Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Sophie Green is an Australian writer who compiles heart-warming stories about everyday people, usually women and highlights some of the thoughts they harbour which are rarely aired. ‘In a world where so many women’s lives are always on display – as they move from parents’ homes to marital homes, always serving,
Reviewed by Rod McLary This debut novel by Tasha Sylva delves into the consequences of searching through property which doesn’t belong to you. Tess Hartley is grieving for the death of her sister Rosie who was murdered by an unknown assailant. In an attempt to assuage her grief and loneliness, Tess has moved into Rosie’s
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve “Human Life is like a sunbeam passing through a crack”. Exceptional people achieve much in that fraction of time and one is surely Lady Tan, Tan Yunxian, a pioneer in women’s medicine, who employed her knowledge and skills in fifteenth century China. In her book about this brilliant woman, Lisa See
Reviewed by Gerard Healy A charming and engaging variation on the well-known “Five Little Ducks” story suitable for younger pre-schoolers and the adults in their lives. The text by Katrina Germein is most appropriate for younger readers and it is beautifully complimented by Danny Snell’s wonderful illustrations. If you have younger children in your lives
Reviewed by Rod McLary Dreaming in French is a beautifully written and realised novel – and ultimately a very emotionally moving one. Set in two time periods twenty-six years apart, the novel explores the relationships between three people – Saskia, Simone and Félix. The current time period is narrated by Saskia in the first person;
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Shauna Bostock, a former Primary School teacher, through curiosity about her family, researched and completed a PhD in Aboriginal history. This book is the story of her personal research. Unlike other previous works with a similar purpose, Reaching Through Time is written from the perspective of an Aboriginal historian who has
Reviewed by Richard Tutin All humans know that at some point we will die and no longer walk this earth. This does not mean that we go around ready to embrace it. It is more the opposite. We spend a lot of time trying to avoid it as much as possible. Then comes the time
Reviewed by Rod McLary Immaculate by Anna McGahan won the 2023 The Australian/Vogel’s Award for Young Writers. Anna is the niece of one of Australia’s favourite authors – Andrew McGahan who died in 2019 – who had previously won this award for his first novel Praise published in 1991. While Anna may share a name
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Because the cover of this book, A Farming Life, told me that it contained tales of resilience from inspiring rural women, I initially thought that each of the six chapters would highlight just one specific woman and her achievements. What I found in each chapter was not just the accomplishments of
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Usborne’s publishing for children is in highest regard internationally as their sales continue to exceed the millions. Fiona Watt’s series of That’s Not My…. alone has totalled over 6,000,000 so it is not surprising that this latest addition to the collection of touchy-feely books for little readers is a winner. As
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Kelly Rimmer has oftentimes set out to write a thriller that is simple of structure but more complex than the reader might expect. The current novel The Paris Agent tells the tale of two otherwise ordinary women who become spies in World War 2 France. There are thousands of books telling
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve In the colourful bustling London of the first decade of the nineteenth century, Augusta and her twin Julia are constrained by the society’s strict rules as to the marriage eligibility of ladies aged forty- two. Julia is unfortunately a widow. Her husband, Robert, died in a hunting accident. She is in
Reviewed by Rod McLary Who doesn’t enjoy a romance – especially when it involves a brash American girl and an heir to the English throne? Sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it? But in this story, there is a further element – an impending apocalypse. Narrated in the first person by Wren Wheeler – eighteen years
Reviewed by E.B. Heath. Hearing … is a specialised form of touch. Although classified as Memoir, The House with all the Lights On, is so much more, a literary Tardis. In two-hundred-and forty-pages Jessica Kirkness’ writes: a personal memoir, a brief biography of her deaf grandparents, social and political experiences of the Deaf Community, well-researched
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Léonie Kelsall is becoming known for her rural romance novels all set around a small country town in South Australia known as Settlers Bridge. Although the books she has written so far in this setting are not a series, the author says that several of the characters do pop up in