MIDDLE-GRADE: Fun and funny and full of life, The Best Witch in Paris is a delightful story of courage and self-belief, with colourful characters, fabulous magic and a puzzling mystery at its core.
MIDDLE-GRADE: The Sugarcane Kids are back in another epic adventure set in tropical north Queensland.
FICTION: Written in flawless, cinematic prose, and brilliantly translated by Frank Wynne, The Son of Man is an exceptional novel of nature and wildness, and a blistering examination of how families fold together and break apart under duress.
MEMOIR: This inspiring, witty and at times hilarious memoir tells the story of the road from shock and despair to an unexpected new life, of friendship, romance and racy sex—proof that being suddenly single at sixty is not the end, it’s an opportunity for a fabulous new beginning.
LITERARY FICTION: In this striking debut, based on a true story, Valeria Usala bears witness to an age-old story of violence against women and takes us into the heart of rural Sardinia, where superstitions and cruelty coexist with the joys and companionship of a tight-knit community.
THRILLER: Vikki Wakefield’s compelling psychological thriller is about class, corruption, love, loyalty, and the vindication of truth and justice.
THRILLER: Crooked Seeds is a singularly powerful novel, in exquisitely spare prose, about the ways we become trapped in prisons of our own making.
BIOGRAPHY: Ben Rothenberg will chart Naomi Osaka’s incredible impact on tennis and on social justice in sports, predicting where she’ll go next.
TEEN: Outlaw Girls is an exciting, fast-paced time-slip novel, narrated by both Ruby and Kate, about family, friendship, loyalty and betrayal, the complexity of right and wrong, and working out what matters most.
MIDDLE GRADE: The story of a little free library guarded by a cat and a boy who takes on the mystery it keeps.
MIDDLE GRADE: The second book in the humorous, heartfelt, highly illustrated series about a girl who doodles to cope with her anxiety, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sara Shepard.
Feature image credit: Text Publishing American author Sara Shepard is best known for her two series Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game (which have both been turned into television series) as well as eight adult fiction novels. Shepard has now moved into writing middle-grade fiction with her Penny Draws series, of which Penny Draws […]
YA: Selfie is an engaging and very real exploration of social media and the trickiness of separating what’s real from the glossiness of the online world. It’s a tender story about friendship and staying true to yourself.
Young Adult: Dancing Barefoot is a feel-good romance about growing up queer, figuring out your place in the world, staying true to yourself and your friends, finding love, and learning to embrace the obstacles life throws in your path.
YOUNG ADULT: Bestselling author David Levithan delivers a bold, fun story about taking action (whether it’s against book censors or killer alligators), being brave (in love and in adventure) and standing up for what’s right, no matter the circumstances.
YOUNG ADULT: Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over is an engaging, funny – serious look at the downsides of aiming too high, the dangers of black and white thinking —and the journey to realising imperfections are part of being human.
LITERARY FICTION: Taut and compelling, The Hitchhiker is the story of a man who goes to great lengths to save what he has already lost.
The compelling tale of small-town farmer, Tom Hope, and exotic bookshop owner, Hannah in post-World War II Australia who discover each other against a backdrop of their own personal tragedies.