Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Manslaughter Park -Tirzah Price

    Harper Collins Australia January 2025 I very much enjoyed #2 in this series which I reviewed last year and did also like this one very much. Not quite as much, but that was merely a personal preference. It is just as well-written and engaging but I think tried a little too hard with the whole…

  • On Gallant Wings – Helen Edwards

    Riveted Press April 2025 Distributed by Simon & Schuster ISBN13: 9781763526051 LIST PRICE: AU$ 17.99 / NZ$ 19.99 I can completely relate to author Helen Edward’s comment in her notes that she knew little about the Japanese attack on Darwin. I was certainly the same. Growing up in the late 50s/60s, I knew more about…

  • Bold Ben Hall – Sophie Masson

    Walker Books March 2025 ISBN13:9781760658403 Australia RRP:$17.99 New Zealand RRP:$19.99 From the time I was a kid, I was fascinated with many of the stories of our bushrangers – lots of them recounted to me by my Father Bear. I think from memory it was in my tweens or maybe very early teens, when he…

  • Moonboy – Anna Ciddor

    Allen & Unwin March 2025 ISBN:9781761180743 Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $17.99 I love Anna Ciddor‘s historical time-slip adventures, and this newest one speaks to me even more because of personal connections. I was instantly transported back to First Form at St George Girls High School, and sitting with the rest of my cohort, squashed…

  • The Girl and the Ghost – Jacqueline Harvey

    Penguin Australia April 2025 OMG!!! JH fans, both young and old, are about to lose their minds!!! This fabulous new book, which I gobbled up in two sittings, heralds the start of another new series from the best-selling author, who really knows how to reach her audience. In this instance, the audience has just expanded…

  • Goldfields Girl: the Clara Saunders Story – Elaine Forrestal

    Fremantle Press February 2025 ISBN: 9781760994969 RRP: $17.99 When Goldfields Girl was first published in 2020, I acquired it for our collection and then never got around to reading it. Now it’s been reissued with this [IMO] far more engaging cover [I think it just illustrates Clara’s jaunty and resilient personality more] and I’m very happy…

  • Soaring with the Sugarbird Lady: the Robin Miller Story – Dianne Wolfer

    Fremantle Press March 2025 ISBN: 978176099527 RRP: $17.99 My love of historical fiction knows no bounds as when I come across a hitherto unknown episode, particularly of the Australian + women variety. Dianne Wolfer has introduced me to a young woman who was an absolute stand-out – in Dianne’s own words ‘a trailblazer for women, winging…

  • Picture Book Month Extra! : Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger – Jackie French

    Harper Collins Australia December 2024 Regular readers here know what a fan I am of Jackie’s work, particularly her historical fiction. She so deftly weaves fact and fiction creating a portal back in time for young readers to become bystanders and witnesses to some of the most significant events, especially in Australian history. And because…

  • Picture Book Month extra: The Death of Dora Black: a Petticoat Police Mystery – Lainie Anderson

    Hachette Australia Aug 28, 2024 | 9780733652066 | RRP $32.99 What a thoroughly enjoyable read this has been over the past few nights! I’m a tragic when it comes to cosy crime and murder mystery books and over the past couple of years I’ve had quite a number of YA titles to review, and also listened to a few…

  • Picture Book Month Extra: The Librarians of Rue de Picardie – Janet Skeslien Charles.

    Hachette Apr 30, 2024 | 9781035417896 | RRP $32.99 I actually read this months ago not long after I got it – and I loved it – but somehow it got buried under a pile (of other books languishing waiting for their reviews). But just let me tell you, this is most certainly worth the read. I was a…