BOOK: YOUR SECOND LIFE BEGINS WHEN YOU REALISE YOU ONLY HAVE ONE by Raphaëlle Giordano Penguin Random House July 2018 Hardcover, $29.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Self-help/ Fiction 10/10 In the spirit of Sophie’s World, The Alchemist and other novelised self-help books comes Raphaëlle Giordano’s wonderful Your Second Life Begins When you Realise You […]
BOOK: SABRINA by Nick Drnaso Granta July 2018 Hardcover, $32.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Graphic Novel 8/10 We live in strange, disturbing times. The internet – the greatest explosion of knowledge sharing seen in our species existence, has turned in on itself to create a plethora of people who wilfully ignore facts and instead choose […]
BOOK REVIEW: The Implausible Story of Olive Far Far Away by Tony Alexandra Harlequin Young Adult March 2018 Paperback, $19.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Young Adult 7/10 ‘Forget gypsy curses and invisibility. Forget stupid boys who are supposed to be my true love and then dump me. I’ve got one mission now – fun.’ […]
BOOK REVIEW: Beast – A Tale of Love and Revenge by Lisa Jensen Candlewick Press September 2018 Hardcover, $22.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Retelling / Fantasy / Young Adult 2/10 Filled with magic and fierce emotion, Lisa Jensen’s multilayered novel will make you question all you think you know about beauty, beastliness, and happily ever […]
BOOK REVIEW: Alive at Work: The Neuroscience of Helping Your People Love What They Do by Daniel M. Cable Harvard Business Review Press June 2018 Hardcover, $44.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Business & Management 7/10 A lot of people proudly proclaim that they work to live and not live to work. Daniel M. […]
BOOK REVIEW: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty Pan Macmillan Australia September 2018 Paperback, $32.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Fiction / Modern & Contemporary Fiction 7.5/10 A wellness retreat may instil images of green smoothies, yoga, some crystals, and a massage. But what if this setting was hiding something more sinister? This idea is covered […]
BOOK REVIEW: Disney Ideas Book by Elizabeth Dowsett Dorling Kindersley October 2018 Hardcover, $39.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Activity Books / Arts & Craft / Media Tie-In 10/10 Bring your love of Disney to life with more than 100 amazing and creative projects and activities. Let your imagination run wild with Disney inspired […]
BOOK REVIEW: Stand Up Straight! A History of Posture by Sander L. Gilman Reaktion Books April 2018 Hardcover, $49.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / History 5/10 Sander L. Gilman has become an authority on the human body. The professor has written and edited over 90 books, including ones that examined our attitudes towards obesity […]
BOOK REVIEW: What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra Allen & Unwin September 2018 Paperback, $16.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Young Adult / Horror / Fantasy / Science Fiction 8/10 What the Woods Keep is the stunning debut of Katya de Becerra, who combines mystery, science fiction, and dark fantasy in a twisty story […]
BOOK REVIEW: A Year at Hotel Gondola by Nicky Pellegrino Hachette New Zealand Ltd March 2018 Paperback, $29.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Fiction / Contemporary Romance 7/10 They say you’ve never been to Venice until you’ve gotten lost there. Nicky Pellegrino’s breezy romance novel does offer some opportunities to do just that. She captures the […]
BOOK REVIEW: Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – And Why Things Are Better than You Think by Hans Rosling with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund Hodder & Stoughton April 2018 Hardcover, $26.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Self-Help & Personal Development / Popular Psychology 8/10 The late researcher, lecturer and […]
BOOK REVIEW: The Bus On Thursday by Shirley Barrett Allen & Unwin September 2018 Paperback, $29.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Fiction / Magical Realism 7/10 That’s when I literally had thoughts of becoming a nun, because I thought, Well, I’m never going to have sex again. If I become a nun, I would at […]
BOOK REVIEW: Robin – The Definitive Biography of Robin Williams by Dave Itzkoff Pan Macmillan May 2018 Paperback, $32.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Biographies & True Stories 8/10 Robin Williams was a contradictory star. He had a larger-than-life stage persona even though he was an introvert at heart. A hilarious man who could […]
BOOK REVIEW: From Hero to Zero – Middle School by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts, illustrated by Laura Park Penguin Random House March 2018 Paperback, $15.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Fiction / Children’s Fiction / School Stories 5/10 James Patterson is a number one, best-selling author of thriller books. He also writes for children and […]
BOOK REVIEW: The Desert Nurse by Pamela Hart Hachette Australia July 2018 Paperback, $29.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Fiction / Historical Romance 7/10 Pamela Hart takes a leaf out of Natasha Lester’s book in her latest novel, The Desert Nurse. Hart once again sets her story during World War I and has a strong, female […]
BOOK REVIEW: And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Rovina Cai Walker Books September 2018 Hardcover, $24.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Young Adult / Fantasy / Retelling 6/10 We are proud, proud creatures of the ocean. We dominate it, conquer it, there is no creature in it that doesn’t flee before […]
BOOK REVIEW: Computer Coding Python Games for Kids by Carol Vorderman Dorling Kindersley Ltd July 2018 Paperback, $35.00 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Science & Technology for Children & Teenagers 8/10 Tomorrow’s programmers are getting a head-start today with the release of various coding books aimed specifically at kids. For those people who think […]
BOOK REVIEW: Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina Allen & Unwin August 2019 Paperback, $19.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Young Adult / Paranormal / Cultural Australia 8/10 Nothing’s been the same for Beth Teller since she died. Her dad, a detective, is the only one who can see and hear her […]
BOOK REVIEW: The Mouth of the Dark by Tim Waggoner Flame Tree Press – Fiction Without Frontiers September 2018 Paperback, £9.95 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Horror / Dark Fantasy 5/10 Jayce’s twenty-year-old daughter Emory is missing, lost in a dark, dangerous realm called Shadow that exists alongside our own reality. An enigmatic woman named Nicola guides […]
BOOK REVIEW: Creature by Hunter Shea Flame Tree Press – Fiction Without Frontiers September 2018 Paperback, £9.95 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Horror / Supernatural 8/10 She had been in worse shape before. Much worse. Last rites and funeral arrangements kind of shape. Kate had come out of it like a modern-day Lazarus. But she was tired. […]
