Review search
Danged Black Thing (Eugen Bacon, Transit Lounge)
Released November 2021
Lyrical, rich, oftentimes dark and sometimes hopeful, Danged Black Thing is a speculative fiction collection that takes the reader on a journey from Africa to Australia. The cities and villages the stories are set... Read more
Big Love (Megan Jacobson, illus by Beck Feiner, Walker Studio)
Released November 2021
This sweet picture book debut draws an immediate comparison with children’s bookshelf classic Guess How Much I Love You. As the borders of Big Love’s world unspool, from house to entire universe, the lyrical... Read more
The Last Woman in the World (Inga Simpson, Hachette)
Released November 2021
Inga Simpson’s fourth novel asks who we would choose to become in a catastrophic near-future Australia. Ray, short for Rachel, is a glass artist who sequesters herself deep in the... Read more
Wiradjuri Country (Larry Brandy, NLA Publishing)
Released November 2021
In Wiradjuri Country, Wiradjuri author Larry Brandy (along with several Indigenous artists, and with many photographs), offers a wealth of detailed information about flora, fauna, habitat, history, culture and storytelling in the... Read more
Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief (Katrina Nannestad, ABC Books)
Released November 2021
Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief is a historical novel for middle-grade readers set during WWII. Young Sasha lies in a hospital in Berlin, recovering after the end of the war. His... Read more
Doing Politics: Writing on public life (Judith Brett, Text)
Released November 2021
The state of the humanities in Australia today fills Judith Brett with despair. If she had a child considering a liberal arts degree now, and she had the money, she... Read more
The Boy and the Elephant (Freya Blackwood, HarperCollins)
Released November 2021
After almost 20 years of her books on our shelves, a new Freya Blackwood is always cause for delight. The Boy and the Elephant—Blackwood’s first wordless picture book—allows her quiet... Read more
Stellarphant (James Foley, Fremantle Press)
Released November 2021
One of the best things about picture books is that anything is possible; there are no restrictions on imagination. Author–illustrator James Foley’s latest book plays with a totally outlandish concept:... Read more
Devotion (Hannah Kent, Picador)
Released November 2021
When Hanne meets Thea, her life suddenly makes sense. They live in Kay, a tight-knit community of devout Lutherans who have been shunned for their beliefs. Both girls, on the... Read more
Caught in the Act (Shane Jenek aka Courtney Act, Pantera Press)
Released November 2021
Shane Jenek’s drag queen alter ego Courtney Act has been in the public eye for almost 20 years, beginning with her groundbreaking appearance on the first series of Australian Idol. As... Read more
Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales (ed by Poppy Nwosu, Wakefield Press)
Released November 2021
To the library of #LoveOzYA anthologies (Begin, End, Begin; Meet Me at the Intersection; Underdog; Kindred) comes Hometown Haunts, a new collection featuring 12 short stories and two graphic novels united... Read more
The Dogs (John Hughes, Upswell)
Released October 2021
John Hughes, whose last book No One was shortlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin, grapples with the idea of whether it is possible to ever truly know another person in... Read more
Norton and the Borrowing Bear (Gabriel Evans, Berbay)
Released October 2021
Gabriel Evans is fast becoming one of the most consistently delightful Australian picture book creators of recent years. With each release he adds to his oeuvre with such apparent ease,... Read more
How to Repaint a Life (Steven Herrick, UQP)
Released October 2021
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 Bogan Mondrian. This is gritty, heartbreaking prose that delves into... Read more
Wild Abandon (Emily Bitto, A&U)
Released October 2021
Emily Bitto’s second novel paints a portrait of a young man as he grapples with love, relationships and his place in the world. In the spring of 2011 Will finds... Read more
She’s a Killer (Kirsten McDougall, VUP)
Released October 2021
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 (IQ: 159) content to waste her life away in a... Read more
The Dancer: A biography for Philippa Cullen (Evelyn Juers, Giramondo)
Released October 2021
Dead in 1975 at 25 years old, the Australian avant-garde dancer, teacher and artist Philippa Cullen lived a tragically short life. And yet, at the time, her artistic activity cast... Read more
The First Scientists (Corey Tutt, illus by Blak Douglas, Hardie Grant)
Released October 2021
In The First Scientists, Corey Tutt, founder of the Deadly Science charity and NSW Young Person of the Year 2020, brings us an extremely engaging, informative and at times funny account of... Read more
Social Queue (Kay Kerr, Text)
Released October 2021
Neurodiverse teenager Zoe is undertaking an internship at an online media company when her first assignment, about the struggles of navigating the online dating scene as an autistic person, goes... Read more
A Duck Called Brian (Al Murphy, Scholastic)
Released October 2021
Brian the duck is unique—unlike all his yellow duck friends, he is bright blue. When Brian wakes up one morning to find he has run out of his favourite cereal,... Read more
