Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Foal in the Wire – Robbie Coburn

    Hachette Australia Imprint: Lothian Children’s books May 28, 2025 | 9780734423603 | RRP $19.99 Yes, I agree with you 100%. I have always said I’m not a fan of verse novels – but now, it seems I am. The slew of high standard verse novels over the past year especially has completely changed my thinking on this genre, I…

  • The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest – Aubrey Hartman

    Walker Books Australia May 2025 ISBN:9781761601453 RRP: $17.99/New Zealand RRP:$19.99 Now, how to describe this delightfully quirky and sometimes dark quasi-horror with heart? It’s a little bit My Dead Rabbit, maybe a little bit Coraline, and a little bit The Graveyard Book. And then there’s A Girl Called Corpse – and soon you will get…

  • 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…

  • Little Bones – Sandy Bigna

    UQP March 2025 9780702268878 RRPP: $16.99 I know I’m repeating myself, but I preface this again with the fact that I’ve never been a huge fan of verse novels. But I can tell you, we have some amazing creators who are changing my mind about that. This debut title from Sandy Bigna is hands-down one…

  • How to Sail to Somewhere – Ashleigh Barton

    Hachette Australia Imprint: Lothian Books March 2025 9780734423627 | RRP $16.99 My recent enjoyment of the newest Katya Balen book has been serendipitously echoed in Ashleigh Barton’s gorgeous new MG novel which has similar themes but definitely more mystery. The two books written half a world apart (weirdly) have striking likenesses, though with a different take on…

  • 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…

  • Legend of the Lighthouse Moon – Helen Edwards

    Riveted Press Distributed by Simon & Schuster October 2024 ISBN13: 9781763526013 RRP: AU$ 17.99 / NZ$ 19.99 What an enchanting story Helen Edwards has created with its rich blend of history, legend, family and love! Set on Kangaroo Island in the 1970s, Mona McKenna and her little brother, Albert, live an idyllic family life in…

  • Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody – Patrick Ness. Illustrated by Tim Miller.

    Walker Books September 2024 ISBN13:9781529517958 Australia RRP:$16.99 New Zealand RRP:$18.99 I absolutely love Patrick Ness’ writing. The Chaos Walking trilogy is my all-time favourite YA read. And A Monster Calls is one of the most beautiful, powerful and poignant explorations of pain and grief ever, and breaks me every time I read it. In fact,…

  • Dragon Folding – Christopher Cheng. Illustrated by Lucia Masciullo.

    Penguin Australia September 2024 Grief is hard. And most of us know, in one way or another, some losses are harder to bear than others. I know that well, as does author Christopher Cheng. In a beautiful new book from this illustrious author, comes a narrative that explores the depths of grief, and how strength…

  • Puppet – David Almond. Illustrated by Lizzy Stewart.

    Walker Books Australia ISBN13:9781406391619 Australia RRP:$24.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 David Almond‘s Skellig is a book that has always stood out among the thousands I’ve read over the past 60 odd years. The magical realism, the sheer beauty of the characters and their actions, and the undeniable urgency to turn the page all make for just…