Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Crookhaven: the School for Thieves – J. J. Arcanjo

    Hachette FEB 28, 2023 | 9781444965735 | RRP $16.99 This is another one that got delayed despite being read very swiftly when it first arrived. Two reasons for that being I was taking it to and fro to read to a Year 5 class with whom I was spending quite a bit of time, and then because it got…

  • Scar Town Book Launch

    What a terrific way to spend an evening! Catching up with Tristan Bancks after a few years, also seeing Deborah Abela again, for the official Brisbane launch of Scar Town, at Where the Wild Things Are. The Kid came along as well and it was a hugely enjoyable presentation. Isobelle Carmody was also in the…

  • It’s Not Summer Without You – Jenny Han

    Book 2 in the Summer I Turned Pretty Series April 2023 Twelve years after its initial release, the second in Jenny Han’s Summer trilogy is the third of her books to be adapted for the screen, and little wonder as these have been some of the hottest books in the secondary library/young adult stakes. Belly…

  • Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth – Anna Feinberg

    Allen & Unwin July 2023 ISBN:9781760296988 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $17.99 It’s been quite some time since I’ve read a book from Anna, so I was well pleased to receive this one to review (thank you lovely A&U peeps!) and it is absolutely beautiful. There is a lot going on in this…

  • The Bravest Word – Kate Foster

    Walker Books Australia May 2022 ISBN13:9781760654719 Australia RRP:$18.99 New Zealand RRP:$20.99 Thankfully, there is an ever-growing awareness around mental health, and a wider knowledge of help sources available. We have media focus both in information sharing, and valuable help agencies that did not exist years ago. The stats above provide some insight into the extent…

  • Scar Town – Tristan Bancks

    Penguin Australia August 2023 I’ve been a fan of Tristan’s work since back in the Mac Slater days, especially after attending one of his presentations on making book trailers (can’t even remember which event that was, it was so long ago!) and I’ve particularly loved his ‘crime/thriller’ books – like a series that’s not, if…

  • The Magpie and the Snake – Steve Trotter

    Magpie Publishers October 2021 ISBN: 9780645178401 RRP: $19.99 Special school price: $15.99 I stumbled upon finding out about this book and was so taken by the premise that I messaged Steve and asked if I could review it for him. I am so very glad that I did. While Steve is a whitefulla, he consulted…

  • We Didn’t Think It Through – Gary Lonesborough

    Allen & Unwin July 2023 ISBN: 9781760526931 Publisher: A&U Children’s Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $19.99 We are all aware of the rise in youth crime – one would have to living in a hermit’s cave not to know about it. And most of us are aware that in some areas, the problem is…

  • Hamlet is Not OK – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia July 2023 No one will be surprised to hear that after reading a couple of chapters before I went to sleep last night, I gobbled the rest up in one sitting today – and loved every single word! It’s not Friday Barnes, nor Nanny Piggins but Spratt’s sass and sarcasm, her unerring sense…

  • Some Shall Break – Ellie Marney

    Allen & Unwin June 2023 ISBN:9781761068010 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $24.99 Of course, we know we are blessed in this country to have so many superlative creators of children’s literature, but how lucky are we when an internationally acclaimed author chooses our great nation as their home – and then continues with…