Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Lost in a Book: The 113th Assistant Librarian #2 – Stuart Wilson

    Penguin Australia September 2025 RRP: $19.99 What super fun it was to re-visit the Blackmoor-upon-Wyvern Public Library, which is in the capable hands of the 113th librarian, Oliver Wormwood, ably assisted by his new friend, Agatha, sometimes girl/more often nine cats. After his initial reluctance at having the librarian’s role thrust upon him, Oliver has…

  • The Disappearing Circus – Helen Edwards/Kate Gordon

    Riveted Press July 2025 Distributed by Simon & Schuster ISBN13: 9781763526099 RRP: AU$ 17.99 / NZ$ 19.99 I have taken my time with this, both the reading of it and the writing of the review. So much so, that I was strongly reminded of my Oddity review, four years ago, when I wrote: I read…

  • The Haunting of Fortune Farm – Sophie Kirtley

    Bloomsbury Australia January 2025 ISBN 9781526642783 Imprint Bloomsbury Children’s Books RRP: $16.99 I enjoyed Sophie Kirtley’s debut novel The Wild Way Home tremendously back in 2020 and though I haven’t read the intervening books (one novel, one picture book), I had high expectations of this one. I was not disappointed. This is another MG novel…

  • Ghostlines – Katya Balen

    Bloomsbury Publishing January 2025 Imprint: Bloomsbury Children’s Publishing ISBN 9781526663870 RRP: $16.99 Since the first Katya Balen title that came into my hands in 2019, I have loved this writer’s work. Obviously given her 2022 Carnegie Medal, I’m not the only one. Each time her characters are flawlessly executed, with plots that are fresh and…

  • On the Hunt for Santa – Lesley Gibbes and Stephen Michael King

    Penguin Australia September 2024 Here’s a completely fun one to share with your Smalls, especially those who love Scary Night. Once upon a snowy day, three friends set out on a journey. Hare with a honey pot, Cat with a candy cane, Pig with a plum pudding. But where were they going that snowy day,…

  • The 113th Assistant Librarian – Stuart Wilson

    Penguin Australia When you get an ARC all wrapped up pretty just like a birthday present, you can be pretty sure it’s going to be an exciting surprise inside and so it was. I mean to say, how could they possibly go wrong sending me something called this with a stern warning about the magic…

  • Nightshade – Anthony Horowitz

      Walker Books Australia April 2020 ISBN: 9781406395877 Imprint: Walker Australian RRP: $16.99 New Zealand RRP: $18.99 Coming hard on the heels of the 20th anniversary of Alex Rider’s first adventure – Stormbreaker – is even more high-octane heart-pumping tension as Alex plunges deep into a mysterious organisation known as Nightshade. Once again Alex is an unwilling recruit into…

  • Stormbreaker – Anthony Horowitz

    Walker Books Australia March 2020 ISBN: 9781406388589 Imprint: Walker Australian RRP: $16.99 By chance, when I found out that the new 20th anniversary edition of Stormbreaker was being released I was ‘re-reading’ it on audio during my commute and relishing the pure adrenalin rush that is the hallmark of the series. Frankly I’d be happy to read Anthony’s…