Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Picture Book Month Bonus: Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins. Illustrated by Nico Delort.

    Scholastic Australia Last year it was the #1 illustrated Hunger Games that was a bonus for Picture Book Month, now it’s equally sumptuous Catching Fire. This trilogy and its numerous spin-offs remains a favourite with so many around the world, myself included. There is just so much to love about it and quite frankly, as…

  • Oxford Blood — Rachel Davis Featherstone

    Walker Books Synchronicity yet again. For one thing my other YA review for Halloween is also dark academia, full of privilege vs scholarship, ruthlessness, power-hungry educational institutions, murder/s, set in an elite institution. And, also, as I’ve just re-read via audiobook The Book of Dust #1 & #2 and the setting of Oxford with references…

  • Horror in Pleasantville: Stories from the Archives – Caleb Finn

    Penguin Australia August 2025 I’m guessing there would be some who have NOT heard of Caleb Finn – but that’s very likely not any of your readers or indeed anyone under the age of 25 at least. From his early days on TikTok his popularity has soared as an iconic purveyor of short horror stories…

  • What Have They Done to Liza McClean? – Amy Doak

    Penguin Australia October 2025 No doubt about it, Amy Doak has rocketed into ‘force to be reckoned with’ status since Eleanor Jones first burst onto our YA shelves. After three hugely successful titles in that series, we now have a new aspect of Amy’s talent. Your kiddos who are into the whole Dark Academia vibe…

  • Wednesday: A Novelisation of Season One

    Penguin Australia If you happen to be one of the handful of people in the civilized world who hasn’t watched Wednesday (1 & 2), you will definitely want to read this ahead of your kids. That way, at least you’ll be up to speed and be able to converse intelligently and compare notes. And for…

  • The Book of Dust : Phillip Pullman – a recap

    While I await #3 in this extraordinary trilogy, I have been revisiting the first two on audio. The brilliant Michael Sheen is the narrator and absolutely perfect. So I thought it would be timely to re-post my reviews of the first two. Are you excited as I am for #3??? I CANNOT WAIT to get…

  • Our History: A House Divided – Clare Hallifax

    Walker Books Australia August 2025 ISBN13:9781760658991 Australia RRP:$16.99 New Zealand RRP:$18.99 What a terrific book to pair with your upper primary studies on our goverment systems, not to mention your Civics and Citizenship units for secondary students. In the mid-70s I hadn’t yet experienced living in Canberra, and was yet to discover its unique character,…

  • The Locked Room – Adam Cece

    Penguin Australia August 2025 Wowzers! Hold on to your hats, and make sure to get yourself sorted with snacks and drinks for this one because you are not going to want to stop reading it once you’ve started. Let’s say you take a really tricky escape room, mix it up with an ever-evolving game with…

  • Normal Women Making History for 900 years – Philippa Gregory

    Illustrations by Alexis Snell Red Shed March 2025ISBN: 9780008725075 I am quite familiar with Philippa Gregory’s writing. Those books I have read are marvellous examples of historical fiction with such elegant blending of fact and fiction. But the title of this intrigued me as soon as I saw it. I had, in fact, no idea…

  • The Mushroom in the Sky – Jackie French

    Harper Collins Australia July 2025 If there’s anything more exciting than new Jackie French historical fiction, it’s getting your hands on it before anyone else and writing teaching notes for it. In light of the 80th Anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing coming up (and ergo, the end of the War in the Pacific), Jackie French…