Aussie Kids Books

Book Reviews

Welcome to my blog! This blog is a celebration of Australian children's fiction - including young adult, middle grade, junior fiction, and picture books.

Read on for my reviews!

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Elsewhere Girls by Emily Gale & Nova Weetman

Sandy

Jan 15, 20222 min read

Elsewhere Girls by Emily Gale & Nova Weetman

I love a good timeslip/body swap novel - and this one by acclaimed middlegrade authors Emily Gale and Nova Weetman is truly captivating!...

21 views0 comments

Hometown Haunts: Flash Fiction challenge

Sandy

Oct 17, 20213 min read

Hometown Haunts: Flash Fiction challenge

To celebrate the upcoming release of Hometown Haunts (a collection of spooky stories for YA readers published by Wakefield Press), the...

25 views0 comments

Sandy

Apr 10, 20212 min read

Metal Fish Falling Snow, by Cath Moore

This is a beautifully articulated #loveozya own voices story about grief, family and identity. There are so many reasons why I love this...

29 views0 comments

Sandy

Dec 28, 20202 min read

Stars Like Us, by Frances Chapman

If you love an addictive edgy read set against a background of rock music, fame and teen relationships, then this is the book for you! I...

16 views0 comments

Sandy

Dec 28, 20201 min read

Ghost Bird, by Lisa Fuller

Reasons why Ghost Bird is one of my top reads of 2020: The writing: this is a beautifully crafted book, with writing that is rich with...

56 views0 comments

Looking for bookish Christmas gift ideas?

Sandy

Dec 19, 20201 min read

Looking for bookish Christmas gift ideas?

Books, of course, make the best gifts! If you're stuck for ideas, try one of these fabulous reads: Metal Fish, Falling Snow, by Cath...

17 views0 comments

Peta Lyres’s Rating Normal, by Anna Whateley

Sandy

Nov 21, 20203 min read

Peta Lyres’s Rating Normal, by Anna Whateley

This young adult novel is a fabulous own voices read - the highlight for me being the voice of sixteen-year-old narrator Peta, who,...

70 views0 comments

Sandy

Nov 7, 20201 min read

Mirror Me, by Rachel Sanderson

This is a book you won't be able to put down - it is a dark-edged read which throbs with tension and mystery. The reader is drawn into...

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The Long Distance Playlist, by Tara Eglington

Sandy

Oct 13, 20202 min read

The Long Distance Playlist, by Tara Eglington

The Long Distance Playlist is a book about friendship and family and having the courage to embrace the unknown, set against a backdrop of...

13 views0 comments

Notes From the Teenage Underground by Simmone Howell

Sandy

Oct 10, 20202 min read

Notes From the Teenage Underground by Simmone Howell

This book has remained one of my favourite young adult reads of all time, since I read it when it was published back in 2006. It has a...

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The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim

Sandy

Oct 4, 20202 min read

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim

This beautifully written own voices young adult novel is narrated by Anna Chui, who is in Year 11 at school. Anna’s teachers are telling...

30 views0 comments

Sandy

Aug 22, 20202 min read

Taking Down Evelyn Tait, by Poppy Nwosu

Lottie is facing a predicament - her best friend Grace has started dating Lottie's mortal enemy - the sneeringly perfect Evelyn Tait....

10 views0 comments

Underdog: #LoveOzYa Short Stories, Edited by Tobias Madden, with a foreward by Fleur Ferris

Sandy

Jul 28, 20202 min read

Underdog: #LoveOzYa Short Stories, Edited by Tobias Madden, with a foreward by Fleur Ferris

This collection of short stories by new Australian writers has been on my radar for some time now (those of you who know me would know...

21 views0 comments

Sandy

Jul 19, 20202 min read

Please Don’t Hug Me, by Kay Kerr

I really loved this own voices book, the highlight of it being the voice of seventeen-year-old narrator Erin, who shares with us, through...

23 views0 comments

This is how we change the ending, by Vikki Wakefield

Sandy

Jul 14, 20202 min read

This is how we change the ending, by Vikki Wakefield

Sixteen-year-old Nate is struggling to stay afloat as he attempts to avoid getting beaten up at school and tries to fly under the radar...

14 views0 comments

Sandy

Jul 10, 20203 min read

Sunshine yellow books

I felt like I needed a splash of sunshine yellow during these cold winter months - and this stack of yellow books from our home...

14 views0 comments

YA Classic: Came Back to Show You I Could Fly, by Robin Klein

Sandy

Jun 12, 20201 min read

YA Classic: Came Back to Show You I Could Fly, by Robin Klein

This is a compelling story of friendship between two unlikely characters. Angie is undoubtedly one of the most unforgettable and enduring...

11 views0 comments

Sandy

Jun 9, 20202 min read

The Vanishing Deep, by Astrid Scholte

If you enjoy a fast-paced read, set against the background of a beautifully constructed world, then you will love this young adult novel!...

31 views2 comments

Aussie Kids Books

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