Forever & Ever
By Allanah Hunt Reviewed by Lauren Spencer Allanah Hunt is a Barkindji and Malyangapa woman and the first recipient of the inaugural Boundless Indigenous Writer’s Mentorship. The Brisbane-based writer also works as an editor, lecturer and researcher at the University of Queensland.
The Escape Game
By Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss Reviewed by Zewlan Moor This book is unputdownable! From the very first page it features the entertaining, high energy voice of clever teens with interesting back stories and motivations, something I loved in Meyer’s Cinder, in the
Drawing Nudes While Making Oher Plans
By Zoe Gaetjens Review by Lucille Rose Drawing Nudes While Making Other Plans is an interesting, aptly named book, though its title is only the beginning of the attention-grabbing aspects of this novel. It takes place largely, as its name suggests, in a
Hafsa’s Way
By Aisha Saeed Reviewed by Zewlan Moor Hafsa’s Way is the third of a loose trilogy of contemporary realist middle grade novels by Pakistani-American author, Aisha Saeed. The firs two, Amal Unbound and Omar Rising, have been exceptionally well-received, with multiple starred
In Ecstasy
By Kate McCaffrey Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey Sophie and Mia have been best friends since they started kindergarten, but by the time they get to the party that kicks off the wild ride that is In Ecstasy, things have already been changing
My Wonderful Disgrace
By Angourie Rice and Kate Rice Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey The school ball is the ultimate dream for many high schoolers – fancy clothes, the date they’ve always dreamed of, feeling like it’s time to leap from school into adulthood. Amy has
Girls Who Play Dead
By Joelle Wellington Reviewed by Lauren Spencer Joelle Wellington is a New York-based author known for her YA thrillers. Her previous titles, Their Vicious Games and The Blonde Dies First, are mixtures of satirical horror and teen thriller. Wellington’s latest novel, Girls
Song Of the Saltings
By Rachel King Reviewed by Lucille Rose Song Of The Saltings is a grim, dark fantasy that follows the story of Lotta Salter, a daughter of the island of Brack, and Moss Smith, a hideling exile cast out from the village. The
Poster Boys
By Scott Woodard Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey It all starts when Nolan, one of prestigious Highview Grammar’s least popular year nine boys, smashes cool kid James’s nose on Winter Sports Day. James’s high-ranking political father has taught him how to get what
A Flash in the Dust
By Meg Caddy Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey A Flash in the Dust is the fourth YA novel for Western Australian author Meg Caddy. With a handful of short- and longlistings for their first three novels, Weir, Devil’s Ballast, and Slipping the Noose,
Good Young Men
By Gary Lonesborough Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey Kallum lost his scholarship to a fancy school and is sent home confused about footy and how he feels about boys. Jordy is parenting because his dad drinks too much and is dealing with a
These Shattered Spires
By Cassidy Ellis Salter Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey In a world of rot, under a sky of monstrous teeth, the castle Fourspires is divided into four houses of magic – Blood, Bone, Botany and Stone. Here, arcanists draw life from their human
Romeo V Juliet
By R A Spratt Reviewed by Jenny Ruge R.A Spratt is a prolific author in the junior fiction and middle grade space, with numerous best-selling books in the Nanny Piggins and Friday Barnes series, The Peski Kids books, and several anthologies of
Raised by Wolves
By Tristan Bancks Reviewed by Sue Wright Tristan is the acclaimed author of Two Wolves, The Fall, Detention, Cop & Robber, Scar Town, Nit Boy and Ginger Meggs. His books for upper middle grade and young adults are fast-paced mystery thrillers with carefully considered serious themes at their
The Shadow Bride
By Shelby Mahurin Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey Celie was just a girl. Then she was a Bride of Death. Now she has died and come back. Michal, king of the vampires, couldn’t watch Celie die. Instead he made her what she most
Our History: A House Divided
By Clare Hallifax Reviewed by Margaret McKay-Lowndes November 11, 1975 is a date etched vividly into the minds of many Australians, not only because of Remembrance Day, but also because that was the infamous day upon which the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam,
The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire
By Anna Fiteni Reviewed by Lucille Rose The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni is a contemporary fantasy book following eldest daughter Sabrina Parry who, after her father’s sentence to ten years in Australia, becomes the sole protector of her
Words Matter: The Story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, and the White Rose Resistance
By Anita Fitch Pazner and Sophie Casson Reviewed by Annaleise Byrd Anita Fitch Pazner is an American author who was born in Germany. Sophie Casson is from Montreal, Quebec and has illustrated more than 30 books. Words Matter is the story of Hans
This Season’s Draft
By Jason Gent Reviewed by Annaleise Byrd Jason Gent lives in Brisbane with his wife and two daughters. His debut YA verse novel, This Season’s Draft, was a 2026 CBCA Notable in the Older Readers category. This Season’s Draft features six teenagers (five
Every Spiral of Fate (This Woven Kingdom)
By Tahereh Mafi Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey Every Spiral of Fate is the fourth book in the Woven Kingdom series by American author and international bestseller Tahereh Mafi, best known for her expansive Shatter Me series. Although this could be read as
Brightest Wild
By Tania Crampton-Larking Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey Out of place, out of depths, out of sorts. All the ways eleven-year-old Alex feels when she’s made to leave her comfortable London life to move to a small Adelaide suburb with a soon-to-be stepfamily.
The Belly of a Wolf
By Julianne Negri Reviewed by Lara Cain Gray Julianne Negri is a CBCA Notable author with middle grade and picture book works in her portfolio. The Belly of a Wolf is her debut YA novel. Written in verse, it explores the devastating
Red Star Rebels
By Amie Kaufman Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey The multi-award winning Australian author takes us back to space in this sci-fi-for-everyone, edge of your seat thrill ride. With witty banter, loveable (even if you don’t really want to) characters, and a timeline short
Gaslit
By Megan Davidhizar Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey Plagued by recent migraines, Ella has to ditch her bestie and their New Year’s Eve plans. When she begins feeling better and her aunt calls, Ella agrees to babysit her cousin at the last minute.
The Same Backwards as Forwards
By Jennifer Lynn Barnes Reviewed by Lauren Spencer Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a Professor of Psychology and an American writer known for her extensive YA publications. The most popular of which are The Hawthorne Games and The Grandest Games, which follow Avery
For No Mortal Creature
By Keshe Chow Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey The second book for award-winning Melbourne author Keshe Chow, For No Mortal Creature is a dark, lyrical fantasy that wonders how far people are willing to go for love and family. And how much further
Thorn Season
By Kiera Azar Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey Thorn Season, the debut novel from British author Kiera Azar, left me with an emptiness that can only be filled with the next book in the series (release date TBC for Australia). Alissa has been hiding
Snowed in at the Wildest Dreams Bookshop
By Gracie Page Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey Following on from her debut The Wildest Dreams Bookshop, British author Gracie Page returns to the quirky bookshop in Fox Bay for another romantic misadventure. Ivy spent her entire life dreaming of the day she
Once a Villain: Only a Monster 3
By Vanessa Len Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey What if monsters are real – but they’re nothing like you expect? In Once A Villain, Joan faces the truth of everything monsters are willing to do, and desperately hopes they are capable of change. Especially
A Murder is Going Down
By Kate Emery Review by Alison McCaffrey Claustrophobic? Paranoid? Afraid of being stuck in a lift? Then hold on to something, because you’re going to feel all that and more while immersed in the story of Heidi and her extended, and rather
