Review search
A Far-flung Life (ML Stedman, Penguin)
Released March 2026
From the acclaimed author of The Light Between Oceans comes A Far-flung Life, ML Stedman’s much-anticipated second novel. Set in rural Western Australia in 1958, the story follows the MacBride... Read more
Oh Brother (Georgina Chadderton, Penguin)
Released February 2026
Oh Brother by Georgina Chadderton is a warm, perceptive middle-grade graphic memoir about growing up alongside a sibling with high support needs. Set in the early 2000s, the book follows... Read more
Bird Deity (John Morrissey, Text)
Released February 2026
Shorter novels have made a strong resurgence in recent years – particularly in science fiction – and John Morrissey’s (Firelight) debut fiction novel, Bird Deity, sits squarely within this zeitgeist.... Read more
Side Character Energy (Olivia Tolich, Text)
Released February 2026
Olivia Tolich’s Side Character Energy is a lively debut romantic comedy with a strong focus on self-discovery. When Bee starts dating William, Gertie is happy for her – instinctively so.... Read more
Trials of Hope (የተስፋ ፈተና)(Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes, Fremantle)
Released February 2026
Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes’s Trials of Hope is a hybrid memoir in poetry and prose that feels less like a linear life story than a lived cosmology. Winner of the 2024... Read more
Milly Meelyu (Holly Bradley & Darryl Fogarty, illus Corinne Fogarty, Fremantle)
Released February 2026
Milly Meelyu is a thoughtful exploration of environment and wildlife protection, written by conservation biologist Holly Bradley and Badimia Elder Darryl Fogarty. Milly Meelyu is a skink who lives in... Read more
How Do You Hide a Hippo? (Rebecca Grant, illus Jedda Robaard, Little Book Press)
Released February 2026
Rebecca Grant’s How Do You Hide a Hippo? is a playful picture book that invites young readers to join a child’s increasingly silly attempts to conceal a hippo in unlikely... Read more
Growing Up Digital: Helping Your Kids and Teens Navigate Life Online (Susan McLean, A&U)
Released February 2026
Growing Up Digital, by Australia’s leading cybersafety expert, Susan McLean, is a grounded and genuinely useful guide for parents navigating life online with their children in an increasingly complex digital... Read more
The Woman in the Spotlight (JR Lonie, HarperCollins)
Released February 2026
In JR Lonie’s newest historical thriller, The Woman in the Spotlight, a young performer must outwit the oppressive control of the Nazi regime. Monika Varády, a Bavarian actress newly arrived... Read more
Freddie Jones: The Mystery of the Troublesome Trees (Kate Foster, Walker)
Released February 2026
Freddie Jones is an adventurer at heart. The first in a new series by award-winning author Kate Foster (Harriet Hound), Freddie Jones: The Mystery of the Troublesome Trees is a... Read more
Meltdown (Lauren Novak, HarperCollins)
Released February 2026
Meltdown is a heavily researched yet highly accessible examination of “mum rage”, the gendered term the book uses to describe anger experienced in motherhood, exploring why it happens and how... Read more
Red Star Rebels (Amie Kaufman, A&U Children’s)
Released February 2026
Amie Kaufman is a well-known name in young adult speculative fiction, particularly for the bestselling Starbound and Illuminae Files series (co-authored with Megan Spooner and Jay Kristoff respectively). Red Star... Read more
Romeo v Juliet (RA Spratt, Penguin)
Released February 2026
Bestselling author RA Spratt’s Romeo v Juliet is a light-hearted time-travelling comedy that will appeal to older middle-grade and younger YA audiences aged 12 and up. When 16-year-old Selby, a... Read more
My Brother Otto (Ingrid Laguna, Text)
Released February 2026
In My Brother Otto, Ingrid Laguna (Edie Tells a Lie) explores the emotional upheaval of welcoming and losing a new sibling. Quinn is 11 years old and happy being an... Read more
The World from Here (Cassy Polimeni, illus Mel Armstrong, CSIRO Publishing)
Released February 2026
Cassy Polimeni, whose junior fiction novel Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra won the Wilderness Society’s Environment Award, brings her gift for accessible science to The World from Here. In... Read more
Saving Shark Pup: The Incredible True Story (Sharon Dalgleish, illus Amandine Thomas, A&U Children’s)
Released February 2026
Saving Shark Pup: The Incredible True Story is an intriguing and emotive retelling of a great white shark pup’s dramatic rescue from Manly Beach, sure to captivate readers aged 4... Read more
Two Tongues (Maria van Neerven, UQP)
Released February 2026
Two Tongues is a memoir of language and memory told through poetry. Mununjali woman from the Yugambeh nation Maria van Neerven structures the collection in three chronological parts, tracing her... Read more
A Time of Living Graciously: Reflections on Growing Older (Brigid Lowry, Fremantle)
Released February 2026
In a culture obsessed with youth and productivity, it’s easy to forget that rest is not laziness, aging is not failure and our worth is not measured by output. Brigid... Read more
Bugger (Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Hachette)
Released February 2026
Bugger by Michael Mohammed Ahmad (The Lebs, The Tribe) is a heart-wrenching investigation into child sex abuse. Its protagonist, Hamoodi, is an isolated 10-year-old who adores Power Rangers and lives... Read more
The Sisterhood Rules (Kathy Lette, Aria)
Released February 2026
Bawdy, cheeky and resoundingly “punny”, Kathy Lette’s latest romp, The Sisterhood Rules, is 100% on brand. Twin sisters Isabel and Verity have been estranged for five years, ever since Verity... Read more
