Middle Grade
Aster’s Good, Right Things by Kate Gordon
Kate Gordon creates characters that you can identify with, no matter how old you are. Her writing is insightful, moving and beautiful. She can suffuse even the darkest moments with humour and build lyrical worlds that draw you into their centre, as you walk alongside the characters. Aster’s Good, Right Things, was the winner of…
Read MoreElsewhere Girls by Emily Gale and Nova Weetman
It’s midnight and I’m alone in the kitchen eating a cold potato scallop. Coach O’Call would say something like, ‘That’s not what I expect from a scholarship girl!’ because I have to be up for squad training in five hours and I’m not supposed to go near potato scallops, and—oh, yeah—it’s my fifth. Elsewhere Girls,…
Read MoreRabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief, by Katrina Nannestad
Award-winning writer Katrina Nannestad won my heart with her incredible book, We Are Wolves. In this new historical fiction, she transports us to Russia and into the life of Sasha, a soldier at only six years old, inspired by a real life boy who lost his family and home in WWII and became an adopted…
Read MorePearly and Pig and The Great Hairy Beast, by Sue Whiting
I love a good adventure story and Pearly and Pig and The Great Hairy Beast, by the fabulous Sue Whiting, certainly kept me on the edge of my seat! This is the first in a new junior fiction series for Sue, an award-winning children’s and YA author and editor who has worked in publishing for…
Read MoreThe Bravest Word: Book Review
There is so much talent in our Australian writing community. We are very lucky. The result is an overflowing to-be-read pile and a sense of security, knowing there is always a next read on the shelves in my house, always a door to other worlds and other people’s experiences of life. I am going to…
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