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Over the Water (William Lane, Transit Lounge)
Released August 2014
William Lane’s debut novel launches with narrator Joe stumbling through the ‘higgledy-piggledy’ of Bandung, Indonesia, to interview for a room. Joe has recently arrived in the country to teach at one... Read more
Isabelle of the Moon and Stars (S A Jones, UWA Publishing)
Released August 2014
The Isabelle of this book’s title is a complex character. Haunted by a depressive spirit, and recovering from a crushing relationship breakdown, she amuses herself in her bureaucratic job by... Read more
Gap (Rebecca Jessen, UQP)
Released August 2014
Ana escaped from an abusive home and got caught up with the wrong crowd, but pulled herself out of a slide into drugs and petty crime. Now she works two... Read more
Spurt: A Balls and All Story (Christopher Miles, Hardie Grant Egmont)
Released July 2014
As Year Eight draws to an end, Jack Sprigley is feeling left behind in the physical development department by his classmates, and just plain left behind by his friends. The... Read more
Hermione Anemone and the Enormous Storm (Ciara Molloy Tan, illus by Michaela Blassnig, Lothian)
Released July 2014
Despite the tongue-twisting title—try saying ‘Hermione Anemone’ five times in a row—author Ciara Molloy Tan and illustrator Michaela Blassnig’s debut picture book is a brightly coloured, cleverly rhyming book that... Read more
Writing Clementine (Kate Gordon, A&U)
Released July 2014
Level-headed Clementine is perplexed by the shifting social dynamics of Year 9. Prompted by her English teacher’s daily writing exercises, she records her experiences in a series of letters, which... Read more
A Game of Keeps (Dianne Bates, Celapene Press)
Released August 2014
In A Game Of Keeps, Dianne Bates introduces us to Ashley, a young girl who lives a small, unkempt flat with her mum Jules and their guinea pig Froggie. Froggie... Read more
Masquerade (Kylie Fornasier, Penguin)
Released August 2014
It’s carnival time in 18th-century Venice. Determined to find out the truth about her mother’s mysterious past, 18-year-old Orelia has arrived in Venice to stay with her uncle’s family. She... Read more
Head of the River (Pip Harry, UQP)
Released July 2014
Leni and Cristian, the twin children of Olympic champions, were born to row. The end of high school is looming and, with it, the Head of the River, a prestigious... Read more
Once a Creepy Crocodile (Peter Taylor, illus by Nina Rycroft, The Five Mile Press)
Released July 2014
Peter Taylor’s Once a Creepy Crocodile tells the story of an innocent baby brolga who meets a crocodile by the river and receives an invitation to afternoon tea. Aware of... Read more
Let Her Go (Dawn Barker, Hachette)
Released July 2014
Dawn Barker’s second novel, after her 2013 psychological thriller Fractured, centres on Zoe, a woman whose biological clock has begun to tick furiously but who is unable to conceive a... Read more
Gravity: Inside the PM’s Office during Her Last Year and Final Days (Mary Delahunty, Hardie Grant)
Released July 2014
Much has been written about the legacy of Australia’s first female prime minister. In the latest book to analyse the significance of Julia Gillard’s tenure, Mary Delahunty examines the ways... Read more
Thief’s Magic (Trudi Canavan, Hachette)
Released June 2014
This is the first in a new series set in a new world. While it is very much in the style of her previous books, Trudi Canavan has taken advantage... Read more
Lost & Found (Brooke Davis, Hachette)
Released July 2014
Lost & Found is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold, rainy day. It is full of golden moments, tenderness and some sadness too. Millie, an irrepressible... Read more
Chasing the Ace (Nicholas J Johnson, S&S)
Released July 2014
Nicolas J Johnson is a talented entertainer whose knowledge of scams, swindles and sleight-of-hand has earned him the appellation of ‘Australia’s Honest Con Man’. His debut novel is the first... Read more
Butterfly and Oscar (Tricia Oktober, Ford Street)
Released June 2014
Since releasing her first book Bush Party, Tricia Oktober has made her mark as a creator of picture books that feature animals and plants, and has won numerous awards for... Read more
Poppy Cat (Sara Acton, Scholastic)
Released June 2014
CBCA Award-winning author and illustrator Sara Acton’s work is recognisable for its elegant watercolour palette and loose lines. In her latest book Poppy Cat, Acton creates a warm atmosphere in her... Read more
The Boy’s Own Manual to Being a Proper Jew (Eli Glasman, Sleepers)
Released July 2014
This debut novel by Melbourne writer Eli Glasman is a first for author and publisher. Sleepers Publishing has expanded into the world of YA with The Boy’s Own Manual to... Read more
My Dog Doesn’t Like Me (Elizabeth Fensham, UQP)
Released July 2014
My Dog Doesn’t Like Me is an endearing tale of a young boy named Eric and his new puppy Ugly. Since coming into Eric’s home, Ugly has caused no end... Read more
One Sunday (Pamela Allen, Viking)
Released June 2014
Such is the enduring quality of Pamela Allen’s work that, to this day, whenever my bathtub overspills, I picture Mr Archimedes jumping in and out of his animal-filled tub—like many... Read more
