Just So Stories

Hachette Australia

Imprint: Starboard

May 5, 2026 | 9781444931983 | RRP $16.99

Well yes, it is another ‘diary’ of a tween title but at least this one really does have a point of difference. Lily Tripp, aged almost 13, has developed an unfortunate ability. Several times now she has spontaneously time-travelled on New Year’s Eve. She’s been in ancient Rome and she’s been in the 1920s and she’s been a Victorian, each time for a whole year, and quite frankly, she would rather stay in 2025 thank you very much.

Even though, that means putting up with Georgia Bryan on a daily basis, at least she still gets to see her bestie, Poppy, on a daily basis as well as her crush, Ollie. She and Ollie have been friends since they were little kids but it feels like he just doesn’t see her in the way she wants him to – well, maybe? Anyway, just because the universe is contrary on NYE Lily finds herself transported within seconds of midnight to Stuart England where she is – horror of horrors! – a servant in the Bryan’s household and more specifically, Georgia’s own servant.

The truly weird thing about Lily’s time travel – and one that I found hard to get my head around – is that her family and friends are also in whichever time she ends up in. When her year is up, she returns to her present and while she remembers her year of time warp, nobody else does though they may have distorted fragments of memory. This was a sticking point for me that I couldn’t quite get past.

This latest time slip is also different in the respect of not being in Stuart England for a year, but suddenly again transported and this time to the 1970s – also weirdly discombobulating for both Lily and the reader. Aside from the time travel, Lily’s troubles are much like any other of her age – the crush issue, friendship issues, trying to fit in whilst trying to develop one’s own identity.

I think the saving grace in this for me was that a reader would inadvertently learn some interesting facts about the time periods to which Lily has travelled and remembers. I give it a 3 ⏳⏳⏳rating for readers from around Year 4 upwards to lower secondary.