Review search
The Imagineer (Christopher Cheng, illus by Lucia Masciullo, NLA Publishing)
Released April 2022
In the vein of Andrea Beaty’s delightful Rosie Revere and friends, Christopher Cheng and Lucia Masciullo’s The Imagineer introduces us to a resourceful, inquisitive and (obviously) imaginative child who is... Read more
Remember Me (Charity Norman, A&U)
Released March 2022
Remember Me begins with a call in the middle of the night, when illustrator Emily is awakened in her London flat. Her father’s health is failing and Emily is the... Read more
The Love That Grew (Sarah Ayoub, illus by Mimi Purnell, HarperCollins)
Released March 2022
In the vein of Sam McBratney’s You’re All My Favourites comes a picture book that captures the idea that a mother’s love is unlimited when it comes to her children,... Read more
Hovering (Rhett Davis, Hachette)
Released March 2022
Alice returns to the fictional Australian city of Fraser after 16 years away. The city itself has changed—and continues to change—beyond recognition. Streets, houses and other buildings literally shift and... Read more
Growing Up in Flames (Zach Jones, Text)
Released March 2022
Zach Jones’s debut novel Growing Up in Flames is as gritty as bushfire ash. Written for a doctorate in creative writing at the University of the Sunshine Coast, the novel’s... Read more
Son of Sin (Omar Sakr, Affirm)
Released March 2022
Son of Sin by Omar Sakr tells the story of growing up queer and Muslim in a constant state of dispossession. The story begins with Jamal as a 14-year-old boy,... Read more
Triple Helix (Lauren Burns, UQP)
Released March 2022
Lauren Burns received a fork inscribed with the word ‘agitator’ as a present from her boyfriend while trekking through the extreme wilderness of Utah. Burns’s journey as a donor-conceived person... Read more
That Cat (Jacqueline Harvey, illus by Kate Isobel Scott, Puffin)
Released March 2022
Cat lovers and nonsense lovers, this is the book for you. Jaqueline Harvey, bestselling author for children, plays on words that rhyme with ‘cat’ in order to make a list... Read more
Pearly and Pig and the Great Hairy Beast (Sue Whiting, Walker Books)
Released March 2022
Pearly Woe is not your average 10-year-old. She can speak 27 languages, talk to and understand most animals and, in this tale, travels to Antarctica. However, this is no holiday.... Read more
The Sorrow Stone (Kári Gíslason, UQP)
Released March 2022
In the wintery and unforgiving wilds of pre-medieval Iceland, a widow named Disa and her young son are running in fear of their lives. Disa has committed a bloody act... Read more
Sadvertising (Ennis Ćehić, Vintage)
Released March 2022
In this debut collection of short stories, Ennis Ćehić uses deeply flawed characters to cleverly reflect the absurdity of late-stage capitalism. Sadvertising identifies obsession, narcissism and neuroses as reasonable responses... Read more
When You’re Older (Sofie Laguna, illus by Judy Watson, A&U Children)
Released March 2022
There are many picture books that look at life with a new sibling from the perspective of a young child, probably because these books are regularly requested in bookshops and... Read more
Moth in a Fancy Cardigan (Charlotte Lance, illus by David Booth, Berbay)
Released March 2022
This illustrated middle-grade novel is a cute and quirky story about self-expression and the courage to be seen, told from the perspectives of a shy moth and a popular butterfly.... Read more
This is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch (Tabitha Carvan, HarperCollins)
Released March 2022
When Tabitha Carvan suddenly falls in love with the actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who she has never met, she doesn’t know what to make of it. Her growing obsession simultaneously puzzles,... Read more
Tik Merauke: An epidemic like no other (John Richens, MUP)
Released March 2022
In the early 1900s the sexually transmitted infection donovanosis ravaged the Marind of New Guinea. Through the lens of this disease, known as tik Merauke to the native people, doctor... Read more
Only a Monster (Vanessa Len, A&U)
Released February 2022
Joan is enjoying her summer in London with her eccentric family and dream job at the historic Holland House. After unexpectedly losing several hours out of her day after a... Read more
A Great Hope (Jessica Stanley, Picador)
Released March 2022
When ACTU boss John Clare falls to his death from the roof of the family home, a note found on him makes it seem like suicide. But is that the... Read more
The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness (Matt Ottley, Dirt Lane)
Released February 2022
An author, visual artist and composer, Matt Ottley has combined his talents in his latest work to create a multi-modal sensory feast that merges words, art and music. Bold and... Read more
The Islands (Emily Brugman, A&U)
Released February 2022
It’s the 1950s and the Finnish migrants who have made their home on the ruthless terrain of Little Rat Island are accustomed to surviving harsh landscapes, both emotional and physical.... Read more
The Power of Podcasting: Telling stories through sound (Siobhán McHugh, UNSW Press)
Released February 2022
It’s strange to think that ‘less than a decade ago, most people had never heard of podcasting’, as Siobhán McHugh points out in The Power of Podcasting. In this part... Read more
