Review: Sophia and the Corner Park Clubhouse

Can you remain BFFs for life?

When Sophia, Maisie, Bell and Lola finally get the chance to catch up in their first high school break, picking up where they left off isn't as easy as they expected.

When the mayor announces he's going to bulldoze the local Corner Park Clubhouse, the girls have a mutual urgent focus, but saving the community's historical centre seems an impossible task.

This first book in the series, told from Sophia's point of view implies something terrible happened in the girls' final year at primary school. No one seems able to speak about it but the shadow of it looms over them all.

Place names like Handkerchief Park and Sunnystream High might make you think you've landed in a sugar-coated teenage Utopia, but it's worth reading beyond to find each girl's personal challenges and unravel the mystery of a pain so deep it's hard to talk about.

Review: Broken Sky

Picture World War II style fighter planes, but in the future. Now imagine teenagers flying those planes.

Then send them into the sky to fight to the death if necessary in order to maintain peace on earth.

Welcome to Amity's broken world where there have been no wars for decades, but at a terrible price.

Amity lost her father in a plane accident when she was eleven years old and has learned not to get too close to her fellow fighters, because they could be the next ones to die.

Even though that seems more than enough to cope with, there's more to this strange world. Secrets are about to rend the tenuous world peace asunder.

When Amity discovers a network of lies and deception, she is determined to expose the culprits, but this means discovering far more than she ever expected and risking more than her life.

Review: The Naughtiest Pixie in Disguise

Jenifry Star is shorter than her cat. The pixie closest to her age is one hundred years old.

Her grandmother and seven great aunts insist pixies never mix with humans, and that humans are dangerous.

But what does a lonely young pixie do when she finds small humans who play with her? And that there are loads more of them at a place called school?

Review: Polly and Buster The Search for the Silver Witch

In the final pages of Polly and Buster #2, the mayor of Blackmoon Coven announces Buster will receive a bravery award. It will be the first time in history a monster is honoured.

Polly dares to hope it's the beginning of peace among witches and monsters.

But then Polly is banned from speaking to Buster and the only witch who supports true peace is dismissed from teaching at Polly's school. Dastardly Mrs Halloway releases the purple mist of hatred and it seems all is lost.

Our heroes race to find the silver witch they need to save the day. But Polly's Aunt Hilda is not at all what they expect. Is there any way to save Blackmoon Coven?

Review: Natural Born Loser

Raymond aka RayBee feels like a permanent loser. No one wants to be on his soccer team – even in the five-minute game before school. And he goes to Barryjong Primary, which has such a bad reputation, the principals don't stick around.

Until Mr Humble arrives. He says he wants to turn the school around but he needs a team to help him.

When Mr Humble calls for grade six students to try out as prefects, Raymond follows his best friend Zain into tryouts and ends up surprising himself.

RayBee can't believe it when Mr Humble says he was the only one who spoke about how he felt. So begins Raymond's Odyssey  from self-proclaimed loser to heartfelt leader.

Review: Squishy Taylor and the Bonus Sisters (Squishy Taylor #1)

Squishy is full of Chutzpah and a whole lot of heart but she has a tendency to get herself into all sorts of pickles. She works hard to make things right, but this doesn't always pan out, just like in real life.

In this first book, Squishy is adjusting to life with step-twin sisters, a baby brother a and home in a high-rise building when she discovers someone mysterious in the car park basement.

Would you share your deepest secret with girls you don't know that well, even if they are your new sisters? Or is it better to go it alone? When do you know you can trust someone else?

While still grappling with this life-changing question, the cranky, complaining neighbour goes too far and Squishy decides to do something about it.

The pages flew as I closed my eyes with exasperation when Squishy was going off track.  I often held my breath, hoping Squishy would work through her moments of disaster. One thing is for sure. I can't wait to read each and every book in this fast-paced, funny series.

Title: Squishy Taylor and the Bonus Sisters (Squishy Taylor #1)
Author: Ailsa Wild
Illustrator: Ben Wood
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont, $12.99
Publication Date: 1 February 2016
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760126759
For ages: 6 +
Type: Junior Fiction

Review: Graffiti Moon

Lucy's been intrigued by Shadow, the guy whose artwork fills countless walls around town. His images let her dream of other worlds. Lucy is beyond desperate to meet him.

Ed left school early. No one knows why for sure. Some people think it's because of his disastrous non-hookup with Lucy.

Ed is one of few people who really know Shadow but he'd rather die than betray him.

By a twisted turn of events, Ed finds himself leading Lucy to Shadow's hidden pieces, even as he tries to make sure she never meets him.

Cath Crowley is an award-winning writer who creates characters I cannot get enough of. Lucy and Ed are just two of these.

Review: Lazy Daisy

Jasper Horatio Wiggleby Clarke longs for a dog he can walk in the park.

This adorable man is rather short-sighted and extremely stuck on his dream.

So the loud noises he hears in the night can mean only one thing—a hilarious case of mistaken identity.

A dog that doesn't want to walk is unheard of, so Jasper does everything he can to inspire Daisy to get up and get moving.

The result is a heartwarming romp that includes a touch of the ridiculous.


Lazy Daisy absolutely nails both rhythm and rhyme. As a result, it's one of those rare read-aloud treats the whole family can enjoy.

But you'll have to read to the end to find out if Jasper Horatio Wiggleby Clarke ever achieves his dream of having a pet he can walk around the park.

Title: Lazy Daisy
Author: Caz Goodwin
Illustrator: Ashley King
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont, $19.99
Publication Date: 1 March 2019
Format: Hard Cover
ISBN: 9781760500931
For ages: 3 years+
Type: Picture Book

Review: Wakestone Hall

Stella Montgomery's aunts decide she needs rules, retribution and discipline so they send her to what can only be described as the worst imaginable boarding school of all time.

Stella promises to be grateful and obedient, but she can't help it when mysterious goings-on compel her to investigate. Especially when the safety of her friends are at stake.

From a helpful alley cat and penniless children who search for scraps in dangerous underground tunnels to survive, and thuggish standover men at the local fair,  there's plenty of action.

Not only are there kidnappings and ancient fables that have more truth to them than anyone ever expected, Stella discovers there is danger within the school walls.

And there's a chance, a very tiny chance, that all her questions about her mother might be answered.

Review: The Stig

If you're looking for a Middle Grade thriller-mystery-comedy genre mash with a duffer of a dastardly villain, then The Stig is for you.

The story starts with Buster Mustang's unexplained kidnap and gets more intriguing by the page as the entire town disintegrates into computer game addicted almost-zombies.

With Sam Wheeler, a champion rider who refuses to get back on his bicycle, a bully who can only speak in spoonerisms and a height-challenged genius who uses spare parts from the junkyard, there's plenty of action.

Then there's the mysterious Stig, who appears when members of the Wheeler family are in dire need or when there's a big race to be won. He smells strange and never speaks. Is he even real?

Review: The Rift

Rachel Craw has created another absolutely gripping fantasy, but it's nothing like her Spark Trilogy, because The Rift could easily be set today on an island not too far away.

Although the Rangers of Black Water Island have mystical skills, this story is set solidly in the present when a large pharmaceutical company has a contract with the Rangers to harvest the island herd's antlers. The powder from these antlers, which has magical healing powers, is the company's only concern.

While the company pushes for more product, the rangers do their best to prevent the herd from being irretrievably diminished. They also have to protect their stock from supernatural predators that wait to breach the Rift.

Amidst an escalating crisis in which the Rift is being breached when it shouldn't, seventeen-year-old Meg returns to the island. Her only dream had been to become a ranger like her dad, but she was forced to leave after barely surviving a Rift creature attack when she was eight years old, an attack in which best friend Cal saved her life.

Review: Otherworld

Imagine playing a computer game where you physically experience everything through your own senses.

Ice cold winds? Your shivering is real. Delicious feasts? You taste every delicate flavour. This is the upside of Otherworld.

But the Company is trialling something new and it is breaking multiple laws in the process.

An unexpected number of serious accidents result in unprecedented numbers of 'brain dead' people who require long term care in a secure medical facility — a facility which happens to be owned by the Company.

These patients are clandestine guinea pigs. They might get to play out their fantasies in Otherworld where no laws exist, but one mistake could prove fatal. Literally.

Enter Simon, computer geek, madly in love with Kat, but unable to tell her.

Now watch as Kat is in a horrific accident and she is pronounced brain incapacitated.

Review: Undying

At the end of Unearthed, the first book in this duology, we left Mia and Jules on a rocket headed back to earth. But what should have been a live-saving return home was turning into every human's worst nightmare, multiplied exponentially.

Although the hundreds of individuals arriving via the rocket's portals have only one head and two proportionate arms and legs, they are taller and stronger than the average human and, it seems, bleed blue blood.

Jules and Mia take refuge in the rocket's air ducts, but their chances of survival are slim, especially when they realise almost every millimetre in these tight spaces is monitored by  movement sensors.

And it's clear heir hosts are not planning to give them a welcome party.

Will Jules and Mia make it back to earth in time to warn the authorities of the pending alien invasion?

Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Nine-year old Oskar is still coming to terms with the devastation of 9/11 two years after it stole his father from him.

When he finds a key in a vase that must have belonged to his dad, Oskar decides that finding the lock it opens will give him the answers he needs.

But there are millions of doors and lockers in New York. Each tiny gain Oskar makes in his quest leads to more questions but Oskar isn't the kind of kid who gives up.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is heartrending, uplifting, funny and desperately sad.

Although this was officially published as adult fiction, Oskar's nine-year-old voice brings gentleness and humour to a gut-wrenching time of large scale grief and loss.

Review: The First Voyage

Thirty thousand years ago, on the island of Timor (known then as Bird island), a small group of people struggled to survive under the Crocodile clan's fierce attacks.

These members of the Yam clan had done nothing to aggravate the Crocodiles but that didn't help. Despite moving away, the Crocodiles were intent on hunting them down.

There was no option left but the sea. Without knowing they would find land for sure, the Yam clan put all their faith in a few small birds whose path they followed.

So began the first ever boat journey by people seeking refuge from murderous neighbours. Even after 30,000 years, the essence of the refugee story is unchanged.

Allan Baillie has a gritty way with words. He let me feel sand in my eyes, mud squelch between my toes and the pure dread that comes with facing towering waves in darkness on a raft of loosely tied bamboo poles.

Review: Mason Jar Science

Are you looking for last-minute gifts for energetic middle-schoolers? Look no further than this fun-packed DIY guide to science experiments.

Mason Jar Science provides easy-to-follow instructions for hours of home-based holiday fun. All you will need is a mason jar, or two or three and your pantry is likely to provide the rest.

Imagine making unicorn poop, stalactite strings and bug vacuums without having to venture into a science lab.

Would you like to know how to turn an egg into a rubbery blob that shrinks and expands?

The super adventurous can have a crack at the "Take it Further" tips for even more extraordinary results.

Review: Unearthed

The earth is dying. Despite the single child per family policy, there are no longer enough resources to support humanity.

The International Alliance's attempt to find another planet for mankind failed dismally more than sixty years ago so it looks like the world as we know it is doomed.

Until Earth intercepts an interplanetary communication from a now extinct race who call themselves the Undying. People not only dare to hope, they race to find this species' advanced technology.

But the archeologist who translated the original interplanetary message discovers a disturbing message within the message. He tries to warn the world but is discredited and taken into custody for his efforts.

Now scholars and scavengers scramble to be the first to reach  planet Gaia's 50,000-year-old temples. The scholars want to study this long-extinct ancient civilisation while the scavengers plan to strip whatever treasures they can get their hands on.

Enter Jules, the teenage son of the discredited archeologist, and Mia, a teenage scavenger desperate to raise enough cash to free her sister from bondage. The two should hate each other on sight but they both need to reach their goal and survive long enough to return home without letting the other know too much in the process.

Review: The Bogan Mondrian

Steven Herrick is one of my favourite YA authors. His gentle humour and vibrant characters bring both light and heart to difficult topics. If you enjoyed Love, Ghosts and Nose Hairs or The Simple Gift, then you won't want to miss The Bogan Mondrian. 

Luke wanders the bush and swims in the reservoir on the occasional school day. It's not that he hates school. His best mate, his only anchor, is there. It's just that he just hasn't recovered from losing his dad.

Rumours about why Charlotte moved to town are rife, but nothing is as it seems.

While Luke tries to come to terms with losing his dad, Charlotte dreams of one thing: getting rid of hers.

Review: The Fates Divide

If you thought Book one of Carve the Mark was a rollercoaster, you're in for a treat. The Fates Divide ups the ante then turns everything upside down.

A barbaric war about to consume every planet when Cyra's murderous father, the Shotet leader who was thought to be long dead, escapes from exile to wreak even greater havoc.

All that seemed sure in Carve the Mark crumbles, piece by piece.

Is it possible to escape your fate? What would be the consequences for the universe if you did? Can anyone overcome Lazmet's unconquerable current gift or is the universe doomed?

Where does all of this leave Akos and Cyra?

Review: Amal Unbound

Despite being a girl in a small Pakistani village, Amal dreams of becoming a teacher.

But she finds out the hard way that the smallest of incidents can derail dreams. And that life isn't fair. Especially when the local landlord uses his money and power to suffocate hope.

Amal understands there are rules in her world, but she doesn't always realise the cost she might face if she breaks them. Her belief in her rights leads to misfortune after misfortune.

Even when she recognises the dangers, her wish for freedom and justice push her to act, regardless of the consequences.

Aisha Saeed has created an authentic story about what could still be happening in remote Pakistani villages today.

By doing so, she let me feel the chill of absolute dread when Amal's landlord unleashed.