Our latest reviews

Jake Bugg by Jake Bugg

Reviewed by Lou Fulco

It has been a meteoric rise for 18-year-old Jake Bugg. An appearance on Later… with Jools Holland and a support gig for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds has brought him to the attention of the music world.

He sounds like…

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Sea of Lights by Suzannah Espie

Reviewed by Michael Awosoga-Samuel

Suzannah Espie has been a well-respected fixture on the Melbourne music scene for years. Sea of Lights, her latest release, was recorded over three 40-degree days in the shed of fellow muso Jeff Lang, and the results are a…

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The Insomniacs by Karina Wolf & The Brothers Hilts

Reviewed by Alexa Dretzke

Sometimes you have to take a lateral approach to life when the old ways don’t work anymore.

When Mika’s family move a long way away, their body clocks are thrown and they find themselves wide awake at night but, come…

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Cuckoo by Fiona Robertson

Reviewed by Alexa Dretzke

‘Cuckoo’ – such a simple word, yet so misunderstood.

Dear, sweet little Cuckoo has hatched out but it appears none of his fellow birds speak his language. He decides to find a soulmate but there are lots of different creatures…

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The Great House Hunt by Davide Cali & Marc Boutavant

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

Fans of the colourful Around the World with Mouk will be delighted to discover a new Boutavant book. Written by Davide Cali, the talented Italian author of the graphic novel 10 Little Insects, this is a funny, quirky story…

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My Invisible Boyfriend by Susie Day

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

Fifteen-year-old Heidi has returned from holidays on the first day of school to an alarming discovery – all her friends have hooked up with boyfriends – and she feels left behind. She still has Heidi plaits, is obsessed with being…

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Futurevision by Richard Watson & Oliver Freeman

Reviewed by Kara Nicholson

Futurevision describes four alternative scenarios for how the world might look in 2040 and provides a methodology for dealing with change.

The first future envisages a society transformed by science and technology, where geoengineering has fixed climate change and nanotechnology…

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Wool by Hugh Howley

Reviewed by Savannah Indigo

Wool maps Juliette’s journey from a restrictive community, known as the silo, to the relative freedom of the outside world. Author Hugh Howey has created an enticing series of science fiction novellas that force the reader to question every scrap…

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The Toe Tag Quintet by Matthew Condon

Reviewed by Fiona Hardy

Upon their retirement, some people find they like to take up volunteer work. Or perhaps golf. Or perhaps some recreational cane-waving at young miscreants. In Matthew Condon’s The Toe Tag Quintet, an ex-police officer decides to skip out of…

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The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata

Reviewed by Julia Tulloh

On the Indonesian island of Belitong, young Ikal and his friends attend the local village school through thunderstorm or blistering heat. There are only ten students but, under the guidance of teacher Bu Mus, they develop a love of learning…

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