Reviews
Adult fiction
Over to You (Georgie Tunny, A&U)
Released June 2026
In her emotionally turbulent debut, Over to You, Georgie Tunny captures the highs and lows of working in television news. The novel follows 3 friends – Carter, Naya and Greta – who are rising stars in the industry. Carter has just landed her dream role as co-host of a breakfast television show, while social media… Read more
Deprivation (Roy V Marshan, New Dawn)
Released June 2026
In Deprivation, Roy V Marshan explores cannibalism as a feature of late-stage capitalism. In the 1973 film Soylent Green, cannibalism is presented as the solution to overpopulation, while in Agustina Bazterrica’s novel Tender Is the Flesh, a new class of humans is bred for consumption after a virus wipes out domestic animals. In Marshan’s novel,… Read more
Adult nonfiction
How to Raise Rich Kids: Build Lasting Wealth for Your Children (Sarah Megginson, Pantera)
Released June 2026
Sarah Megginson’s How to Raise Rich Kids is a practical and reassuring guide for parents who want to give their children a strong financial future, regardless of their current income. The book challenges the common belief that wealth is reserved for those who already have savings. Instead, it argues that consistency, time, and small but… Read more
The Attention Recovery Plan: How to Win the Battle for Focus in a World Built to Break It (David Gillespie, Macmillan)
Released May 2026
David Gillespie (Sweet Poison, Toxic at Work) has built a reputation for distilling complex research into clear, useful guidance. His latest book, The Attention Recovery Plan: How to Win the Battle for Focus in a World Built to Break It, feels like a natural extension of his earlier work, Teen Brain and Brain Reset, with a focus on the… Read more
Children's picture books
Geigi the Stubborn Boy (Elliot Passi & Michael Passi, illus Elliot Passi, ILF)
Released June 2026
In Geigi the Stubborn Boy, Torres Strait Islander authors Elliot and Michael Passi (with illustrations by Elliot Passi) draw on their cultural heritage to tell a simple but resonant morality tale. In this bilingual story told in English with some Meriam Mer words, the titular character is a cheeky and mischievous boy who delights in… Read more
The Fast Lane (Pip Harry, illus Katrin Dreiling, Larrikin)
Released May 2026
The Fast Lane by Pip Harry (August & Jones, Because of You) is a lively and funny story about Daisy, a fast-swimming and competitive pig who struggles to share the fast lane at the local pool with Frank, an easy-going, slow-swimming frog. Their clashing approaches to swimming set the stage for a humorous and realistic… Read more
Younger readers
Kid (Peter Carnavas, UQP)
Released June 2026
Award-winning author Peter Carnavas is something of a master of timeless children’s novels full of heart and gentle lessons about life, family, grief and love. This most recent addition to his bibliography, Kid, is no different. Kid is a young goat who lives with a flock of hens on an idyllic farm at the foot… Read more
The Wild Unknown (Emily Gale, Text)
Released May 2026
In The Wild Unknown by Emily Gale (Outlaw Girls), the year is 2045, and Eddie’s world is completely run by technology. From household devices to classroom support systems and the AI bot constantly whispering in his ear, tech is woven into every part of life. When local boy Theo goes missing, Eddie assumes the police… Read more
Young adult
My Wonderful Disgrace (Angourie Rice & Kate Rice, Walker)
Released May 2026
My Wonderful Disgrace by Angourie Rice and Kate Rice (Stuck Up & Stupid) is a darkly comic tale of misjudgements set around the most anticipated night of the year for a graduating class – the school ball. Amy Middleton has spent months imagining the perfect evening and has planned everything: the perfect designer dress, the… Read more
Tearing Myself Together (Anna Whateley, A&U Children’s)
Released May 2026
Anna Whateley’s raw, authentic representations of neurodivergent young women in Tearing Myself Together offer the kind of windows and mirrors that are still too rare in Australian young adult fiction. Drawing on lived experience, Whateley (author of the CBCA-shortlisted Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal) explores the endurance required to navigate a society that often lacks understanding… Read more
Recently released titles
The Endling (Keely Jobe, Scribe)
Released April 2026
Keely Jobe’s debut novel, The Endling, tells an enthralling story of an isolated feminist collective hidden on a mountain in the Australian bush where all the women mysteriously fall pregnant on the same day. The novel primarily follows two women: Frank, one of the oldest members of the group, who lives in seclusion with her… Read more
Come Home, Bigibila (Corey Tutt & Irma Gold, illus Jessica Tedim, A&U Children’s)
Released April 2026
For parents and teachers seeking engaging, educational First Nations stories, Come Home, Bigibila is an ideal starting point. Written by Kamilaroi man Corey Tutt (The First Scientists) and Irma Gold (Where the Heart Is), this warm, coming-of-age book explores the search for belonging through its central character, the beloved Australian echidna, known as Bigibila in… Read more
