Book Review: A Quiet Kind of Thunder

Author: Sarah Barnard Genre: Contemporary fiction (for a YA readership) Publisher: Pan Macmillan (2017)  Image source "Steffi doesn’t talk, but she has so much to say. Rhys can’t hear, but he can listen. Their love isn’t a lightning strike, it’s the rumbling roll of thunder.  Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life -…

Book review: Midnight in Everwood

Author: M.A. KuzniarPublisher: Harper Collins (October 27, 2021)Genre: Fantasy Image source “Nottingham, 1906Marietta Stelle longs to be a ballerina but as Christmas draws nearer, her dancing days are numbered. At the wishes of her family, she will be obligated to marry and take up her place in society in the New Year. But when a…

Book Review: The Unusual Abduction of Avery Conifer

Content warning: Mentions and description of physical and emotional abuse. Author: Ilsa EvansPublisher: HarperCollins (2021)Genre: Contemporary fiction Image source “Beth's daughter Cleo and Shirley's son Daniel used to be married. Now Cleo is in gaol for supposedly contravening a family violence order, and Daniel has full-time care of their four-year-old daughter, Avery. When Shirley suspects…

Mini Book Reviews: August 2021

I didn’t post on my blog last Monday and I’ve been feeling so guilty about it! I wanted to stick to the habit of posting every Monday and I had until now. To make it a little easier to start again, I’m going with a couple of mini reviews: one fiction and one memoir. Where…

Book Review: The Other Side of Beautiful

Author: Kim LockGenre: Contemporary fictionPublisher: Harper Collins (July 2021) Image source “Meet Mercy Blain, whose house has just burnt down. Unfortunately for Mercy, this goes beyond the disaster it would be for most people: she hasn't been outside that house for two years now.And so begins Mercy's unwilling journey. After the chance purchase of a…

Book Review: Bindi

Author: Kirli SaundersIllustrated by: Dub LefflerPublisher: Magabala Books (2020)Genre: Contemporary verse novel (for a middle grade readership) Image source “Meet 11-year-old Bindi. She’s not really into maths but LOVES art class and playing hockey. Her absolute FAVOURITE thing is adventuring outside with friends or her horse, Nell. A new year starts like normal-school, family, hockey,…

Book Review: Tiger Daughter

Author: Rebecca LimGenre: Contemporary fiction (for a middle grade readership)Publisher: Allen and Unwin (2021) Content warnings: mentions of depression, suicide Image source “Wen Zhou is the daughter and only child of Chinese immigrants whose move to the lucky country has proven to be not so lucky. Wen and her friend, Henry Xiao - whose mum…

Book Review: Where You’ll Find Me

Author: Natasha FriendPublisher: St Martin’s Press (2017)Genre: Contemporary fiction (for a middle grade readership) “The first month of school, thirteen-year-old Anna Collette finds herself… Dumped by her best friend, Dani, who suddenly wants to spend eighth grade hanging out with different people. Deserted by her mom, who’s in the hospital recovering from a suicide attempt.…

Book Review: The Beauty is in the Walking

Author: James MoloneyPublisher: Harper Collins (2015)Genre: Contemporary fiction (for a YA readership) Content warning: The novel and review contain ableist slurs directed at the main character, for the purpose of highlighting their impact. "Everyone thinks they know what Jacob O'Leary can and can’t do - and they’re not shy about telling him either. But no…

Book Review: Ask Again, Yes

Author: Mary Beth KeanePublisher: Michael Joseph (Penguin, 2019)Genre: Domestic Fiction “Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are two NYPD rookies assigned to the same Bronx precinct in 1973. They … end up living next door to each other outside the city. What goes on behind closed doors in both houses—the loneliness of Francis’s wife, Lena, and…