Isobel Moore
Isobel Moore was the Children’s Book Buyer at Readings St Kilda.
Reviews
Lots by Marc Martin
Even the end pages are perfection in Martin’s latest offering Lots, an exploration of prevalent people, creatures and things in various places around the world, depicted in vibrant illustrations. The…
Highly Illogical Behaviour by John Corey Whaley
When I started reading this, I was instantly worried that this was going to be a ‘girl befriends troubled boy, they fall in love and she fixes him’ sort of book. Thankfully, it was not at all. Lisa i…
Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller
Elizabeth and her father are moving to his childhood home after her mother leaves them for a more ‘adventure-filled’ life. Zenobia, Elizabeth’s not-an-imaginary best friend, obviously goes with them.…
The Uncommoners: The Crooked Sixpence by Jennifer Bell
Ivy and Seb’s grandmother, Sylvie, has a mysterious past. She lost her memory long ago in a car accident and remembers nothing about her life prior to that night. Then one day, Sylvie ends up in hosp…
Metropolis by Benoit Tardif
Yet another beautiful illustrated nonfiction book from Big Picture Press, Metropolis takes the reader on a trip to thirty two of the world’s greatest cities. Whilst offering little in the way of stra…
Drag Teen by Jeffery Self
Drag Teen is a really fun novel. Unusually, and quite refreshingly, this is not a coming-out novel, but rather a novel about self-acceptance and body image. JT, a queer teen with secret aspirations o…
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Despite my excessive passion for Jay Kristoff’s Illuminae (which he wrote with Amie Kaufman) I was a little worried about reading Nevernight. Fantasy is one of the few genres I tend to steer clear of…
The Girl Of Ink & Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
A beautiful adventure story about Isabella, who lives on the island of Joya, in a township under rule by a strict Governor. The townsfolk aren’t allowed into the forest that surrounds the town and ha…
And I Darken by Kiersten White
And I Darken is a gender-swapped version of the story of Vlad the Impaler (the real-life inspiration for Dracula!). Vlad, now Lada, has been sent to live in the Ottoman courts with her brother Radu a…
Frankie Potts and The Sparkplug Mysteries by Juliet Jacka
This is less of a mystery story and more of a story about a girl who WANTS to be in a mystery story and it’s a lot of fun. Frankie Potts is one sassy young detective. After she finds a stray dog, she…
The Journey by Francesca Sanna
This picture book is beautiful and heartbreaking and hopeful, all wrapped up in one. It depicts the journey of a family fleeing their home country and seeking refuge overseas. With stunning illustrat…
Above and Below by Hanako Clulow & Patricia Hegarty
Above and Below is a beautifully illustrated natural-world fact book. Each spread details a different landscape, with factoids about the plants and animals that can be found there, with the added bon…
The Bubble Boy by Stewart Foster
The Bubble Boy is a very sweet read about Joe, who has never left his London hospital room because of a deadly autoimmune disease, so he spends his days chatting online and watching superhero movie…
The Fall of Butterflies by Andrea Portes
Willa doesn’t plan to fit in at the super-swanky boarding school her mother sent her to; in fact, she doesn’t plan on staying long. Instead, she decides that she’s going to kill herself. Pembroke is …
Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden
Denizen Hardwick lives in a bleak orphanage on the Irish coast until a mysterious man appears and takes him to his long-lost aunt. His dull life suddenly becomes fantastical when they are attacked by…
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
Another modern classic from Kate DiCamillo, Raymie Nightingale is a beautiful story about friendship. Raymie’s father has left her and her mother for a dental hygienist and Raymie concocts a foolproo…
Secret Tree Fort by Brianne Farley
A very funny story about two sisters who have been exiled to their backyard with a ‘play outside, it’s a beautiful day!’ from their Mum. Unfortunately for Younger Sister, Older Sister just wants to r…
The Special Ones by Em Bailey
It’s hard to explain The Special Ones without giving too much away. It’s a fantastically tense read that follows four ‘Special Ones’ who are being forced to live ‘pure’ lives under the watchful eye o…
The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis
After Isaac dies, his three best friends struggle to fill the space he occupied in their lives. To make the situation worse, the three weren’t actually friends with one another, but now find their li…
My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier
Rosa is ten years old. Rosa is a psychopath. Her older brother Che is the only one that can see it, and is therefore tasked with protecting the world from Rosa. This novel is amazingly, stunningly we…
Fairytales For Mr Barker by Jessica Ahlberg
Continuing on in the fine tradition of her parents, Jessica Ahlberg has created a beautifully detailed and charming fairytale story. The actual story is sweet, a chase through various fairytales afte…
The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith and Alex T. Smith
Fans of the ever charming Dodie Smith are in for a treat with this new edition of The Hundred and One Dalmatians. Illustrated by the (almost!) equally charming Alex T. Smith this really is the perfec…
A Strangeness In My Mind by Orhan Pamuk
As someone who enjoys a bit of themed travel reading I find myself frequently drawn to authors whose work focuses upon a particular country or city. Orhan Pamuk’s relationship with Istanbul is certai…
The Illuminae Files_01 by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Illuminae is unlike anything I have ever read previously and I loved every moment of it. Engrossing and encompassing, the format follows the structure of a series of documents in various styles, from…
Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
I waited for the latest Riordan with bated breath and I wasn’t disappointed. Following the son of a Norse god in his latest series, Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer is a rip-roaring adventure thr…
The Fairy Dancers by Natalie Jane Prior
The Fairy Dancers contains three adorable stories, perfect for both young independent reading, or sharing at story time. The stories follow ballet-obsessed Mia, Emma and Grace and the detail is just …
City Atlas by Martin Haake & Georgia Cherry
Yet another stunning book from the always impeccable Wide Eyed Editions, City Atlas explores 30 cities around the world with each double page a lavishly illustrated and very accurate map of a city. T…
Another Day by David Levithan
Another Day is the companion novel to the widely acclaimed and revolutionary Every Day, which followed ‘A’ who wakes up every day possessing a new body.
Another Day follows Rhiannon, the girl who ‘A…
Remix by Non Pratt
Remix follows two girls, Ruby and Kaz, throughout the course of a weekend at a music festival. They go to escape reality and have some fun, but their trials follow them in the form of ex-boyfriends, …
Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas
Written entirely in letters, from the point of view of two teenage boys, one in the States and one in Germany, Because You’ll Never Meet Me tells the story of two people who can never meet. Moritz ha…
News
Q&A with Will Kostakis
Books to inspire your teenager
I think we’re all prone to forgetting how hard being a teenager can be. Social pressures, gender expectations, school grades, and everything thoroughly marinated in a cocktail of hormones. It’s no wonder that teenagers sometimes get a bit grumpy – I wouldn’t go back there for the world. Despite all this I think everybody can agree that we still want them to grow up into happy, caring members of s…
A recap of our #LoveOzYA Heroes panel
On Monday I had the privilege of chairing our second #LoveOzYA panel of the year. This time we narrowed the discussion slightly to the topic of Heroes.
Panellists included authors Nicole Hayes (One True Thing and The Whole of My World) and David Burton (How To Be Happy), and teenagers Chris (former Inky Awards judge and teen panellist extraordinaire) and Chami (booktuber at Reads Like Wild Fire)…
