Review search
Ever Blessed (Olivia O’Flynn, HarperCollins)
Released June 2025
Ever Blessed by Olivia O’Flynn is a confident debut in the romantasy genre, featuring a recalcitrant heroine, a taciturn hero, and potentially world-ending stakes. Captain Elva, a warrior princess of... Read more
When Nothing Feels Real (Nathan Dunne, Murdoch)
Released June 2025
When Nothing Feels Real is a raw and immersive first-person account of journalist Nathan Dunne’s experience of depersonalisation. It begins with a moment – a dive into cold water –... Read more
Joss: A History (Grace Yee, Giramondo)
Released June 2025
Grace Yee’s Joss: A History uncovers the lives of Chinese immigrants in Australia during the 19th and 20th centuries through a powerful blend of archival research and poetry. Viewing White... Read more
A Farm by the Sea (Jillian Packer, Berbay)
Released June 2025
Fans of Alison Lester, Freya Blackwood and Trace Balla will be captivated by A Farm by the Sea by debut author and illustrator Jillian Packer. This new picture book invites young readers... Read more
R.I.P. Nanny Tobbins (Lucie Stevens, HarperCollins)
Released June 2025
R.I.P. Nanny Tobbins by Lucie Stevens is a deliciously macabre and unexpectedly funny debut fantasy for advanced middle-grade readers, blending tension, mystery and moments of humour with remarkable skill. Albertine... Read more
Lucky’s Star: The Story of a Meteorite (Mark Greenwood, illus by Lucia Masciullo, CSIRO Publishing)
Released June 2025
Children are naturally fascinated by the night sky, and Lucky’s Star will surely delight primary-aged students with its clever combination of storytelling and facts. Based on the real-life 1969 Murchison... Read more
A Lemon for Safiya (Jemima Shafei-Ongu, illus Nisaluk Chantanakom, Lothian)
Released June 2025
A Lemon for Safiya is a gentle and respectful story about a family’s compassionate response to a disoriented older woman whose ‘eyes held a sadness as deep as the ocean’.... Read more
Bombard the Headquarters! The Cultural Revolution in China (Linda Jaivin, Black Inc)
Released June 2025
Chairman Mao’s decade of terror is the subject of Bombard the Headquarters!, Australian sinologist Linda Jaivin’s excellent primer on China’s Cultural Revolution. In 1966, Peking University’s Nie Yuanzi created a... Read more
Terraglossia (Debra Dank, Echo)
Released June 2025
Debra Dank, a Gudanji/Wakaja and Kalkadoon woman from the Barkly Tablelands in the Northern Territory and critically acclaimed author of We Come with This Place, returns with her powerful new... Read more
The Brownout Murders (Luke C Jackson & Kelly Jackson, illus Maya Graham, Scribe)
Released June 2025
The year is 1942, and Melbourne is a city consumed with fear in The Brownout Murders, a gripping historical graphic novel. With the threat of a Japanese attack looming, the... Read more
Rise of the Witch (Everglade #1) (Kitty Black, illus Rebecca Crane, Affirm)
Released June 2025
Take one part Enid Blyton’s The Enchanted Wood, add a sprinkle of Diana Wynne Jones and a dash of Jessica Townsend’s Nevermoor, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a... Read more
Gone (Michel Streich, T&H)
Released June 2025
Writer and illustrator Michel Streich tackles the sensitive subject of loss and the mysteries surrounding death in his accessible and poignant picture book, Gone. The story centres on a child who... Read more
Foreign Country (Marija Peričić, Ultimo)
Released June 2025
In Marija Peričić’s lyrical and haunting third novel, the foreign country is the site of dislocation and alienation wrought by migration, grief and trauma. Croatian-Australian nurse Eva, who resides in... Read more
Stinkbug (Sinéad Stubbins, Affirm)
Released June 2025
Sinéad Stubbins’ debut fiction novel, Stinkbug, is a sharp, darkly funny reflection on the corporate ‘normal’ and the compromises we make to survive in a hostile environment. It meditates on... Read more
Our New Gods (Thomas Vowles, UQP)
Released June 2025
Twisty and menacing, the new psychological literary thriller Our New Gods – set in Melbourne’s queer scene – is unsettling and memorable. Debut author Thomas Vowles hooks the reader early,... Read more
The Pull of the Moon (Pip Smith, UWAP)
Released June 2025
In this bold, brave and boundary-pushing young adult novel, author Pip Smith (Half Wild) draws on her experience teaching asylum seekers and years of research to explore complex social themes.... Read more
Golden (Jade Timms, Text)
Released June 2025
Jade Timms’s affecting debut novel, Golden, shortlisted for the 2023 Text Prize, is a charming book about friendship, first love, and reclaiming happiness after a devastating trauma. Seventeen-year-old Eddie’s cheerful... Read more
Lady’s Knight (Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner, A&U Children’s)
Released June 2025
Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner’s latest novel, Lady’s Knight, is a tantalising forbidden love story for the ages. Gwen has spent years manning the village blacksmith under the guise of... Read more
King of Dirt (Holden Sheppard, Pantera)
Released June 2025
Holden Sheppard hits again with the blunt edge of Australian queerness in his latest novel, King of Dirt. Continuing his work in the gay coming-of-age genre (Sheppard’s 2019 debut Invisible... Read more
An Academic Affair (Jodi McAlister, S&S)
Released June 2025
Jodi McAlister, who has previously written for young adults, made her adult rom-com debut with the Marry Me, Juliet trilogy. Continuing in this genre, An Academic Affair introduces us to... Read more
