Our latest reviews

The Shadow Girl by John Larkin

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe, Readings St Kilda

It’s a rare teenage novel that affects me as profoundly as The Shadow Girl has done. This book is a powerful and accomplished piece of writing, based on a true story. It begins with an entry into the terrifying world…

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Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Reviewed by Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne

Goliath is the third and final book in the compelling steam punk trilogy, Leviathan. The Leviathan of the series title – a genetically engineered mutant whale airship – is still on its round-the-world mission with Alek (prince in hiding…

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Wildwood by Colin Meloy

Reviewed by Holly Harper, Readings Carlton

If the name Colin Meloy sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because you’ve heard of him through his band, The Decemberists. It turns out that he’s not only a talented musician, but also quite the accomplished writer, since this first…

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The Traitor and the Tunnel: The Agency Book 3 by Y.S. Lee Walker

Reviewed by Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne

The Agency series is my pick for the overlooked young adult series of the last three years. ‘Mary Quinn, orphan. Educated at Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls. Trained as an undercover agent.’ The agency books are rich in detail of…

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The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Reviewed by Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne

As Aurora ‘Rory’ Deveaux flies into London to start her new life at boarding school, a Jack the Ripper-style murder takes place in the East End. Maureen Johnson is one of my favourite authors. I usually look forward to her…

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The Opportune Moment, 1855 by Patrick Ourednik

Reviewed by Emmett Stinson

Czech author Patrick Ourednik’s newly translated novella, The Opportune Moment, 1855, tells the story of a group of expatriate Europeans attempting to start an anarchist commune, called the Fraternitas Free Settlement, in Brazil. But from the very outset, the…

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You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik

Reviewed by Kara Nicholson, Readings Carlton

You Deserve Nothing is the first title to be published by new imprint Tonga Books. Each book published under this imprint will be selected and edited by a prominent writer and this novel was the choice of Alice Sebold, author…

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Apricot Jam by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Reviewed by Luke Meinzen

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn became and remained famous for The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Both made him – Old Believer beard and all – a mascot in the struggle against the irresistible force of…

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Life Kills by Miles Vertigan

Reviewed by Chris Gordon, Readings Events Coordinator

[[bio_1]] One of TISM songs goes like this: ‘Life’s a sentence, read all about it. I’m dying.’ These lyrics could easily sum up both the style and the plot of Miles Vertigan’s book, Life Kills. This extraordinary novel follows…

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Reviewed by Amy Roil

As you close The Night Circus, the whiff of caramel popcorn disappears, the taste of mulled cider abandons your mouth and the black-and-white marvels of Le Cirque des Rêves are torn abruptly away, as reality crashes back. But for…

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