Claire Christian’s Beautiful Mess was the winner of the Text Prize for 2016, and for good reason. This important book examines the issues of depression and anxiety, but also grief of those left behind after a suicide. It might sound like a grim start, and it is to a certain… Read more »
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that second-hand bookshops have a special mystery about them. There’s something about the smell and the feel of books that have been places and seen things. They store the collected memories of a community. Australian author Cath Crowley returns with Words in Deep Blue,… Read more »
Caramel Hearts is a coming-of age story with feelings packed into the pages like the apples in a Fruity Custard Pastie (recipe on p222). That’s right, Liv’s story is scattered with delicious recipies for sweet treats, from her mum’s Recipes to Make Happiness Bloom cookbook. Liv’s Mam is currently in rehab,… Read more »
Could the Apocalypse really be coming to everywhere except Eden Valley? Alba is a comic artist and massive fangirl. She’s often away with the fairies, working on her Cinnamon Girl comic strip – a character she developed for her mum’s bakery. She’s been tight with her best friend Grady since… Read more »
The Way We Roll follows trolley boys Will and Jules at their supermarket job in the western suburbs. As they become friends and more and more of Will’s situation comes to light, Jules helps him to learn how to be part of a family again. The story is told from… Read more »
Have you ever been part of a fandom? Thought about what might happen next in the story? Collected random snippets compulsively on Pinterest? (Okay maybe that’s just me.) This book is for you. Cath’s twin sister Wren is embracing college life, going to parties and making new friends. Quiet, socially anxious… Read more »
Cloudwish is a simply brilliant book and one that I feel should be read by all Australian high school students and, dare I say it adults. It’s a refreshing take and perspective on what life is like as a child of people who immigrated via boat to Australia in the… Read more »
A simple refreshing contemporary novel that takes part at sea and on the coastal shores of Hobart Australia. This story sets itself apart and also adds itself to a great list of diverse YA novels coming out recently by introducing the reader to the concept of life without hearing and… Read more »
I went into this book with trepidation. While I know that many people loved her debut novel Side Effects May Vary, I personally couldn’t gel with the characters and found that I struggled to relate or identify with the protagonist or the situation even though the flow of writing was… Read more »
This is my first book by Patrick Ness and it was seriously so good I have to prioritise reading some of his other works now! Its a hard book to classify as its really a contemporary novel but has a definite vein of paranormal running through it with much talk… Read more »
