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, 2022
2 min

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! Elsewhere Girls follows the story of Cat and Fanny, who both live in Sydney...but more than a hundred years apart. While they live in completely different times, the connection they share is their talent for swimming. But it quickly becomes clear that while Fanny is passionate about swimming, Cat is starting to feel less and less enthusiasti

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Hometown Haunts: Flash Fiction challenge

Sandy

Oct 17, 2021
3 min

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 #LoveOzYa gang are running a flash fiction challenge over on their Insta page. They're releasing a series of writing prompts linked to each story - and the challenge is to write a piece of flash fiction incorporating the three components included in each prompt. Here is my story which incorporates these three prompts: outside toilet, cricket

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Sandy

Apr 10, 2021
2 min

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 book. The writing is breathtaking - so lyrical and raw and full of astonishing insight. The stand-out for me is the unique voice of the protagonist, 14-year-old Dylan. Her voice is captivating, it sparkles with humour and energy, while at the same time resonating with something lost. Dylan's mother has died, and Dylan is grieving. Her mother

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Sandy

Dec 28, 2020
2 min

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 can never resist a young adult book that features bands and music, and this book had me captivated from the first page. Sixteen-year-old Liliana, exchange student at a prestigious music academy in England, is missing her girlfriend and family back home. But when she is selected to join a ‘secret’ band, that rehearses under the cover of night

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Sandy

Dec 28, 2020
1 min

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 meaning and beautifully vivid description. The writing will make your heart sing. The storyline: the story shimmers with a beautiful darkness - it is gripping, mysterious, and will have you on the edge of your seat, racing to the finish to see if Stacey can find her missing twin sister in time. Voice: the raw, candid voice of the narrator, Sta

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Looking for bookish Christmas gift ideas?

Sandy

Dec 19, 2020
1 min

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 Moore - this is a beautifully written own voices story about grief, family and identity. The voice of the 14-year-old protagonist is captivating - it sparkles with humour and energy, while simultaneously resonating with something lost. Both tough and fragile, this is a read you won't forget. Published by Text Publishing. Music for Tigers, by Mic

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Peta Lyres’s Rating Normal, by Anna Whateley

Sandy

Nov 21, 2020
3 min

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, according to her best friend Jeb, has so many letters she could start her own alphabet. Peta has ASD, ADHD and SPD, and the first person narration, told in an honest and engaging voice, allows an intimate insight into Peta's thought processes. While the high school years present their own challenges of navigating friendship, romance, study and t

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Sandy

Nov 7, 2020
1 min

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 the world of 16-year-old Abbie, who moves with her family from Sydney to a small town called Derrington. Arriving in Derrington, Abbie wonders why all the kids at her new school are either avoiding her, or looking at her with hostility. She soon realises that she is the mirror image of Rebecca O'Reilly, a teenage girl who had been brutally mur

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The Long Distance Playlist, by Tara Eglington

Sandy

Oct 13, 2020
2 min

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 awesome music playlists! The story starts with ballet dancer Isolde feeling heartbroken and unmotivated after being dumped by her boyfriend. Isolde receives an unexpected sympathy email from Taylor, who used to be her best friend, before an argument led to a period of silence between the two. Isolde responds, and soon the two of them are ta

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Notes From the Teenage Underground by Simmone Howell

Sandy

Oct 10, 2020
2 min

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 timeless appeal - with its universal themes of navigating shifting friendship dynamics and family relationships, and learning to embrace your true self - but these themes are explored in a unique, smart and compelling way which makes this book stand out from many other YA reads. Seventeen-year-old Gem narrates this smart and edgy novel, her i

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The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim

Sandy

Oct 4, 2020
2 min

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 her to put more effort and thought into her studies and what she wants to do after school, but they don’t know that at home, Anna is left to assume responsibility for her two younger siblings, while her father works long hours at the family restaurant, and Ma stays in bed for long periods of time. Anna is looking for signs in the shadows and

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Sandy

Aug 22, 2020
2 min

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. This is, of course, completely unacceptable in Lottie's eyes, so how will she cope with this predicament? By beating Evelyn at her own game of course, and becoming Little Miss Perfect Herself! This will not be easy for a girl who seems addicted to trouble. Will Lottie succeed in exposing Evelyn for who she really is, or will the plan backfire?

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

Sandy

Jul 28, 2020
2 min

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 I’m a huge #LoveOzYa fan!) Finally I had the chance to read this collection - and happily it did not disappoint. A lot of short story collections have at least a couple of stories that don’t resonate with me – or that I even skip over after a few pages in (gasp! I know I should give every story a chance). But the point is – this did not happen

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Sandy

Jul 19, 2020
2 min

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 a series of letters she writes to her brother Rudy, her inner-most thoughts. While all her school friends are going on about how much they are looking forward to schoolies, Erin just wants to get though each day without too having too many moments to add to her ‘cringe-list.' Other priorities include finding a new job after losing her job

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This is how we change the ending, by Vikki Wakefield

Sandy

Jul 14, 2020
2 min

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 of his dad's quiet menace at home. He quietly observes the way his dad treats Nance and his twin half-brothers, without finding a way to outwardly voice his concern. Nate writes his thoughts in a notebook, which provides some solace amongst the raw confusion of his daily life. Through his writing he creates for himself a kind of alternative r

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Sandy

Jul 10, 2020
3 min

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 collection makes me think of summer. If you also feel like a burst of yellow cheer then grab a copy of one of these books! HotDog 2: Party Time!, by Ahn Do My kids all love this series of books about the friendly and funny sausage dog Hotdog and his two best friends Kev and Lizzie. Perfect for new readers, with lots of humour, colourful storylines wi

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

Sandy

Jun 12, 2020
1 min

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 characters you will encounter in YA fiction. We view her through the eyes of 13-year-old Seymour, who is lonely and bored and quickly becomes captivated by Angie – who is all confidence and sparkle, with her silver lace and satin and a little flying horse tattooed on one shoulder. In Seymour’s eyes, it seems possible that she could “reach h

11 views0 comments

Sandy

Jun 9, 2020
2 min

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! The reader is immediately drawn into a future landscape, where global warming and flooding has forced the population to construct islands to live on, and to scavenge flooded cities under the sea just to survive. The most compelling feature of this future world is that the dead can be revived for 24 hours, and our protagonist, seventeen-year

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Aussie Kids Books

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