Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe


  • Powerful like a Dragon – Christopher Cheng. Illustrated by Jacqueline Tam

    Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group April 2025 ISBN: 978-1-250-82939-9 | Price: $18.99 US / $24.99 CAN Pan Macmillan Australia ISBN: 9781250829399 Format: Hardback Pub Date: 29/07/2025 Firstly, I want to thank Christopher for asking me if I would like to review this amazing book, about which he and I first had some conversation around this time last year. Secondly,…

  • Eleanor Jones is Playing with Fire – Amy Doak

    Penguin Australia July 2025 Anyone who has read the first two Eleanor Jones books will know exactly how pleased I was when this one arrived. You would also know exactly why the first two titles have been so highly acclaimed. Amy Doak has a great grip on the whole YA crime/mystery genre with characters which…

  • Looking for You: a Perfect Passion Company novel – Alexander McCall-Smith

    New South Books Polygon 9781846976933 / 1 June 2025 / AUD$39.99, NZD$44.99 After two weeks of being unwell and not reading (or reviewing) much beyond PBs and easy reads basically because of poor focus/fuzzy brain, it was just such a pleasure to escape into one of A. McC S’s gentle narratives filled with rich characters, very human emotions, a…

  • Gone – Michel Streich

    Thames & Hudson Australia Pty Ltd  3rd June 2025 ISBN: 9781760764920 ISBN-10: 1760764922 RRP: $26.00 As you might expect, if you are familiar with our story, grief after the loss of her mother was an enormous obstacle for The Kid and I both ten years ago. At least I had, at my fingertips, a range of titles…