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WBN advance reviews >

Body Friend (Katherine Brabon, Ultimo) 

Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Katherine Brabon distinguished herself with her first novels, The Memory Artist and The Shut Ins, but she has surpassed these and reached an early career pinnacle with her enigmatically titled novel, Body Friend. If a...

Borderland (Graham Akhurst, UWA Publishing) 

Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Jono is a young Indigenous man who has little connection to Country and community. While his best friend, Jenny, seems to know exactly who she is, Jono struggles with his...

Everyone and Everything (Nadine J Cohen, Pantera) 

Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Nadine J Cohen’s debut novel, Everyone and Everything, opens with 34-year-old Yael Silver swimming at a women-only ocean pool following a recent suicide attempt. The pool, built deep into a cliff...

The Hummingbird Effect (Kate Mildenhall, Scribner) 

Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Kate Mildenhall’s latest novel, The Hummingbird Effect, follows the struggles of four women in a world completely transformed by time. The book follows four protagonists; in 1933, Peggy adjusts to life in a...

Sunbirds (Mirandi Riwoe, UQP) 

Tuesday, 18 July 2023
In West Java, towards the end of 1941, war is looming. Whispers of a Japanese invasion weigh heavily on the minds of the van Hoorn family, who are throwing their...

Every Night at Midnight (Peter Cheong, Affirm) 

Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Up-and-coming author-illustrator Peter Cheong casts a magnificent glow with Every Night at Midnight, his heart-warming picture book about finding friendship in unexpected places. With the repetitive refrain, ‘Every night at...

Ordinary Gods and Monsters (Chris Womersely, Macmillan) 

Tuesday, 18 July 2023
For 17-year-old Nick Wheatley and his long-time best friend and next-door neighbour, Marion Perry, school has finished for good, adulthood beckons and their lives are nudging them in different directions....

Eleanor Jones is Not a Murderer (Amy Doak, Penguin) 

Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Amy Doak’s debut, Eleanor Jones is Not a Murderer, is a young adult mystery novel for aspiring detectives. Eleanor thinks of herself as an unexceptional person with medium hair, skin, height and...

The Visitors (Jane Harrison, HarperCollins) 

Tuesday, 11 July 2023
It’s 1788 in Gadigal country. Seven Aboriginal Elders gather from different clans to discuss the large ships in the harbour. Who are these visitors? Why are they here? How did...

This Camp is Doomed (Anna Zobel, Puffin) 

Tuesday, 11 July 2023
In her first upper-primary novel, Anna Zobel turns her knack for writing emotionally intelligent, likeable, mildly eccentric, diverse characters to the task of creating an engrossing adventure-mystery story for imaginative...

Anxious in a Sweet Store (Anna Jacobson, Upswell) 

Tuesday, 4 July 2023
Anxious in a Sweet Store is the playful and nostalgic second full-length poetry collection from writer and artist Anna Jacobson. Divided into four parts, each named after a classic sweet...

Mighty Blossom (Nicki Greenberg, Affirm) 

Tuesday, 4 July 2023
Nicki Greenberg is one of Australia’s most versatile authors, whose work for young readers encompasses fiction, picture books, nonfiction, and critically acclaimed graphic novels. Mighty Blossom is her latest offering...

The Love Contract (Steph Vizard, HarperCollins) 

Tuesday, 4 July 2023
Winner of the 2022 HarperCollins Banjo Prize for Fiction, Steph Vizard’s debut novel The Love Contract is a tantalising romance set in Melbourne that combines the classic enemies-to-lovers and fake-relationship-turned-real-romance...

Ripper (Shelley Burr, Hachette) 

Tuesday, 4 July 2023
Reputation can make or break a small town, and the bloody history of Rainier will always be the first thing people remember. Nearly two decades ago, when a serial killer...

A Real Piece of Work (Erin Riley, Viking) 

Tuesday, 4 July 2023
Erin Riley’s A Real Piece of Work traverses the vast continent of modern Australian identity through 20 short essays. Each essay is a testament to Riley’s personal experiences with sexuality,...