The Aunts’ House is a delightful coming of age story set in 1942 Sydney. Author Elizabeth Stead has conjured an ensemble of quirky, lovable characters that would make Charles Dickens envious. Angel Martin is an orphaned child foisted upon long-suffering boarding house mistress, Missus Potts. Enraged upon discovering Angel hasn’t brought the inheritance she’d counted on […]
Books
Review: A Quiet Girl, by Peter Carnavas
This gorgeous book made all the hairs on my neck stand up. It sent little chills everywhere. But good ones. A Quiet Girl, by Peter Carnavas is so very beautiful. We need kids like Mary to force us to be quiet and still and notice the small things. Mary is a quiet girl who notices […]
Review: Squish Rabbit’s Pet, by Katherine Battersby
I gave this new Squish book to my Mum to read to my 2-year-old niece when she visited. They both very much enjoyed it, which is not surprising given it’s written and illustrated by Katherine Battersby, award-winning author of nine children’s books. Squish Rabbit’s Pet is the third book in the much-loved Squish Rabbit series, […]
Review: In the Blink of an Eye, by Jesse Blackadder
Toddlers can be as fast as lightning for such small packages. Taking your eyes off them for even a second can have catastrophic consequences. In The Blink of an Eye, by Jesse Blackadder, is a powerful and heart-shattering story about a family living with exactly those consequences. Teenaged Jarrah loves his little brother, Toby, to […]
Review: Improvement, by Joan Silber – novel or linked short stories?
I really enjoyed Improvement, by Joan Silber. The writing is gorgeous, the characters are simultaneously unusual and everyday, and Silber’s tracking of the way small actions impact lives around the globe and back again is intriguing and masterful. But I have a small bone to pick. Improvement is marketed as a ‘novel’. To me, it’s not a […]
5 intriguing memoirs by Australian women writers
There have been some really fabulous memoirs written by Australian women published in the past few years. They lay bare the experience of being a woman in all its many forms. From feminism to racism, battling with body image and cultural identity, the stories I’ve read have been rich with insight and humour. The following […]