Reviewed by Antonella Townsend I have long since been an enthusiastic reader within the category of Young Adult Fiction, but had never anticipated loving so very much a book produced for ages 4+. Such is the magic of Eyes that Speak to the Stars by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Dung Ho. Joanna Ho is passionate
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Have you ever returned to a town where you grew up as a lad? Have you been struck by how much your memory fails to tally with the town in its grown-up state? Dean Ashenden visits Tennant Creek, fifty years after his last sojourn there. While the town has been transformed,
Reviewed by Rod McLary Robert Lukins is an Australian author – his first book The Everlasting Sunday was published in 2018 and received positive reviews. Loveland is his second novel and is largely set in Nebraska in a small town called Loveland. There are two parallel stories but chronologically they take place sixty odd years
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Charity Norman was born in Uganda but spent her early years in Yorkshire and Birmingham. She has set this story in New Zealand where she moved her own family in search of a more inclusive family lifestyle. This sentiment finds a place in the book, Remember Me, as it highlights family
Reviewed by Rod McLary The author of this varied and entertaining collection of short stories is the award-winning Australian writer Andrew Roff. The intriguing title of the collection perhaps has its origins in a quote from a Greek philosopher – ‘the mills of the gods grind exceeding slow’ – meaning one’s destiny may not come
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Anyone interested in Australian politics would find this book interesting as it encompasses the time in Australia when a long entrenched political party was defeated. What followed was a time of musical chairs as the leadership of political parties changed quite frequently. The book reveals some of the workings of the
Reviewed by Richard Tutin It is salutary writing a review on a book about democracy while Russia is invading the Ukraine. After all, John Keane’s subject matter is the antithesis of the Russian President whose aims and objects have little to do with the goals of a form of governance that is ostensibly by the
Reviewed by Clare Brook The general public has a fascination with sensational details surrounding murder. There have been many documentaries made to satisfy that curiosity, usually detailing the immediate evidence surrounding the physicality of the crime. I Am a Killer is based on the successful Netflix series of the same name. The aim of this
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Those of you old enough to remember Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca will welcome Colleen Hoover’s latest book, the impeccable and intoxicating Verity. While Rebecca was scary, Verity goes beyond what human nerves were meant to bear. The premise is simple enough. A cash-strapped author is offered the opportunity to complete the
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend A female protagonist who is half-English half-Chinese and half-monster half-human, a hoard of full-blood monsters, the protagonist’s human, monster-slaying love interest, and time travel! Such are the elements of Vanessa Len’s debut Young Adult novel, Only A Monster. Ambitious, to say the least! Vanessa Len writes that she was interested in
Reviewed by Gerard Healy This is a very interesting look at how to manage your money, in an as ethical a way as you can, by Nicole Haddow, a journalist. She admits she is not a financial expert, so takes the approach of let’s find out together how areas such as superannuation and the share-market
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Wherever we go in the world, we are surrounded and often entranced by the buildings that make up cities and communities. We marvel at their construction whether it is the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China or the houses and public buildings of Paris, Rome or New York City.
Reviewed by Rod McLary The ‘golden boys’ are four queer [the term used by the author] sixteen-year-old boys living in a small town in rural Ohio – and who are best friends. Gabriel, Reese, Sal and Heath are at the end of their penultimate school year and about to begin their spring break. But instead
Reviewed by Rod McLary Edmund White is an American novelist and essayist perhaps best known for his three auto-fiction volumes A Boy’s Own Story, The Beautiful Room is Empty and The Farewell Symphony. Each describes a period in the author’s life as he traverses the stages of being gay from boyhood to middle-age. White said
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend Death and hilarity are two nouns that do not normally appear in the same sentence. Well … unless discussing Megan Albany’s debut novel, The Very Last List of Vivian Walker. Megan has delivered a comedy of the mundane. The stuff of daily life piles up relentlessly, even in the face of