Page 4 of our reviews
The Witch in the Cherry Tree by Margaret Mahy & Jenny Williams
In the back of The Witch in the Cherry Tree there was a recipe: ‘How to Make Gingerbread Witches’. I have very fond memories of my mum helping my siblings and me to make and decorate these when we we…
Invented Lives by Andrea Goldsmith
I read an early draft of Invented Lives a year or so ago; it was almost wonderful then but now it really is wonderful. What I like most about Andrea Goldsmith’s work is that it manages to combine a d…
The Honeyman and the Hunter by Neil Grant
‘How do we find the place where we belong?’ asks Neil Grant in his newest YA novel, as he follows Rudra Solace from a beachside fishing village on the Australian coast to a sunken village in India. R…
The Ultimate Animal Counting Book by Jennifer Cossins
Tasmanian artist Jennifer Cossins’ 101 Collective Nouns caused an international sensation in 2018 when Oscar winner Anne Hathaway told Ellen DeGeneres how much she and her son loved the book. It teac…
Simpsons Returns: A Novella by Wayne Macauley
Ninety years after his death in World War I, Jack Simpson is still alive, still donning his uniform, still helping the sick and still trudging alongside his donkey, Murphy. In Wayne Macauley’s novell…
Wilam: A Birrarung Story by Aunty Joy Murphy, Andrew Kelly & Lisa Kennedy
Wilam means home in Woiwurrung, the language of the Wurundjeri clan, and this stunning story depicts the many creatures who call Birrarung (the Yarra River) home, as it slowly winds from the mountain…
A Universe of Sufficient Size by Miriam Sved
With her second novel, A Universe of Sufficient Size, Miriam Sved again demonstrates her ability to write about highly specific human preoccupations in a way that renders them interesting and engagin…
The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone by Felicity McLean
Felicity McLean creates a wonderful eleven-year-old narrator, Tikka, in her debut novel, The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone. It is through Tikka’s eyes the reader sees the events of the long, hot summer of…
The Artist’s Portrait by Julie Keys
Suffering from late night nausea, nurse and aspiring writer Jane Cooper starts pacing suburban streets, trying to exhaust herself. Walking one morning at sunrise she is unceremoniously sprayed by a g…
The Shining Wall by Melissa Ferguson
An idealist city lies surrounded by shining metal walls that were created by LeaderCorp to benefit all within their borders. Here, the Citizens have the leading technology of medi-nanities, brain imp…
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