Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Looking for You: a Perfect Passion Company novel – Alexander McCall-Smith

    New South Books Polygon 9781846976933 / 1 June 2025 / AUD$39.99, NZD$44.99 After two weeks of being unwell and not reading (or reviewing) much beyond PBs and easy reads basically because of poor focus/fuzzy brain, it was just such a pleasure to escape into one of A. McC S’s gentle narratives filled with rich characters, very human emotions, a…

  • In Plain Sight: Friday Barnes #13 – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia June 2025 ISBN: 9781761349713 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $16.99 It was quite synchronistic to get #13 Friday Barnes arriving on Friday 13th, I thought! And, needless to say, I promptly gobbled it up over two nights with much snickering and snort laughing [No R. A. Spratt is ever read without the snaughling!]. The Friday romp continues with…

  • The Girl and the Ghost – Jacqueline Harvey

    Penguin Australia April 2025 ISBN: 9781761349409 Imprint: Penguin RRP: $16.99 OMG!!! JH fans, both young and old, are about to lose their minds!!! This fabulous new book, which I gobbled up in two sittings, heralds the start of another new series from the best-selling author, who really knows how to reach her audience. In this instance, the audience…

  • Aisle Nine – Ian X. Cho

    Harper Collins Australia September 2024 ISBN: 9781460760680 ISBN 10: 1460760689 Imprint: HarperCollins AU RRP: $19.99 Your fans of Stranger Things, Good Omens and Wednesday, any horror x comedy x side-serve of romance, are absolutely going to love this one. When I was asked to write the teaching notes I was not quite sure after reading the summary but…

  • The Marvellous Mirza Girls – Sheba Karim

    Harper Collins Australia March 2023 ISBN: 9780062845498 ISBN 10: 0062845497 Imprint: HarperCollins US List Price: 19.99 AUD I have to say I really enjoyed this and read it over several nights last week but I’m also going to say upfront that despite the publisher’s suggested age rating of 13 years upwards DO NOT even think about it being available…

  • Well, That Was Unexpected – Jesse Q. Sutanto

    Harper Collins Australia November 2022 ISBN: 9780008501464 ISBN 10: 0008501467 Imprint: Electric Monkey List Price: 19.99 AUD In actual fact, this is hands down the most enjoyable YA novel I’ve read in a long time. Coincidentally, it is one of a posse of recent YAs that are Asian-focused in one way or another. Even more interesting perhaps is that…

  • Ellie Pillai is Brown – Christine Pillainayagam

    Faber & Faber July 2022 ISBN: 9780571366910ISBN-10: 0571366910RRP: $17.99 This is a debut novel of true exceptional talent IMO. I love a good romance and when it’s interwoven with self-discovery, diversity, cultural differences, regular teen relationships and issues, and music – all the better! Also, this is definitely the first YA (or indeed any book) I have…

  • Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily – Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

    Allen & Unwin October 2020 ISBN:9781760526214 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $19.99 This is my first encounter with Dash and Lily – and I’m in love with them! As it happens I had put this title on our orders list because I liked the sound of it so much – and as it…

  • The Jane Austen Society – Natalie Jenner

    Hachette Australia MAY 26, 2020 | 9781409194118 | RRP $32.99 Wow! This is certainly one impressive debut novel and well worth putting on your TBR list, particularly if you love books like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and others of its ilk. Beautifully articulated characters who drive this narrative, which has some basis in historical fact…

  • The Happy Prisoner – Monica Dickens

      First published in 1946 I originally read this when a friend gave me  a copy as a birthday gift many (many!) years ago. I loved it so much and re-read it so often that the paperback disintegrated over time and was reluctantly abandoned. A few weeks ago the wonderful Pat Pledger of ReadPlus invited…