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Black Spring by Alison Croggon
Black Spring is a work of fantasy inspired by Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Who could resist that?
Allegra by Shelley Hrdlitschka
Music is the connective tissue of Shelley Hrdlitschka’s ninth novel, Allegra.
Dark Lord: A Fiend In Need by Jamie Thomson
Justhen you thought it couldn’t get any better, Jamie Thomson’s sequel to his hugely praised novel, Dark Lord: The Early Years, is even better than its predecessor.
War Brothers by Sharon E. McKay, Illustrated by Daniel LaFrance
Though I’m still slightly torn about whether or not the making of a child soldier is appropriate fodder for a graphic novel aimed at young adult readers, the combination of Sharon E. McKay’s powerful prose and Daniel LaFrance’s luminous illustrations is just right in War Brothers.
Big Nate Flips Out by Lincoln Peirce
Lincoln Peirce is back with the fifth installment in the Big Nate series.
The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress
Author, actor and director Adrienne Kress (Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, Timothy and the Dragon’s Gate) attacks her first young adult novel with cinematic verve.
33 Minutes by Todd Hasak-Lowy
In this heartwarming a story, we learn that -- as the book says -- friendships don’t always last forever.
Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas written and illustrated by Melanie Watt
The holidays are a veritable hotbed of hazards. As the publisher of Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas tells us, it’s the season for “worrying, planning, decorating, wrapping, entertaining, caroling and, worst of all, fruitcake!”
Seeing Red: The True Story of Blood by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
Many parents of kids with active brains are familiar with Tanya Lloyd Kyi’s work. Kyi’s writing is sharp and her topics are targeted, and betray both the author’s own natural curiosity as well as a way of writing for children that manages to be calm, informative and interesting all at once.
The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore
It seems ironic that the author who suffered a scandal for weaving too much fiction into his memoir should come back as part of a writing team that claims no earthly connection.
Blood Storm by Rhiannon Hart
In Blood Storm, Princess Zeraphina and Rodden, the King's right-hand man, are both “harmings,” a kind of vampire who isn’t actually undead, but does need blood; it doesn’t have to be human and they make the most of small creatures such as rabbits and squirrels.
Freakling by Lana Krumweide
“If everyone is special, is anyone really special?” — Anonymous. That famous phrase is what Lana Krumweide’s Freakling is about.
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The Secret of the Fortune Wookie by Tom Angleberger
Breaking the rule that says the first of a trilogy is the best, the third book the popular Origami Yoda series has come out, and it was the best one yet.
Big Nate Goes For Broke by Lincoln Peirce
Big Nate Goes for Broke is the fourth installment in the Big Nate Series.
Under My Skin by Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint is one of the ranking names in SF/F. With 36 novels to his credit, as well as 36 collections of short fiction, he is prolific as well as fiercely talented.
Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger
Tom Angleberger has once again written an amazing children’s comedy that finds kids in adult or silly situations.
In the Beech Forest by Gary Crew
In the Beech Forest is not the kind of picture book you read to your five-year-old. It’s aimed at an older age group, around ten upwards. If you can bring yourself to part with the book, you can give it to your older child.
50 Underwear Questions by Tanya lloyd Kyi
It’s difficult to imagine the child who wouldn’t be tickled by the slightly risque nature and spirited delivery of 50 Underwear Questions: A Bare-All History.
Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
It’s encouraging to me as a human to see the large numbers of really good authors of young adult and children’s books getting a lot of attention and drawing ever-increasing armies of new readers.
All Good Children by Catherine Austen
In Catherine Austen’s new novel we spend a lot of time breaking out of dystopia. The story harkens back to the very best elements of Ira Levin’s 1975 novel (later made into a couple of astonishingly bad movies) Stepford Wives.
The Shattering by Karen Healey
The Shattering is the second novel by Kiwi author Karen Healey, who lives in Australia. It’s not a sequel to Guardian Of The Dead, but a fine cracking mystery in its own right.
A Pocketful of Eyes by Lili Wilkinson
In A Pocketful of Eyes, Bee is spending her summer holidays working in the taxidermy department of the Melbourne Museum of Natural History before beginning Year 12.
Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey
In Haunting Violet, Harvey moves from present-day rural America to Victorian England, when séances were a regular part of middle-class entertainment and there was an entire spiritualist movement.
Mole Hunt by Paul Collins
In Mole Hunt the critter being referred to, Maximus Black by name, isn’t the blind, digging creature but the spy kind. Only in his teens, Maximus Black is a brilliant cadet in RIM, a galactic spy agency.
Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston
Lesley Livingston’s juvenile fiction consistently manages to be refreshing, engaging and surprisingly smart.
What is Real by Karen Rivers
Dex Pratt’s parents have divorced and his mother has moved on. His father? Not so much. The former pot farm defending attorney is now himself a pot-growing pothead, wheelchair bound after a suicide attempt went bad.
Crow Country by Kate Constable
In Kate Constable’s Crow Country, Sadie and her mother have moved from their lovely Melbourne home by the sea to Boort, her mother’s home town in regional Victoria, where there is a drought. Boort has a history, both for her mother and further back. The same families have lived in the town for the last century and more.
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