Review search
The Trivia Man (Deborah O’Brien, Bantam)
Released June 2015
Kevin is a middle-aged accountant who likes facts more than he likes people. While this isn’t a problem for Kevin, it is for others, such as his sister Elizabeth. When... Read more
Freedom Ride (Sue Lawson, Black Dog Books)
Released July 2015
It’s the summer of 1965 in the small town of Walgaree, and Robbie Bower is preparing himself for six long weeks of school holidays in the company of his sour... Read more
The Peony Lantern (Frances Watts, HarperCollins)
Released August 2015
Kasumi is the observant, intelligent youngest daughter of a small-town innkeeper. But this is Japan during the strict Edo period of the mid-19th century, when girls are expected to be... Read more
Fly-in Fly-out Dad (Sally Murphy, illus by Janine Dawson, The Five Mile Press)
Released August 2015
Many little boys worship their dads, but some children don’t get to see much of their fathers as long work hours or commutes prevent them from being more involved in... Read more
Mr Huff (Anna Walker, Viking)
Released July 2015
‘If you have felt the clouds when the sky is blue, this book is for you,’ says Anna Walker in her dedication. It’s an apt introduction to her latest picture... Read more
Empire of the Waves: Voyage of the Moon Child Book One (Christopher Richardson, Puffin)
Released July 2015
This debut has all the elements of a great fantasy adventure—swashbuckling pirates, a friendly giant, wibbens (or dwarves), monsters of the deep, an underwater city and more. The world is... Read more
The Beauty Is in the Walking (James Moloney, HarperCollins)
Released August 2015
Adolescence can be difficult enough without the added burden of unrequited love, racial tension and cerebral palsy. The not-so-sleepy town of Palmerston is also under threat when a disturbing crime... Read more
Pieces of Sky (Trinity Doyle, A&U)
Released June 2015
When her big brother Cam dies in a surfing accident, Lucy is lost. She can’t swim, her family is a mess, school is a blur and her friends don’t seem... Read more
Talk under Water (Kathryn Lomer, UQP)
Released July 2015
When 16-year-olds Will and Summer meet online, they bond over their shared admiration for Jessica Watson—the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world—and their love of fishing... Read more
My Name Is Lizzie Flynn (Claire Saxby, illus by Lizzy Newcomb, Black Dog Books)
Released June 2015
This poignant story imagines the voyage of the real-life convict ship the Rajah, which transported women convicts from England to the new penal colony in Australia. Lizzie Flynn was sentenced... Read more
The Rooftop (Toby Hammerschlag, JoJo Publishing)
Released June 2015
The Rooftop is an illustrated chapter book about four children from very different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, who are bought together in a Year Six Jewish Scripture class in Sydney.... Read more
The Cow Tripped over the Moon (Tony Wilson, illus by Laura Wood, Scholastic)
Released June 2015
We all know that travelling to the moon is a major undertaking; the first astronauts did a huge amount of preparation before taking off. We also know the classic nursery... Read more
Afterlight (Rebecca Lim, Text)
Released July 2015
Recently orphaned and a nobody in her final year at school, Sophie’s life was tough enough before the night a silent ghost called Eve showed up in her bedroom—a ghost... Read more
Underneath a Cow (Carol Ann Martin, illus by Ben Wood, Omnibus)
Released July 2015
The humble cow is such a useful animal, raised for her hide, her milk and her meat, but in Carol Ann Martin and Ben Wood’s picture book, she serves another... Read more
Maverick Mountaineer (Robert Wainwright, HarperCollins)
Released June 2015
From the author of the wonderful Sheila comes the story of another little-remembered Australian maverick. George Finch was one of the most innovative and courageous mountaineers of the early 20th... Read more
Shining: The Story of a Lucky Man (Abdi Aden & Robert Hillman, HarperCollins)
Released June 2015
A powerful, uplifting memoir, Shining is the story of one man’s dogged optimism in the face of hardship, horror and the struggle to survive against truly appalling odds. At age... Read more
The Mothers (Rod Jones, Text)
Released June 2015
In The Mothers, Rod Jones follows the descendants of one family through several generations via the outcomes of unintended pregnancies. With depth and insight, Jones explores maternal-filial love, whether biological... Read more
Before It Breaks (Dave Warner, Fremantle Press)
Released June 2015
In the far northern reaches of Australia’s western coastline, a body is discovered in a croc-infested creek, its head cleaved with an axe. Detective Daniel Clement—who recently stalled a rocketing... Read more
Guilt (Matt Nable, Viking)
Released May 2015
Guilt, a word on which we can project all of our regrets. For some of the characters in this novel, it is also an emotion that has ruined youth and... Read more
Peripheral Vision (Paddy O’Reilly, UQP)
Released July 2015
This near-perfect short-story collection from Paddy O’Reilly is so blackly comic and bitingly clever that it makes you wonder what it feels like to live with such a masterful command... Read more
