Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe


  • The Midnight Panther – Poonam Mistry

    Allen & Unwin January 2023 ISBN:9781787418929 Publisher:Bonnier Imprint:Templar RRP: $24.99 I think this is the most visually stunning book I’ve seen in a long time. In fact, it is breathtakingly beautiful, and demands close scrutiny of the intricate and rich illustrations. A beautiful fable of identity and self-belief, the little panther is insecure in a…

  • The Perilous Promotion of Trilby Moffat: Book 2 – Kate Temple

    Hachette July 2023  9780734420923 | RRP $16.99 | Imprint: Lothian Books I was getting a little worried I wasn’t going to get this one to review, and I have been waiting patiently for it since the day I finished the first one, but yayyyyyyy!! – thank you Hachette – for getting it to me (on Friday and…

  • Running with Ivan – Suzanne Leal

    Harper Collins Australia February 2023 Leo is not in a good space. After his mother died, it seemed that his grief would never ease and now, two years later, his father has re-married, and he has a whole new family and home to which to adjust. Julia, his stepmother is just fine, and he really…

  • Custodians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior 2 -Jordan Gould and Richard Pritchard

    Allen & Unwin May 2023 ISBN: 9781761180040 Publisher: A&U Children’s RRP: $15.99 Wylah proved herself in her first adventure, and achieved the near-impossible in uniting the five Guardians, now firmly at her side but her mission continues. She must press on through the Valley of the Spirits, with all its risks and dangers in order…

  • Kensy and Max #10: Time’s Up – Jacqueline Harvey

    Penguin Australia Fasten your seatbelts for one last rollercoaster ride with the intrepid twin spies, in their most difficult and worrying adventure/mission yet! When their closest family members begin disappearing – apparently kidnapped – the twins become increasingly isolated and anxious. With no ransom notes or other explanations, the snatching of their relatives seems completely…

  • Last Man Out – Louise Park

    Wild Dog Books April 2023 RRP: $24.99 Sometimes a book comes along that just has the most profound impact on you, as a reader and, in this case, also as an avid history nerd. Louise Park’s new publication is just such a book. In the sort of way that makes one tingle – not to…

  • Wanderer – Victor Kelleher

    Publisher: Eagle Books Imprint: Christmas Press August 2022 ISBN: 9780645378818 RRP: $19.99 If I were to use the vernacular, I’d say it’s been a long time between drinks Victor, but it was certainly worth it. Multi-award winner, Victor Kelleher, has crafted his first middle grade novel in fifteen years with this gripping and absorbing post-apocalyptic…

  • The Book of Wondrous Possibilities – Deborah Abela

    Penguin Australia 2 August 2022 ISBN: 9781761044021 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $16.99 From the opening paragraph this brilliant book simply sparkles with magic and adventure – unsurprisingly, for those of us who have followed Deborah Abela’s writing career for years! My first encounter with this joyful creator was when, as the organiser of an extravaganza showcase at Marrickville Library,…

  • The StrangeWorlds Travel Agency : The Edge of the Ocean Book #2 – L. D. Lapinski

    Hachette Australia APR 13, 2021 | 9781510105959 | RRP $16.99 Now that Flick is officially a member of the StrangeWorlds Travel Agency, and with one exciting adventure already under her belt, in which she demonstrated some unexpected and remarkable powers, she and Jonathan Mercator are summoned to help another world. This time they are joined by Jonathan’s distant cousin,…

  • Hollowpox: The Trials of Morrigan Crow. Nevermoor #3 – Jessica Townsend

    Hachette SEP 29, 2020 | 9780734418241 | RRP $17.99 Huzzah! It has finally arrived! We’ve all been waiting with great impatience but at last the next instalment is here. And what a corker it is! Not only is it gripping and full of new revelations but has most uncanny parallels to our current parlous circumstances. Morrigan is looking forward…