Just So Stories

Riveted Press

Simon & Schuster

July 2026

ISBN13: 9781923676046

LIST PRICE: AU$ 17.99 / NZ$ 19.99

When you read a debut novel that is not only hugely enjoyable but written by a fellow school librarian – it’s YAYYY!! This one is (strange as it may seem still) one of the several read in the past month or so with an absent (in this case, dead) parent and the subsequent toll of grief on the child, who responds in his own already idiosyncratic way.

Roland Bickering Jones we may surmise is neuro-divergent. Having raised one very like this I think I can presume that much. He doesn’t like lists, he must have them in place [such as the routine for morning – which in our case was also accompanied by pictures], facts and making sense of things – seeing the logic or seeing what is not generally perceived by others.

When his mother dies, its as if he’s hit a wall that he can’t get past. The one thing that propels him is the care of his much-loved gentle father and Squidape. The cartoon superhero is Roland’s inspiration and he draws from his vicarious adventures with the half-squid/half-ape character to unravel problems of his own.

Up to this point, these have been smallish but now there’s the problem of moving on from the loss of his mum but also a case of stolen valuable collectibles. His father, who owns a vintage collectibles shop, and a bunch of other collectors are being targeted by a gang of thieves and it is Roland who is the author of the lists and notations that really set their amateur investigation in motion.

While this is all much harder than it appears for Squidape in the comics, Roland is determined, and he is gifted at noticing those small details and facts that others miss.

John’s characterisations – or should I say caricatures – are just wonderful, whether it’s the primary characters or those on the periphery. And do I suspect room for a sequel with an eventual romance between Roland’s dad and police officer, Danni?

There are equally fun illos throughout from John (clearly multi-talented) which will add to the reader’s interest. It’s rather like a Shakespeare & Hathaway episode in a cartoonish style – and I loved it.

Get your middle grade readers onto it because I think this will be a big hit – and not too demanding for those reluctant ones either. It’s a 5 🦑🦍🕵️🦍🦑from me for year 4s upwards.