Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe


  • Which Way to Anywhere – Cressida Cowell

    Hachette Australia September 2022 ISBN 9781444969047 | RRP $22.99 Well, if there’s anything more exciting in MG fiction than a new Cressida Cowell title, it’s a new Cressida Cowell series and this one is going to skyrocket I can assure you. K2 O’Hero (yes, he is named after the mountain) would appear, to all intents and purposes,…

  • The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat – Kate Temple

    Hachette September 2022 ISBN: 9780734420909  RRP: $16.99 This is just utterly fantastic from first page to last. So good that I gobbled it up in just two sittings in fact. Why is it so dangerous being Trilby Misso you may wonder? Well, because she finds herself in a unique position – inheriting the singular role…

  • Plume [#2]: Global Nibbler – Tania McCartney

    May 2022 Hardie Grant, Hardie Grant Explore, RRP $26.99 ISBN: 9781741177671 My friends are all very aware of my penchant for penguins. Surely, they are one of the cutest creatures in the world? Although, if you have ever participated in the penguin spotting research via live stream, you will appreciate that the little darlings are…

  • Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade: Enola Holmes #8 – Nancy Springer

    Allen & Unwin August 2022 ISBN: 9781761066245 Publisher: A&U Children’s Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $16.99 As we all eagerly anticipate the new forthcoming Netflix adaptation, what better way to feed our love of Enola and her adventures than by reading this newest in the series? (In this house we are both fans of…

  • The Golden Swift – Lev Grossman

    Bloomsbury July 2022 ISBN 9781526647634 Imprint Bloomsbury Children’s Books RRP: $14.99 A couple of years back I enthusiastically endorsed The Silver Arrow and I am very pleased to say that this second instalment is equally as enchanting for your middle school readers. A year after they first encounter The Silver Arrow and begin their mission…

  • Spark – M.G. Leonard

    Walker Books September 2022 Imprint:Walker Books ISBN13:9781406389388 Australia RRP:$18.99 New Zealand RRP:$21.99 There is something quintessentially English about a group of children who are into bird-watching I think, especially when combined with all the other great things going on in this series. A diverse cast of characters, an appealing setting where the kids can roam…

  • Miss Penny Dreadful & the Midnight Kittens – Allison Rushby

    Walker Books Australia August 2022 ISBN: 9781760654030 RRP: $15.99 Allison Rushby‘s delightful new book brings together a host of currently popular themes but presented for your lower primary readers. In the vein of Enola Holmes or Rose Ravensthorpe, this tricky mystery combines all the charm of Victorian quirkiness with strong female characters who possess both boldness…

  • The Silver Sea – Belinda Murrell

    Penguin Australia August 2022 ISBN: 9781761045554 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $16.99 Young Sophie is still living with her grandmother while her mum and brother are busy with Archie’s summer camp for young geniuses. During her summer sojourn Sophie has discovered, by complete accident, her Nanna’s connection with beautiful Tuscia and the Rossellana family. After one grand adventure, Sophie has…

  • Pearly and Pig and the Great Hairy Beast – Sue Whiting

    Walker Books Australia March 2022 ISBN: 9781760653590Imprint: Walker Books AustraliaAustralian RRP: $15.99 This is quite simply, really good fun! For some reason, it put me very much in mind of the old Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons (which those elderly people such as myself will recall) especially with the almost absurd characters and situations. Pearly Woe is the epitome…

  • Seven Days- Fleur Ferris

    Penguin Australia May 2022 ISBN: 9781761043352 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $16.99 I really do love a good countdown action/adventure and Fleur Ferris has brought her masterful manipulation of tension into a fantastic new narrative for middle school readers. In similar fashion to her hugely successful and popular suspenseful stories for YA kiddos, this one follows a cracking pace from…