Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Where the Heart Should Be – Sarah Crossan

    Bloomsbury March 2024 ISBN 9781526666598 Imprint Bloomsbury YA RRP: $25.00 Carnegie Medal-winning, former Laureate na nÓg Sarah Crossan became one of my most favourite writers when I read my first of her titles, Toffee. That book made such an impression on me that I quickly sought out others and kept my eye out for them…

  • Aisle Nine – Ian X. Cho

    Harper Collins Australia September 2024 ISBN: 9781460760680 ISBN 10: 1460760689 Imprint: HarperCollins AU RRP: $19.99 Your fans of Stranger Things, Good Omens and Wednesday, any horror x comedy x side-serve of romance, are absolutely going to love this one. When I was asked to write the teaching notes I was not quite sure after reading the summary but…

  • One by One They Disappear – Mike Lucas

    Penguin Australia May 2024 ISBN: 9781761049866 Imprint: Penguin $19.99 Honestly, before you put this on your shelves for your kiddos, you need to read it first. Because once they get their hands on it and the word spreads, you will never get a look in! I was hooked from the very start and this is a whole…

  • Eleanor Jones Can[‘t] Keep a Secret – Amy Doak

    Penguin Australia ISBN: 9781761342424 Imprint: Penguin RRP: $19.99 I absolutely adored the first Eleanor Jones book and as soon as this one arrived a few days ago, everything else got pushed aside while I binge-read it (which effectively means I’m now book-cheating on 3 different books 😳). I regret nothing! This is every bit as fabulous as…

  • Catch Your Breath – Ravena Guron

    Harper Collins Australia March 2024 ISBN: 9781803705422 ISBN 10: 1803705426 Imprint: Usborne GB RRP: $19.99 I really do love me a good cozy murder mystery, going right back to when I had almost every single Agatha Christie title, so I’m absolutely relishing this trend in YA fiction. This is the second of this author’s books I’ve read [see…

  • The Unexpected Mess of it All- Gabrielle Tozer

    Harper Collins Australia May 2024 ISBN: 9781460761441 ISBN 10: 1460761448 Imprint: HarperCollins AU RRP: $19.99 Oh yes, a rom-com that will have your young readers absolutely in paroxyms of delight! This was just so engaging from the very first page, and I loved every word, character and certainly, the outcome. Jamila Dakhoul feels her life is in a…

  • The Sea Captain’s Wife – Jackie French

    Harper Collins Australia ISBN: 9781867243489 ISBN 10: 1867243482 Imprint: HQ Fiction AU $32.99 It really is a given, that a new Jackie French book means that all other books are put on hold (even if half-read!) until I have devoured the newest. And that’s exactly what has happened over the past few days. Just under 500 pages flew…

  • Those Girls -Pamela Rushby

    Walker Books Australia April 2024 ISBN13:9781760657840 Australia RRP:$19.99 New Zealand RRP:$22.99 Pamela Rushby’s books are always a treat. For me though, it’s a given that those historical fictions set in Brisbane are the most fascinating. Because I didn’t grow up here, I knew a bare minimum of the city’s history prior to moving here in…

  • This Book Kills – Ravena Guron

    Harper Collins Australia March 2024 ISBN: 9781803705415 ISBN 10: 1803705418 Imprint: Usborne GB RRP: $19.99 I recently read someone ‘predicting’ that murder mystery for teens/YA was going to be a big new trend this year. I have news for them. It has been for quite a few years now as any of the devotees of Karen McManus, Holly…

  • Smoke & Mirrors – Barry Jonsberg

    Allen & Unwin January 2024 ISBN: 9781761180750 Publisher: A&U Children’s Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $19.99 Anyone who has ever read a Jonsberg book will know that there is always more, just beneath the surface, and this particular title is especially apt. This was one of my favourite reads in December, and I quickly…