nonfiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Nathan Smith.

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...

Ghost Cities (Siang Lu, UQP) 

Fiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Anthea Yang.

Recently fired from his translating job at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney for lying about his translation skills and using...

All the Beautiful Things You Love (Jonathan Seidler, Macmillan) 

Fiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Lisa Schuurman.

A romantic comedy told in reverse, All the Beautiful Things You Love charts Elly and Enzo's relationship over 10 years,...

Ultra Violet: Down to Business (Cristy Burne, illus Rebel Challenger, Larrikin House) 

Graphic novel

Released May 2024, reviewed by Clare Millar.

Ultra Violet: Down to Business is the first in a new junior graphic novel series with a hilarious—but very scientific—premise....

The Kindness Project (Deborah Abela, Puffin) 

Younger readers

Released May 2024, reviewed by Katie Haydon.

Nicolette is unconfident and shy and feels like she doesn’t fit in anywhere. However, she loves spending time with her...

Because I’m Not Myself, You See (Ariane Beeston, Black Inc) 

Nonfiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Emily Westmoreland .

Ariane Beeston’s debut, Because I’m Not Myself, You See, chronicles her postpartum psychosis, as a mother and clinical psychologist. The...

How to Avoid a Happy Life (Julia Lawrinson, Fremantle) 

Nonfiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Danielle Bagnato.

How to Avoid a Happy Life is a lively memoir by Julia Lawrinson (Losing It), the author of over 15 books for...

Peripathetic: Notes on (un)belonging (Cher Tan, NewSouth) 

Nonfiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Julia Taylor.

The nine essays in this collection, Peripathetic by Melbourne-based Cher Tan, use the form’s digressive capacity well. In elastic prose...

Safe Haven (Shankari Chandran, Ultimo) 

Fiction

Released May 2024, reviewed by Sonia Nair.

Miles Franklin–winning author Shankari Chandran turns her focus to Australia’s inhumane practice of mandatory detention in her fourth novel, Safe...