Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Desert Tracks -Marly Wells & Linda Wells

    Magabala Books May 2025 978-1-922777-66-9 RRP. $22.99 What an absolutely sensational book this is! Easy to see why it won the Daisy Utemorrah Award! And I’m going to say right now, this is one you not only need for your collection, but need to actively promote to your staff, especially those of you looking to…

  • Resist: a story of D-Day – Alaz Gratz

    Scholastic Australia April 2025 Imprint: Scholastic Inc ISBN: 9781761649172 RRP: $12.99 If anyone is confused and feels like they have seen this, or heard of it, some years ago, here’s what author Alan Gratz explains: The physical paperback version of Resist was something I wrote as an exclusive giveaway for Scholastic’s Book Clubs in 2019. Scholastic gave…

  • Hey, Zazou! – Tony Thompson

    Ford St Publishing April 2025 ISBN: 9781922696410 RRP: $19.95 Here’s another fabulous historical fiction that I not only really enjoyed reading, but loved writing notes for as I discovered a whole other side to the Paris Occupation in World War II of which I was completely unaware. I knew about the Swing Kids in Germany…

  • Ming and Maria Explore the Universe: The Girls Who Changed the World #5 – Jackie French

    Harper Collins Australia ISBN: 9781460764886 ISBN 10: 1460764889 Imprint: HarperCollins AU RRP: $16.99 Once again, I was delighted to be asked to write the notes for this last title in what has been an inspiring series for our young people. It was particularly special as Jackie and I had had some conversations about this particular ‘mighty girl’ of…

  • Manslaughter Park -Tirzah Price

    Harper Collins Australia January 2025 ISBN: 9780062889874 ISBN 10: 0062889877 Imprint: HarperCollins US List Price: 24.99 AUD 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…

  • 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 ISBN: 9781761349409 Imprint: Penguin RRP: $16.99 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…

  • 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…