Outrider (Mark Wales, Macmillan)
Fiction
Released July 2024, reviewed by Fiona Hardy.
In Mark Wales’s debut novel, Outrider, China invades Australia, and the state of Victoria is now in the hands of enemy...
Wild About Book Week (Sarah Speedie, illus Kruti Desai, Larrikin House)
Children’s picture book
Released July 2024, reviewed by Angela Meyer.
Wild About Book Week is a meta-tale of sorts, which celebrates what has become an annual tradition for many families:...
Spiro (Anna McGregor, Scribble)
Children’s picture book
Released July 2024, reviewed by Karys McEwen .
Spiro is a humorous new picture book by Anna McGregor, the multi-award-winning creator of Anemone Is Not the Enemy. The protagonist is...
Always Was, Always Will Be (Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson, Magabala)
Nonfiction
Released June 2024, reviewed by Angela Glindemann.
Always Was, Always Will Be is set to be an indispensable resource for young people looking to understand First Nations resistance...
Milk (Matthew Evans, Murdoch)
Nonfiction
Released July 2024, reviewed by Becca Whitehead.
Dairy milk is an odd battleground for political polarisation, yet it always seems to be one. Milk is an attempt to make...
Animal Activism On and Off Screen (ed by Claire Parkinson & Lara Herring, SUP)
Nonfiction
Released July 2024, reviewed by Anthony Morris.
Animal activists have been at the forefront of using the media to get their message out—and in turn, the media...
Brock the Croc (Adrian Beck, illus Dean Rankine, Larrikin House)
Younger readers
Released June 2024, reviewed by Erin Wamala.
Brock the Croc is a humorous early chapter book for kids aged 7+ who have recently become comfortable with independent...
Blossom: Practical and creative ways to find wonder in the floral world (Adriana Picker, Hardie Grant Books)
Nonfiction
Released June 2024, reviewed by Becca Whitehead .
Blossom goes beyond merely showcasing the beauty of flowers, offering wonderful and practical ideas for using flowers through the seasons....
Freddie Spector, Fact Collector: Space Cadet (Ashleigh Barton, illus Peter Cheong, Lothian)
Younger readers
Released July 2024, reviewed by Charlotte Callander .
Freddie Spector, Fact Collector: Space Cadet is the first instalment in this funny, fact-filled junior fiction series, ideal for ages 7...
Everything Is Water (Simon Cleary, UQP)
Nonfiction
Released June 2024, reviewed by Jemma Morrison.
Like the river at its heart, Everything Is Water takes readers on a meandering journey full of unexpected delights, surprises and...
Father of the Lost Boys: The Mecak Ajang Alaak story (Yuot A Alaak, Fremantle)
Young adult
Released June 2024, reviewed by Vuma Phiri.
In Father of the Lost Boys, former child refugee Yuot A Alaak immortalises the hero who rescued 20,000 boys from the...
Liar’s Test (Ambelin Kwaymullina, Text)
Young adult
Released June 2024, reviewed by Charlotte Callander.
The latest YA novel from Palyku author Ambelin Kwaymullina is a high-action, thematically rich fantasy with a gutsy, intuitive protagonist...
The Skeleton House (Katherine Allum, Fremantle)
Fiction
Released June 2024, reviewed by Annika Tague.
The Skeleton House is a powerful and riveting literary debut, delving into themes of motherhood, coercive control, and life within...
Hide & Seek Beautiful (Nicki Esler Gill, illus Jedda Robaard, Scholastic)
Children’s picture book
Released June 2024, reviewed by Anthea Yang.
Hide & Seek Beautiful by Nicki Esler Gill explores a tender and heart-warming story of friendship and the little things...
Things I Need You to Know (Mark Lamprell, Text)
Fiction
Released June 2024, reviewed by Sonia Nair.
Birdie’s world is torn asunder when Ned, her husband and the father of their five daughters, dies unceremoniously of stomach...
The Real Cowgirl (Isabelle Duff, illus Susannah Crispe, EK Books)
Children’s picture book
Released June 2024, reviewed by Anica Boulanger-Mashberg.
The Real Cowgirl tells the story of young Sal, who wants to be a ‘real’ cowgirl, ‘with boots and a...
Fragile Creatures (Khin Myint, Black Inc.)
Nonfiction
Released June 2024, reviewed by Michelle Atkins.
Debut author Khin Myin’s Fragile Creatures is a remarkable memoir in many ways. Myin’s writing is gracious and honest; at its core,...
The Very Polite Knight (Ian Smith, Affirm)
Children’s picture book
Released June 2024, reviewed by Anthea Yang.
Finn is not like other knights in the kingdom. While Boris, Ethel and Walter are busy with scaring, fighting and...
Looking for Eden (Caroline Overington, HarperCollins)
Fiction
Released June 2024, reviewed by Annie Waters.
The latest offering from award-winning journalist and bestselling author Caroline Overington is a lopsided thriller. The novel opens as finance...
Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat (Li Chen, Penguin)
Graphic novel
Released June 2024, reviewed by Emma Pei Yin .
From the creator of the beloved ExtraOrdinary Comics, Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat is the debut graphic...
