Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Adventures of Squidape – John Stanton

    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…

  • The Goodbye Tree – Pip Harry. Illustrated by Christina Booth.

    Walker Books Australia July 2026 ISBN13:9781760658168 Australia RRP:$25.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 Forty-six years ago today my beautiful brown-eyed girl arrived very much in a hurry and now it’s over 11 years since we lost her, so this moving and very personal new book from Pip Harry, is especially poignant for me – particularly at this…

  • Six Weeks – Matt Goodfellow

    Hachette Australia Imprint: Starboard June 2026 9781444982886 RRP $16.99 It never ceases to amaze me when I happen to read two books within a week and they both have a similar central theme, in this case a young person’s grief. This is yet another verse novel that has continued to grow this genre as one…

  • Eighty-Nine Questions for After – Ashleigh Barton

    Hachette Australia July 2026 ISBN: 9780733654596 RRP: $16.99 I first knew Ashleigh’s work as a picture book creator, one who could create wonderful texts that not only engaged young readers but gave them portals into the larger world. Then along came her middle-grade novel How to Sail to Somewhere which so skilfully demonstrated that her…

  • The Midlands – Kate Gordon

    Kate Gordon has certainly forged a following since her first foray into publication. Some of her titles I have reviewed, others I have read but not reviewed but I definitely know which ones have received the positives and enthusiasms. I particularly enjoyed Whalesong. There is a lot to like about this newest one as well.…

  • Good Young Men – Gary Lonesborough

    Allen & Unwin March 2026 ISBN:9781761182174 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $22.99 Once again Gary brings his own upbringing as a young gay Koori in a regional setting [from the same part of the country as my family] as well as his professional experience working with Aboriginal youth in a skewed justice system,…

  • My Brother Otto – Ingrid Laguna

    Text Publishing February 2026 ISBN: 9781923058729 AU Price: $14.99 Teaching Notes This one took a while to come to me but it was sure worth the wait. What an utterly beautiful and heart-rending narrative Ingrid Laguna has created, and one which will sadly resonate with children and families who have lost a baby. Indeed, as…

  • Drawing Nudes While Making Other Plans – Zoe Gaetjens

    Penguin Australia Sometimes it’s just so refreshing to read something that’s different and this was one of those. It’s not that I don’t enjoy reading the YA cosy murder mysteries and so on, but when you get a book that gives you a slice of real life set in your hometown that combines self-belief, friendship,…

  • You’ll Always Be My Baby – Jessica Urlichs. Illustrated by Jedda Robaard.

    Penguin Australia Since the new year, I’ve been busy on a regular basis planning The Kid’s 21st birthday celebration. Just like her mother, she didn’t want anything, but I persuaded her otherwise, so a smallish party at home for friends, followed by a dinner for family and friends-like-family at her favourite restaurant. As I go…

  • One Day Soon – Cristy Burne

    Fremantle Press May 2026 ISBN: 9781760995614 RRP: $17.99 Preorder now This is another verse novel that has given me cause to reconsider my initial lukewarm thoughts about this genre. In fact, so utterly absorbing is this one, that I binge read it in one evening. I don’t know anyone personally with MND but a friend did…