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History Hackers: Omega Squad 2 (Charlie Carter, Pan Macmillan)
Released December 2012
The Omega Squad continues the popular ‘Battle Boy’ series. Now 13, Napoleon Augustus Smythe is a Battle Agent, part of the Time Troopers team called the Omega Squad. Following on... Read more
Bad Grammar (Nathan Luff, Walker Books)
Released January 2013
Marcus is a great warrior—a dragonslayer! At least, he is online. Gaming is the one place he feels at home since his only friend Bashir moved to India, a fact... Read more
Tyrannosaurus in the Veggie Patch: Saurus Street 1 (Nick Falk, illus by Tony Flowers, Random House)
Released January 2013
At some point most of us poke around in the garden for signs that dinosaurs used to roam our backyards—the fantasy ends when all that’s unearthed is a broken bit... Read more
The Skeleton Key: Pandora English Book 3 (Tara Moss, Macmillan)
Released December 2012
The Skeleton Key is the third instalment in the ‘Pandora English’ series—paranormal adventure stories interwoven with elements of mythology and populated with handsome men, ghosts, witches, vampires and a colourful... Read more
Not Your Ordinary Housewife (Nikki Stern, A&U)
Released January 2013
This is not a light-hearted story about a woman’s foray into the world of illicit sex. What begins as a vibrant fairytale of love, punk and art, quickly unravels with... Read more
Shallow Breath (Sara Foster, Bantam)
Released December 2012
Some mystery novels ease into the story, and others just thrust you into the middle of everything and let you sort it all out yourself. Shallow Breath is definitely the... Read more
Joyful Strains: Expat Writers on Making Australia Home (ed by Kent MacCarter & Ali Lemer, Affirm Press)
Released January 2013
This broad collection of migration stories is an example of a good idea backed up by an excellent execution. Many of the contributors are known names in literary circles: Dmetri... Read more
Crying in the Car: Reflections on Life and Motherhood (Karen Andrews, Miscellaneous Press)
Released December 2012
Karen Andrews blogs at miscmum.com and previously edited and published a collection of writing from blogs, Miscellaneous Voices. Crying in the Car is a collection of short stories, essays and... Read more
Drink Smoke Pass Out: An Unlikely Spiritual Journey (Judith Lucy, Viking)
Released November 2012
I jumped at the chance to review this, the second of Judith Lucy’s memoirs. I found her first go at the genre (The Lucy Family Alphabet) genuinely moving and of... Read more
The Best Australian Business Writing 2012 (ed by Andrew Cornell, NewSouth)
Released November 2012
Good business writing gives you the facts and the figures, the movers and shakers, the inside scoop. And it helps you make sense of all these things. Great business writing,... Read more
The 2013 Voiceless Anthology (selected by J M Coetzee et al, A&U)
Released December 2012
The Voiceless Anthology has been born out of the Voiceless Writing Prize, which awards $15,000 to the writer of the best fiction or nonfiction work that, according to chair of... Read more
Seduction (Kate Forster, Michael Joseph)
Released January 2013
Kitty works for glamorous movie star Willow, as her nanny. Willow is married to dead-beat-dad/rock star Kerr. As Willow begins to fall from grace Kitty offers her shelter at Kitty’s... Read more
Eric Vale, Epic Fail (Michael Gerard Bauer, illus by Joe Bauer, Scholastic)
Released November 2012
Eric Vale has a terrible nickname: Epic Fail. And he can't seem to shake it. Every little thing Eric does wrong—from misspelling a word on a spelling test to demolishing... Read more
Bedtime Stories: Tales from My 21 Years at Late Night Live (Phillip Adams, ABC Books)
Released November 2012
Phillip Adams has entertained listeners to Radio National’s Late Night Live for more than two decades. In this book of reminiscences he reflects on his early years in commercial radio,... Read more
The Great Race: The Race between the English and the French to Complete the Map of Australia (David Hill, William Heinemann)
Released November 2013
Following his successful books 1788 and The Gold Rush, David Hill’s The Great Race traces the little-known story of the competition between Britain and France to chart the last stretches... Read more
Bill the Bastard: The Story of Australia’s Greatest War Horse (Roland Perry, A&U)
Released November 2013
Australia didn’t just send its men to fight in the First World War. Tens of thousands of horses went too. The hardy Walers proved their worth time and again in... Read more
Tamam Shud: The Somerton Man Mystery (Kerry Greenwood, NewSouth)
Released November 2012
This book is part true crime, part memoir, part biography and part fiction, with touches of gentle humour. All up it is an engaging look at a mystery that has... Read more
The Man from the Land of Fandango (Margaret Mahy, illus by Polly Dunbar, Frances Lincoln)
Released October 2012
Margaret Mahy's recent death is a great sadness for her many fans worldwide. Twice winner of the Carnegie Medal and recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, her two previous... Read more
Ruby Red Shoes (Kate Knapp, HarperCollins)
Released November 2012
Ruby Red Shoes is a white hare, so named after footwear given to her by her grandma when she was a baby. Raised by her gentle babushka to be ‘an... Read more
On Warne (Gideon Haigh, Viking)
Released November 2012
This book reveals two of life’s certainties: one, that Gideon Haigh is an outstanding writer, and two, that Shane Warne’s tabloid-fodder life is utterly compelling. Bring the two together and... Read more
