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The Happiness Quest (Lana Penrose, Finch)
Released February 2015
There is an abundance of literature on the subject, but The Happiness Quest stands apart as a manifesto for those suffering from depression, for their family and friends, and for... Read more
Australia’s Best Unknown Stories (Jim Haynes, read by Jim Haynes, Bolinda)
Released November 2014
Jim Haynes sorts the facts from the furphies in the audiobook Australia’s Best Unknown Stories, which combines snippets of Australian colonial history, short stories and poetry. With the voice of a... Read more
The Underwater Fancy-Dress Parade (Davina Bell, illus by Allison Colpoys, Scribe)
Released March 2015
Children often feel anxious about things that might seem trivial to adults, but to kids can seem insurmountable if they’re not given enough encouragement and support. In this book, Alfie’s... Read more
Yak and Gnu (Juliette MacIver, illus by Cat Chapman, Walker Books)
Released March 2015
Chances are, of the vast array of animal picture books out there, not many of them feature the unlikely duo of a yak and a gnu, which is why Juliette... Read more
And All that Jazz: Silver Shoes Book One (Samantha-Ellen Bound, Random House)
Released January 2015
Ten-year-old Ellie loves all forms of dance—tap, ballet and most of all, jazz. As one of a group of aspiring dancers at the Silver Shoes Dance Studio, competition is a... Read more
Dexter: The Courageous Koala (Jesse Blackadder, HarperCollins)
Released January 2015
Dexter: The Courageous Koala is an emotional story that dramatises some real conservation issues. Ashley’s school holidays are off to an awful start. Her father has lost his job, which... Read more
The Girl from the Great Sandy Desert (Jukuna Mona Chuguna & Pat Lowe, illus by Mervyn Street, Magabala)
Released February 2015
This chapter book is a charming collection of stories by Jukuna Mona Chuguna, a storyteller from the great Sandy Desert. They have been interpreted and re-told by her friend and... Read more
Lennie the Legend: Solo to Sydney by Pony (Stephanie Owen Reeder, NLA)
Released February 2015
Lennie Gwyther has a dream to ride his pony from his small home town of Leongatha to Sydney. He wants to be there for the opening of an architectural miracle—the... Read more
Akarnae: The Medoran Chronicles Book One (Lynette Noni, Pantera)
Released February 2015
This is another book about ‘young people at magic school’, which we’ve seen a lot of in the post-Harry Potter market. To be fair, the magic school plot device was... Read more
Birrung: The Secret Friend (Jackie French, HarperCollins)
Released February 2015
The setting is Sydney Cove, 1790. When Barney Bean catches the eye of the ‘Indian’ girl adopted by the colony’s chaplain, he has no idea how it is going to... Read more
A is for Australia (Frané Lessac, Walker Books)
Released January 2015
It’s easy to become blasé about the many attractions of one’s own country: after all, the grass (not to mention the castles, art galleries and ruins) look so much greener... Read more
A Small Madness (Dianne Touchell, A&U)
Released February 2015
Rose is in Year 12, happy spending time with her best friend Liv and being madly in love with her perfect boyfriend Michael. Then suddenly, she finds out she’s pregnant... Read more
Volcano Street (David Rain, Atlantic)
Released December 2014
Arguably, Volcano Street is the sort of Australian novel that’s no longer fashionable to write, with its heavy focus on rural life and use of vernacular dialogue and bawdy bushman’s... Read more
A Short History of Stupid (Helen Razer & Bernard Keane, A&U)
Released December 2014
A Short History of Stupid is concerned with the rise of Stupidity in a world ruled by ‘fade-resistant individualism’, extreme paternalism, political condescension, conspicuous compassion and ‘the injurious yoga class... Read more
Mateship: A Very Australian History (Nick Dyrenfurth, Scribe)
Released January 2015
Surveys of Australians continue to show that ‘mateship’ is one of our country’s defining qualities. But what does it actually mean? In this provocative history, academic Nick Dyrenfurth traces Australian... Read more
South of Darkness (John Marsden, Macmillan)
Released November 2014
South of Darkness is John Marsden’s first novel for an adult audience, set in London in the late 1700s. Barnaby Fletch has no memory of his parents. For as long... Read more
Bad Romeo (Leisa Rayven, Macmillan)
Released January 2015
Bad Romeo doesn’t quite shake off its Twilight fan-fiction origins, but author Leisa Rayven manages a funny, sexy narrative voice that lifts this book above its peers. Cassie Taylor is... Read more
The Last Pulse (Anson Cameron, Vintage)
Released December 2014
The Last Pulse is a funny and touching tale of a South Australian farmer-turned-hero (or so he thinks). When Merv Rossiter steals a boat from the Riverland and heads up... Read more
To Love a Sunburnt Country (Jackie French, HarperCollins)
Released December 2014
Jackie French has created another magnificent story in To Love a Sunburnt Country, which follows an Australian woman during World War II. The narrative imagines the future of the Banjo... Read more
The Floating Garden (Emma Ashmere, Spinifex Press)
Released January 2015
SetSet in Sydney in the 1920s, The Floating Garden beautifully and evocatively portrays both the difficulties and the sense of promise in the post-war era. Through the eyes of Ellis... Read more
