Review: The Prime Minister Problem

Brenton Cullen's debut novel is a terrific read for middle-grade. This young man has been a keen writer since childhood and is now making his dream of writing professionally come true. And what a great start this is!

It's very definitely a sweet and engaging read and, a word I use very deliberately for books of this ilk - wholesome. It's that feel-good, warm-fuzzy uplifting narrative to which young readers always respond with alacrity. Actually, it puts me in mind of some of our great middle-grade authors such as the wonderful Robin Klein and Morris Gleitzman.

We've likely all known a kid like Wren, or maybe even been that kid ourselves. He's the outsider. The one who's friendless and never seems to fit in anywhere. He's quiet and his anxiety often causes him to be tongue-tied. His mum is caring and loving but, as a single mother lacking any support from the ex-husband, she's always super busy and very tired, working two part-time jobs. His older brother works too.

Review: The Last Word

Friendship, first crushes and finding your voice all come together in the delightful middle grade novel The Last Word by A.L. Tait. The third book in the Two Hearts series is a light-hearted yet thoughtful story that captures the emotional landscape of early adolescence with warmth, humour and authenticity.

Matilda Bell begins the school year without her best friend by her side and soon finds herself constantly clashing with a new classmate. When they’re forced to work together on the school debating team, their rivalry slowly shifts into something more complicated. Along the way, Matilda must navigate changing friendships, growing confidence and the tentative beginnings of first love.

Review: The Boy and the Dog Tree

Starting a new school can feel like stepping into unfamiliar territory. New friendships must be formed, confidence must be rebuilt, and sometimes the courage to stand up for yourself takes time to grow.

In The Boy and the Dog Tree, Fiona Wood blends everyday middle school worries with a touch of magic to create a story that feels both comforting and imaginative. When Mitch moves to a new town, he must navigate all the challenges that come with starting again — new friendships, unfamiliar classmates, and the uneasy feeling of not quite fitting in.

But everything changes when Mitch hears sounds coming from the tree close to his gran’s house. A tree that is shaped like a dog at its base. Mitch’s dream of having a dog comes true when Argos appears one evening, a magical dog that is bound to the tree and appears to those in need.

Review: Grave Robbing and Other Curiosities

Thirteen-year-old Alex lives in a room above where the corpses are kept. But don't panic - it's fund in the mortuary and crematorium of Steeple and Son, the family business run by his Mum. 

You can imagine why this accommodation is the cause of the ceaseless bullying and mortician jokes that Alex is subjected to at school - where he's all but an outcast.

Business at the mortuary is going badly. Customers are being stolen by another new and flourishing company.

Noises frighten Alex at night, and checking always puts his mind at ease. This night, they are preparing for the burial of the wealthy Horace Grant. Alex is forced to check the corpse to establish that he is indeed dead and not a cause for concern.

Review: The Beat I Drum

Connor Bradley is starting High School after moving to a new apartment with his mum. He leaves behind his two best friends and the life-saving support and strong friendship that sustained him. 

His parents divorced because his dad couldn’t come to terms with his condition. 

Connor has Tourette syndrome.

 Dad turns up after two years, changed, and hoping to be a part of his son’s life again. 

His persistence is scoffed at by Connor. 

There is too much anger festering inside him toward his father, as he is unable to forgive his dad for accusing him of being able to control his tics and barks, and won't.

On the first day of school, Connor meets Amanda. 

Review: Harries - The Lifegard from Bondi Beach

Known as the Lifeguard from Bondi Beach, Anthony ‘Harries’ Carroll and his twin brother, were dyslexic. 

Unable to even write their name, they were made fun of, called awful things, and bullied at school. 

This is not a pessimistic story. 

It is a story filled with messages of strength, perseverance, courage, self-confidence, kindness, and hope. 

Anthony unashamedly shares his initial fears and struggles, and how, when a child, people made him feel insignificant. 

Review: 11 Ruby Road 1950

The third book in the fantastic Ruby Road series, 11 Ruby Road 1950, throws open the doors of history on the post-war years. 

Light is shed on the lives of the people living on Ruby Road; lives well-lived with love and kindness shared, entwined with one another, regardless of their differences.

Mum Betty has not been herself since the birth of baby Maria. 

Gran arranges for her to spend some time in the country to recuperate from what she tells everybody, is a bout of influenza.

Twelve-year-old Patsy is sent for her summer holidays to Ruby Road where Uncle Alex and Aunt Mary own a Milk Bar. 

She hopes to keep busy to prevent becoming bored, while filling her sketchbook which is her constant companion, with whatever she sees. 

Review: Drift

I’m not sure why but verse novels generate all the feels. Floaty, ethereal emotions that lure you in and linger long after the last word is read. Drift is one of those novels. 

Maybe it’s Pip Harry’s prodigious ability with words. Perhaps it’s Nate and Luna’s blossoming friendship. Perhaps it’s the bittersweet discomfiture of wanting more, missing what was and having to deal with an uncertain tomorrow that makes Drift so appealing.

Nate is in his mid-teens, an ex-pat child of Singapore, recently rehomed along with his physically challenged mother in Australia which he finds as alien and isolating as being on the moon. Luna, his neighbour appears a sensitive and understanding ally however is nursing her own darkness.

When over 20,000 swarming bees decide Nate’s home is the place to be, he and Luna unite to save them along with local surfy and ace beekeeper, Tyler. 

Review: Looking for Imani

Dianne Bates’ latest book brings us into the life and customs of a Middle East family and the trauma experienced at the disappearance of the youngest child, Imani. 

It is told through the narrative voice of Nabila. 

Beautifully portrayed in Bates’ minimalistic and perfect prose, it opens with a bold scene that informs the reader of their family situation.

The father has died, and mother cannot speak English as it was forbidden by her husband. 

At twenty-seven years old, she appears a lot older. 

Due to her lack of language, she has been unable to assimilate into a new life, leaving her with only her children to translate when necessary, and to lean on for help. 

Review: We Saw What You Started

Creating an instant sense of place. Inviting an immediate connection with someone you’ve never met before. Enticing your nerves to tingle with curiosity. 

These are the elements of the holy trinity that a great story begins with and, I’m delighted to say, qualities Carla Salmon has nailed in her debut YA novel, We Saw What You Started.

Nightmares don’t need passports … lines like this set up a delicious air of intrigue and uncomfortable concern. What is it exactly that US teen, Otto is fleeing from? How does it influence his assimilation into his new Aussie coastal home in Red Sands and how will his past implicate his future?

Salmon deftly sows seeds of secrecy, while plunging the reader headfirst into a dire and dangerous situation; an unchecked bushfire. Now, any Aussie worth their salt knows this is not the sort of calamity to mess around with and yet as we dive deeper into this story, the threat of fire occurs, again and again.

Review: Millie and Stella: Best Friends Forever - Bk#1, The Lost Ponies

Millie and Stella are best friends. They have many things in common, particularly their love of animals; especially horses.

Stella’s horse Sparky is older, and Millie’s is quite young. Both are loved passionately.

Stella is a warm and friendly girl, who encourages Millie’s differing view of things in general. When Millie’s spirits slump, Stella always has uplifting words ready to steer her friend back to her cheerful self.

The paddock where the two horses graze has become dry, and they suggest to their neighbour Mrs White, to allow the horses to graze in her lush pasture, in return for odd jobs.

There are certain conditions to the agreement; locks and latches must be double checked.

The girls have a common love of books and reading.

Junior Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why is one of those books that stays with you. It’s emotional, haunting, and painfully honest. 

The story dives into the life and death of Hannah Baker, a high school student who takes her own life. But before she does, she leaves behind a series of cassette tapes. Each one is meant for someone who, in her eyes, played a role in her decision.

This innovative narrative draws readers into her mind, allowing us to hear her voice directly and feel the weight of her experiences. It’s raw, personal, and often uncomfortable , but that’s what makes it so effective.

The story begins when Clay Jensen, one of Hannah’s classmates and someone who once quietly admired her, receives the tapes. 

Review: How to be Normal

How To Be Normal, Ange Crawford’s brilliant debut novel for Young Adult readers, is the winner of the Walker Books Australia Manuscript Prize.

The narrator is seventeen-year-old Astrid, who has finished years of homeschooling with her father who lost his job and filled his life with controlling others’ lives. 

Astrid is now starting High school.

Her father is not happy about Astrid’s forthcoming schooling, nor the clothes her mother wears to work. He believes that social media is breaking everyone’s brain and making them hate.

This is just one of his rants concerning capitalism and its influence on society, that he wars against with a distorted mindset; a thought process that forced his son to leave home. 

But he is determined to hold tight to the control over the remaining members of his family.

Review: The Five Rules Of Friendship

Sometimes, the ‘simple’ things shine the brightest of all.

With its warm, friendly voice alongside bold and colourful illustrations, this picture book is deceptively simple, very practical and completely engaging.

From the creator of ‘Life Lessons For Little Ones,’ ‘The Five Rules Of Friendship’ is exactly that: five practical, useful and solid ideas around how to be a friend, and how to treat a friend.

In clear and chatty language with no hint of judgement, the book reminds us that friendship can be awesome when it’s good, and downright tricky when it’s not-so-good.

Review: Summer of Shipwrecks

Sid is eager to begin her yearly camping holidays so she and best friend Lou can go searching for treasure at the Shipwreck Coast at Penlee Point. 

She knows the history of every shipwreck of the area, and always frequents the museum there to get an update from her friend Bobbi.

But this year, Lou has come with her new friend, Hailey, the most popular girl at their school, who is only interested in boys. So, Sid becomes the odd one out.

Eager to please Hailey, Lou seems to fit nicely under the girl’s thumb and agrees with everything she says and suggests. 

Even when it concerns her former best friend.

Sid hasn’t got over her parents’ separation yet. Mum has brought along her new boyfriend Tony and his daughter Eva. 

Sid feels resentment towards Tony, and the fact that Eva ignores Sid entirely, works well for her, as Eva shows no sign of thawing out towards her. 

She is not ready to be part of a blended family.

Hailey makes Sid feel unwanted and worthless at every opportunity. She has stolen the magic that Lou and Sid had together. 

Gone is the closeness and ability to be herself. She can't be forced to change, just to fit in.  

Sid just needs to find the old Lou again, like buried treasure. 

 But is that possible when everyone is changing and moving forward?

But friendship arrives when Sid needs it the most and least expects it, in an unusual form.

This is a beautifully told story with a lot of history and information entwined in the characters’ personal lives, and their struggles to remain true to themselves, while they overcome and adapt to life’s changes. 

Perfect prose and strong, interesting characters, and fast-paced action and excitement fills the pages.

I loved it!

Title: Summer of Shipwrecks
Author: Shivaun Plozza
Publisher: UQP, $16.99
Publication Date: 3 September 2024
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780702268373
For ages: 10+
Type: Middle Grade Fiction

Review: Small Acts

It all starts in class with a video.

Josh is in Year 5. On Fridays, his teacher looks at World Affairs. The video is followed with an in-depth discussion on the subject with class participation. 

Josh is moved by what he sees, and the main theme of kindness, makes a strong impression on him.

 How can he help people who need help?

Due to his autism, Josh is a loner. He depends on his lists, which are methodically documented in his black notebook. 

His classmates don’t understand him and he is ridiculed by them. The one friend he had, has withdrawn from him.

Ollie, Josh’s classmate, is also on the spectrum. She is committed to her art, the only thing that makes sense to her. She also wants to help people but has learnt to keep to herself.

Review: Superheroes for a Day

Say hello to Memory Kid, Jigsaw Girl, and Story Boy. 

When the key to the school sports shed goes missing, most of the students are upset because they will have to do extra maths instead of playing sport. 

Max, Daniel and Natalie don't mind. They prefer maths over sport, and are a bit different to the others at school, because they have autism. 

Max says they have superpowers. Not like super strength or super speed. They've got other strengths.

Max, for example, has an amazing memory. He can read and remember things better than anyone else.

And Natalie is great at solving puzzles, identifying and fitting patterns together.

Superheroes for a Day is a short, fast-paced story, about how Max, Natalie and Daniel save the day, and shows how their strengths are as valuable as everyone else's.

Review: Penny Draws a Secret Adventure

Penny Draws A Secret Adventure is the third in the Penny Draws series from NY Times best-seller, Sara Shepard. Like it’s predecessors, this book is also a humorous and quirky wander through the life of a middle-grade, sometimes-angst-ridden child who has rather wonderful powers of observation.

The book is set out as a diary or letters to Penny’s dog, Cosmo. Penny’s secret super-power is to doodle, and one of the absolute joys of this book are the line drawings which so beautifully sum up the situations that she finds herself in. 

These drawings are an integral part of the narrative – you don’t read one without the other, which is genius when it comes to reluctant readers.

Review: Silver Linings

Five-year-old Nettie longs for a mother with whom to share cuddles and conversation. She is tortured by the fact that I arrived. My mother died.

The voice of Nettie as narrator is innocent, simple and realistic, while her inner observations successfully draw the intended response from the reader.

The strict and heartless Aunt Edith has been living with the family on the farm, begrudgingly caring for them for some time. Her Hher

Dissatisfying answers from Edith to young Nettie’s questions about life, simply give birth to further queries, especially the explanation that storks deliver babies to families.

This issue is also a pivotal point in this well-crafted storyline.

Review: Countdown to Yesterday

James’ parents are divorcing. This news is dumped on the eleven -year-old while at the dinner table. First it seems they are moving house again. But things soon become clear.

Mum disconnects herself from her family by taking her maiden name back and renting a tiny apartment to live in. James can’t understand why this decision has been made and doesn’t ask.

He struggles to live a life between two parents. He is permanently friendless and finds it hard to connect with other people.

James is drawn to Yan, another lonely soul with a brilliant mind. A friendship grows.

His dad has sixteen computers in his man cave and his main one has an internet Time Machine programmed into it.