Together We Fall Apart (Sophie Matthiesson, Pantera)
Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Together We Fall Apart is the debut novel from Sophie Matthiesson, who has woven elements of her own career trajectory into the story of her fictional protagonist, Clare. We follow...
Forbidden Journal of Rufus Rumble #1 (Nick Long, illus Robin Tatlow-Lord, Affirm)
Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Rufus Rumble is not an ordinary boy. For one thing, he’s about to go into space. For another, Rufus lives in a dystopian world where the Throwbackers have taken power...
The Last Trace (Petronella McGovern, A&U)
Tuesday, 21 May 2024
The Last Trace by award-winning author Petronella McGovern (The Liars) is true to her usual form, simmering with mystery and psychological twists. We meet Lachy, who should be enjoying an...
The Islands Where We Left Our Ancestors (Joshua Santospirito, Scribe)
Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Joshua Santospirito’s latest graphic-novel memoir, The Islands Where We Left Our Ancestors, begins with a ferry trip from Palermo to the Aeolian Islands. Santospirito is returning to the islands to...
Big Time (Jordan Prosser, UQP)
Tuesday, 21 May 2024
I’m not sure what’s going on at UQP, but they seem to have developed a passion for speculative fiction, and I’m here for it. Their latest offering, Big Time, is...
All About the Brain (Gabriel Dabscheck, illus Kim Siew, Berbay)
Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Dr Gabriel Dabscheck’s All About the Brain is a fun and engaging exploration of one of the body’s most fascinating and mysterious organs. Before exploring the brain-body connection, the book...
The End and Everything Before It (Finegan Kruckemeyer, Text)
Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Moving, profound and deeply layered, The End and Everything Before It is a soulful debut novel from award-winning playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer. Emma arrives in a small harbour after drifting alone on...
Lost & Found (Tim Sharp, Pantera)
Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Lost & Found is the latest book by author, speaker and leader of Australia’s positive psychology movement, Dr Tim Sharp (aka ‘Dr Happy’). A self-help guide with a difference, it...
What Do You Call Your Dad? (Ashleigh Barton, illus Martina Heiduczek, ABC Books)
Tuesday, 14 May 2024
What Do You Call Your Dad? is a love letter to fathers by writer Ashleigh Barton (Freddie Spector, Fact Collector: Space Cadet) and illustrator Martina Heiduczek (Spies in the Sky), the...
Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra (Cassy Polimeni, illus Hykie Breeze, UWAP)
Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra by Cassy Polimeni (The Garden at the End of the World) is a beautifully written junior fiction story exploring themes of animal conservation, friendship...
Personal Logistics (Chris Palazzolo, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Chris Palazzolo is a poet based in the East Kimberley region whose works have previously won the Viva La Novella prize and the ABC Fiction Award. His latest collection, Personal...
The Book Star (Bec Nanayakkara, illus Joanna Bartel, Affirm)
Tuesday, 14 May 2024
The Book Star is a fun and engaging story about the importance of being yourself and following your interests. Centred around Book Week, this picture book offers a relatable situation...
The Mires (Tina Makereti, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Tina Makereti’s latest novel, The Mires, is a masterclass in social realism with just a touch of magic. Opening from the perspective of the swampland of the Kāpiti Coast in Aotearoa...
Living Hot (Clive Hamilton & George Wilkenfeld, Hardie Grant Books)
Tuesday, 7 May 2024
Living Hot by Clive Hamilton (Silent Invasion) and independent energy consultant George Wilkenfeld, provides a stark assessment of Australia’s response to climate change, emphasising that the inertia behind carbon emissions reduction...
Leaf Letters (Lorena Carrington, Christmas Press)
Tuesday, 7 May 2024
Nine-year-old Hazel Bird loves to explore her local area and collect little treasures. When her baby sister is born, she can no longer bring home ‘choke-ables’ and is gifted an...
Return to Sender (Lauren Draper, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 7 May 2024
A historical letter-writing mystery and searching for the missing ‘Adder Stone’ are two of the many compelling story arcs in this highly engaging, fast-paced contemporary YA novel. Brodie McKellon (‘The...
A Language of Limbs (Dylin Hardcastle, Picador)
Tuesday, 7 May 2024
Dylin Hardcastle’s tender and steamy third novel, A Language of Limbs, follows two sapphic young women (Limb One and Limb Two) on different paths through the febrile 1970s and beyond...
Raymaŋgirrbuy dhäwu, When I was a little girl (Kylie Gatjawarrawuy Mununggurr, Magabala)
Tuesday, 7 May 2024
This beautiful book is written in dual languages: Dhuwal, also known as Djambarrpuyŋu (widely understood in north-east Arnhem Land), and English. The artworks/illustrations by author Kylie Gatjawarrawuy Mununggurr depict family...
Jade and Emerald (Michelle See-Tho, Vintage)
Tuesday, 7 May 2024
Winner of the 2023 Penguin Literary Prize, Jade and Emerald is a portrait of what it means to grow up caught between two cultures. Lei Ling Wen is an Australian-born...
The Infant Vine (Isabella G Mead, UWAP)
Tuesday, 7 May 2024
Isabella G Mead’s debut collection, The Infant Vine, speaks to the deeply elemental nature of motherhood. In these poems, the line between what is human and what is animal becomes ever...
Outrider (Mark Wales, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 30 April 2024
In Mark Wales’s debut novel, Outrider, China invades Australia, and the state of Victoria is now in the hands of enemy forces. With many fight-hungry locals turned traitors, The Hill—the once...
Wild About Book Week (Sarah Speedie, illus Kruti Desai, Larrikin House)
Tuesday, 30 April 2024
Wild About Book Week is a meta-tale of sorts, which celebrates what has become an annual tradition for many families: dressing up for Book Week. The protagonist, a pigtailed child,...
Spiro (Anna McGregor, Scribble)
Tuesday, 30 April 2024
Spiro is a humorous new picture book by Anna McGregor, the multi-award-winning creator of Anemone Is Not the Enemy. The protagonist is Spiro, a determined little spider on a mission to catch...
Always Was, Always Will Be (Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson, Magabala)
Tuesday, 30 April 2024
Always Was, Always Will Be is set to be an indispensable resource for young people looking to understand First Nations resistance in Australia. Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson, whose collaboration began...
Milk (Matthew Evans, Murdoch)
Tuesday, 30 April 2024
Dairy milk is an odd battleground for political polarisation, yet it always seems to be one. Milk is an attempt to make the case for that long-loved standard—cows’ milk—in the face of...
Animal Activism On and Off Screen (ed by Claire Parkinson & Lara Herring, SUP)
Tuesday, 30 April 2024
Animal activists have been at the forefront of using the media to get their message out—and in turn, the media has played a role in shaping the direction of activists’...
Brock the Croc (Adrian Beck, illus Dean Rankine, Larrikin House)
Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Brock the Croc is a humorous early chapter book for kids aged 7+ who have recently become comfortable with independent reading. Brock is the only crocodile in the swamp, and...
Blossom: Practical and creative ways to find wonder in the floral world (Adriana Picker, Hardie Grant Books)
Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Blossom goes beyond merely showcasing the beauty of flowers, offering wonderful and practical ideas for using flowers through the seasons. In her latest book, botanical illustrator Adriana Picker shares her...
Freddie Spector, Fact Collector: Space Cadet (Ashleigh Barton, illus Peter Cheong, Lothian)
Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Freddie Spector, Fact Collector: Space Cadet is the first instalment in this funny, fact-filled junior fiction series, ideal for ages 7 to 10. Freddie is a wacky, confident eight-year-old boy who...
Everything Is Water (Simon Cleary, UQP)
Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Like the river at its heart, Everything Is Water takes readers on a meandering journey full of unexpected delights, surprises and challenges at every turn. Novelist and hiker Simon Cleary (The...
