Reviews
Adult fiction
Kill Your Boomers (Fiona Wright, Ultimo)
Released April 2026
In her first work of fiction, Fiona Wright turns her sharp eye on Australia’s housing crisis. Kill Your Boomers centres on Keira, a 30-something writer who also nannies for the twins of a dodgy wellness entrepreneur. All the while, Keira obsesses over the warped real estate market she’s locked out of. Or is she? When… Read more
The Angry Wives Club (Gabbie Stroud, A&U)
Released April 2026
In The Angry Wives Club, Gabbie Stroud (Teacher, The Things That Matter Most) introduces 3 women who become friends at the gym in the small town of Shellwater Bay. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows everyone’s business, and where the townsfolk are quick to judge anyone who steps out of their prescribed role… Read more
Adult nonfiction
High Time: How Australia Changed Its Mind About Illegal Drugs (Desmond Manderson, La Trobe)
Released April 2026
Desmond Manderson’s High Time charts the history of attitudes towards drugs in Australia, from anti-Chinese attacks on opium in the early 20th century to present-day concerns about vaping and pill testing. The book expands on Manderson’s earlier work, From Mr Sin to Mr Big, updating his research in light of contemporary debates and policy shifts.… Read more
Touching the Sky (Deborah Lawrie, ABC Books)
Released April 2026
In Touching the Sky, aviation pioneer Deborah Lawrie recounts her remarkable life and career, from her landmark fight to become Australia’s first female commercial pilot to decades spent in the cockpit. Told chronologically, her memoir keeps its focus firmly on Lawrie’s professional life. She began flying lessons as a teenager and obtained her private flying… Read more
Children's picture books
Spare Kisses (Pip Harry, illus Yiscah Marcatili, Lothian)
Released April 2026
A young girl’s close and loving relationship with her grandmother is the subject of Pip Harry’s Spare Kisses. Told in gentle rhyme, the story follows Eve and her sprightly nan through a series of domestic adventures. With her pearls, blue-rimmed spectacles and overcoat pockets bulging with utensils, Nan is “ready for anything”, which always makes… Read more
Fearless (Kelly Canby, Fremantle)
Released April 2026
Kelly Canby’s Fearless will delight and reassure children, parents and teachers with its hopeful message that fear need not be overwhelming or permanent. Bea Ware is frightened of everything, moving through life feeling like a “frayed knot”. Her friend, Annie Venture, by contrast, seems to breeze through each day, and Bea is in awe of… Read more
Younger readers
Frank the Monster (Mats Strandberg, trans Julia Marshall, illus Sofia Falkenhem, Gecko)
Released April 2026
Frank the Monster is a gentle introduction to horror in chapter-book form, written by Swedish writer Mats Strandberg and translated into English by Julia Marshall. The story follows Frank, a 9-year-old misfit who has never had close friends but is enjoying the freedom of his summer holidays, even if it means spending time with his… Read more
Myra in the Middle (Seetha Dodd, illus Peter Cheong, UQP)
Released April 2026
Uplifting and true to life, Seetha Dodd’s Myra in the Middle is a junior novel that weaves together themes of family, identity and navigating change. Myra, a 7-year-old maths enthusiast with an older sister, Anya, is soon to welcome a new baby into her family. But although Myra is excited, she worries about becoming the… Read more
Young adult
The Escape Game (Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss, Penguin)
Released April 2026
The Escape Game is the new, immediately captivating YA mystery by Marissa Meyer (Cinder, Renegades) and Tamara Moss (Lintang and the Pirate Queen), set in the world of reality television, where teens solve escape-room riddles for a cash prize. After Season 4 ended with the murder of a star contestant, Team Helsing – Sierra, Carter, Beck… Read more
The Belly of a Wolf (Julianne Negri, UWA Publishing)
Released March 2026
The Belly of a Wolf is a powerful young adult verse novel by award-winning writer Julianne Negri. Little Red is grieving and struggling to return to school and connect with her peers after the death of her best friend, Wolf, whose suicide shapes the emotional core of the novel. In a deeply introspective first-person narration,… Read more
Recently released titles
The Last Resort (Amanda Hewitt, Echo)
Released February 2026
Amanda Hewitt’s debut, The Last Resort, opens with Abbey, newly divorced and reeling from the end of her marriage, as she seeks solace in the Maldives. During a late-night swim, she meets Nick, a fellow solo traveller from London who is carrying his own grief, and an unexpected connection begins to form. In this novel… Read more
How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates (Shailee Thompson, Atria Australia)
Released February 2026
Shailee Thompson’s debut, How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates, is a genre-blending good time that captures the zeitgeist with its mélange of romantic comedy and horror, movie quotes and Taylor Swift references. The story follows Jamie, a horror-film expert, who attends a local speed-dating event with her best friend, Laurie. When a sudden… Read more
