My first published byline!
Before I started my own blog in July 2016, I wrote book reviews for two different websites – one was Creative Kids Tales, and one was Children’s Books Daily. Yesterday, I received in the mail a contributor copy of Raising Readers: How to nurture a child’s love of books by Megan Daley, the award-winning teacher-librarian…
Read MoreReview: Warcross
Title: Warcross* Author: Marie Lu Publisher: Penguin Books Australia About the book: Warcross is a fast, action-packed novel that follows the story of Emika Chen, an 18-year-old bounty hunter/hacker. Emika is recruited by the creator of Warcross, the world’s biggest VR all-inclusive game, to go undercover at this year’s championship tournament to hunt cheaters and scammers. What I thought: This book was very…
Read MoreWhat I read this month: February 2019
In great news, I’m on track for my #52booksin52weeks challenge, reading another four in February. Again, it was a mix of novels, biography and poetry. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer The classic tale of an idealistic youth who leaves modern society, throws away his worldly possessions, bar what he can fit in his backpack,…
Read MoreWhat I read this month: January 2019
This year, I am going to try and read 52 books, one a week. This is what I’ve read so far. Working Class Man by Jimmy Barnes The sequel to Barnes’ first memoir, ‘Working Class Boy’, this book is a surprisingly good read, although I didn’t find it as interesting as the first. Welcome to…
Read MoreLooking for books for teens for Christmas? 33 great #LoveOzYA ideas to help you out
As regular readers will know, I am a member of the #LoveOzYA Committee, which is a group of volunteers who work together to help promote YA books written by Australian authors. You can read all about the committee and it’s work here. I also write guest book reviews for Megan Daley at Children’s Books Daily,…
Read MoreThat one time I was quoted in a speech
It’s not every day that you get quoted in a speech, so I thought I’d share it with you all. On Saturday, 3 November, Australian author Jacqueline Harvey delivered the 2018 Australian Society of Authors’ Colin Simpson Memorial Lecture in Sydney. In her speech, titled ‘Gender, Gatekeepers and Good Fun: The Current State of Play…
Read MoreReview: Natural Born Loser
This book review is brought to you by my brother Book Boy Jr (11). Title: Natural Born Leader Loser Author: Oliver Phommavanh Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia About the book: This book is about a kid named Raymond, a natural born follower, who is selected as a prefect in a crazy school. The story follows him…
Read MoreWhat I read this month (September 2018)
I am cheating a bit here by combining August and September, but I don’t think anyone will mind. Night by Elie Wiesel This book was confronting, yet beautifully written in its simplicity Adrian Mole and the weapons of mass destruction by Sue Townsend The Other Side of Summer by Emily Gale A bit of a…
Read MoreReview: The Skeleton Tree
This book review of The Skeleton Tree is brought to you by Book Boy Jr, aged 11. Title: The Skeleton Tree Author: Iain Lawrence Publisher: Tundra/Penguin Random House About the book: I got this book during a recent visit to Canada. It was recommended by Sarah at Kidsbooks, Vancouver, but you can also buy it…
Read MoreWhat I read this month (July 2018)
There’s nothing like school holidays to help lift my reading average, and this time I was lucky to spend three weeks travelling in Canada (read: lots of time spent on planes for starters). I hope you might find something here to read next. Sapiens: A brief history of humankind by Yuval Noah Harari I…
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