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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
I love a good timeslip/body swap novel - and this one by acclaimed middlegrade authors Emily Gale and Nova Weetman is truly captivating!...
Sandy
Jan 15, 20222 min read
22 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Oct 17, 20213 min read
27 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Apr 10, 20212 min read
33 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Dec 28, 20202 min read
16 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Dec 28, 20201 min read
58 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Dec 19, 20201 min read
17 views
0 comments
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,...
Sandy
Nov 21, 20203 min read
70 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Nov 7, 20201 min read
8 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Oct 13, 20202 min read
13 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Oct 10, 20202 min read
20 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Oct 4, 20202 min read
30 views
0 comments
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....
Sandy
Aug 22, 20202 min read
10 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Jul 28, 20202 min read
21 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Jul 19, 20202 min read
23 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Jul 14, 20202 min read
14 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Jul 10, 20203 min read
14 views
0 comments
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...
Sandy
Jun 12, 20201 min read
11 views
0 comments
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!...
Sandy
Jun 9, 20202 min read
33 views
2 comments
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