Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Something Somewhere – Richard Yaxley

    Scholastic Australia August 2024 ISBN: 9781760266370 ISBN-10: 176026637X RRP: $18.99 Richard Yaxley is one of our outstanding local authors, acclaimed and awarded for many of his books, and this newest one is another fine example of his skill. Earlier in the year I reviewed the wonderful The Other Shadow and this book is, to my mind, of…

  • Hotel Balzaar – Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Júlia Sardà.

    Walker Books Australia October 2024 ISBN13:9781529523782 Australia RRP:$24.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 One thing is always certain. A book by Kate DiCamillo will always be captivating. After the first Norendy tale, readers knew they could look forward to more of the magic realism of this series and it has come with another glorious story about stories.…

  • Marion and the Forty Thieves – Sarah Luke

    NLA July 2024 ISBN : 9781922507679 Publisher : National Library of Australia Imprint : National Library of Australia RRP: $19.99 I grew up in Sydney and I was a kid with a thirst for history, particularly of my home town. I loved my excursions to the Rocks and being taken into the city on outings with my father, also a history…

  • The 113th Assistant Librarian – Stuart Wilson

    Penguin Australia October 2024 ISBN: 9781761342257 Imprint: Penguin RRP: $19.99 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…

  • Queen of Dogs – Joe Weatherstone

    Walker Books June 2024 ISBN13:9781760658588 Australia RRP:$16.99 New Zealand RRP:$18.99 What a super fun read this was!! It’s a real mixed bag – humour, drama, mystery, family and … doggos galore! Maddy often feels like the changeling in her family of high-flyers. They are all very sporty and academic and always on the go-go-GO! Maddy,…

  • 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…

  • Her Majesty’s League of Remarkable Young Ladies – Alison D. Stegert

    Chicken House May 2024 ISBN: 9781915026095 ISBN-10: 1915026091 Published: 1st May 2024 RRP: $19.99 It’s always such a pleasure to review a friend’s book. It is even more so when that friend is a near-neighbour, Sunshine Coast writer Alison D. Stegert. I have been waiting for quite a long time to get my hands on this one, especially…

  • 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…

  • Ivy Newt series

    New South Books Ivy Newt and the Storm WitchDerek Keilty, illustrated by Magda Broll Apr 2023 | Scallywag Press | 9781915252180 | AUD$18.99, NZD$21.99 Ivy Newt and the Time ThiefDerek Keilty, illustrated by Magda Broll Sep 2023 | Scallywag Press | 9781915252333 | AUD$18.99, NZD$21.99 Yes, quite right – both of these were released last…

  • The Daredevil Princess and the Golden Unicorn: #1 – Belinda Murrell. Illustrated by Rebecca Crane.

    Penguin Random House February 2024 ISBN: 9781761340437 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $14.99 Make way, make way, for Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Mathilda Amalia Charlotte Adelaide Rose! Or, as readers will come to know her, Princess Tillie, newest character from one of our favourite authors, Belinda Murrell. The first in a brand new series especially pitched at freshly independent…