Review search
When Sleeping Women Wake (Emma Pei Yin, Hachette)
Released July 2025
Expansive yet tightly plotted, When Sleeping Women Wake is a deeply empathetic novel that examines the devastation of war. Set in 1940s Hong Kong, it traces the city’s transformation from... Read more
Who Might You Be? (Robert Henderson, A&U Children’s)
Released July 2025
Inspired by the popular tangram puzzle, Who Might You Be? is a unique picture book that celebrates the power of transformation. Robert Henderson (I See, I See) has created a... Read more
We Saw What You Started (Carla Salmon, Pan Australia)
Released July 2025
Carla Salmon’s debut novel, We Saw What You Started, is set in Red Sands, a classic Australian coastal town with a ‘barefoot and boardshorts’ summer holiday vibe, where Instagram-worthy scenery... Read more
The Silken Thread (Gabrielle Wang, Penguin)
Released July 2025
When 12-year-old Moonie’s Ma Mi leaves home, an apparition of a boy, Little Dipper, appears. Moonie regularly sees three ghost siblings in her 1930s Carlton house, so she is unfazed... Read more
The Frog’s First Song (Jazz Money, illus Jason Phu, UQP)
Released July 2025
Award-winning Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money (how to make a basket, mark the dawn) and three-time Archibald Prize finalist illustrator Jason Phu have come together to create an uplifting, joyous tale... Read more
Eden (Mark Brandi, Hachette)
Released July 2025
Mark Brandi has established himself as a master of gritty yet lyrical thrillers that appeal to connoisseurs of Australian crime fiction since his explosive 2017 debut, Wimmera, which won him... Read more
A Forbidden Alchemy (Stacey McEwan, S&S)
Released July 2025
A Forbidden Alchemy is an enthralling romantasy that blends magic, politics and passion in a world on the brink of revolution. It follows a talented dreamer, a quick-witted loyalist, and... Read more
The Pearl of Tagai Town (Lenora Thaker, Text)
Released July 2025
Lenora Thaker’s debut novel, The Pearl of Tagai Town, is a fast-paced story that follows Pearl, a young Torres Strait Islander descendant, growing up in a northeastern Australian shantytown in the... Read more
The Revisionists (Michelle Johnston, Fourth Estate)
Released July 2025
Michelle Johnston’s third novel, The Revisionist, is a beautifully crafted story that follows the journey of Christine Campbell, a young woman with strong beliefs and misguided ambitions. Christine goes to great lengths... Read more
Moonlight and Dust (Jasmin McGaughey, A&U Children’s)
Released July 2025
Jasmin McGaughey’s debut YA fantasy Moonlight and Dust is set in Cairns and follows 16-year-old Zillah, a responsible Torres Strait Islander who always thinks before she acts – unlike her... Read more
The Big Fix (Albert Palazzo, Melbourne University Publishing)
Released July 2025
In a hostile world, does Australia’s only path to national security require it to remain subservient to a global power? Generations of political leaders have said yes. Albert Palazzo puts... Read more
Your Friend and Mine (Jessica Dettmann, Atlantic)
Released July 2025
Margot is a middle-aged, married mother of one who runs a busy restaurant in Balmain with her husband. Life is full, but not necessarily fulfilling – she’s growing weary of... Read more
Danger Road (A L Tait, Scholastic)
Released July 2025
In Danger Road, seasoned middle-grade author A L Tait has created a compelling standalone mystery about a cold case, small-town secrets, and the difficulties surrounding sibling dynamics. Set in a quiet... Read more
George Goes to the Farm (Sinead Saint, Wild Dog)
Released July 2025
Playful and charming, George Goes to the Farm marks the debut of writer-illustrator Sinead Saint. Based on Saint’s own 11-year-old Groodle, the story follows George, a city dog who spends... Read more
The Occupation (Chloe Adams, Penguin)
Released July 2025
Chloe Adams’ debut, The Occupation, brings to life the constraints placed on Australian women in the aftermath of the Second World War. The story follows Mary as she travels to... Read more
The Haunting of Mr and Mrs Stevenson (Belinda Lyons-Lee, Transit Lounge)
Released July 2025
Ghosts from the past awaken strange obsessions in Belinda Lyons-Lee’s second novel, The Haunting of Mr and Mrs Stevenson, a gothic retelling of the stranger-than-fiction history of Robert Louis Stevenson's... Read more
Cloudmaker (Helen Milroy, Magabala)
Released July 2025
Acclaimed author-illustrator Helen Milroy, a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, returns with a creation story in her distinctive style, as seen in Sunny... Read more
Salvage (Jennifer Mills, Picador)
Released June 2025
In Salvage, Jennifer Mills (The Airways, Dyschronia) weaves a haunting, speculative tale of two sisters navigating the fallout of a fractured world. Jude, rootless and always on the move, once... Read more
Fault Lines: Australia’s Unequal Past (ed by Seumas Spark & Christina Twomey, Monash University Publishing)
Released July 2025
Fault Lines: Australia’s Unequal Past is a powerful essay collection that invites readers to engage with past and ongoing injustices embedded in Australia’s national story. Edited by Seumas Spark and... 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
