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Review :: The Glow by Sofie Laguna, illustrated by Marc McBride
What is The Glow about? Megan and her best friend Li must team up and draw on all their creativity and courage to defeat a strange monster that threatens their town. Megan is obsessed with drawing fantastical creatures and she shares them with her best friend Li who writes stories to go with the pictures. They are kindred spirits with big creative dreams. One day everyone in town – except Megan and Li – is immobilised by a strange glow coming from their phones. Megan and Li are initially frightened and alarmed, but when they realise they are somehow immune, they set out to seek help. Soon a battle unfolds,…
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Currently Reading :: Jane Doe and the Quill of All Tales by Jeremy Lachlan
I adore Jeremy Lachlan’s Jane Doe Chronicles series – they are such a great combo of adventure and fantasy and heart, with fabulous female characters and awesome Indiana Jones vibes. The third book, Jane Doe and the Quill of All Tales came out this week, and the team at Hardie Grant kindly sent me an early copy. I’ve finally had the chance to get into it over the past few days and I’m loving it – it was the perfect book to get lost in for Australian Reading Hour today. I’ve popped the synopsis for Jane Doe and the Quill of All Tales, and I’ll share my review here in…
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Q&A with Aussie kids’ writer Bethany Loveridge
I know I’ve said it before, but one of my favourite things about social media is making new friends with people all over the country and world that have similar interests. Today I’m excited to be chatting with one of my Instagram friends Bethany Loveridge, a fellow fan of middle grade books and aspiring author. Bethany’s Instagram account is always packed with amazing recommendations for readers 8-12 (ish) – she reads for pleasure but also for research for her own writing, and the breadth of her reading is evident from the range of books that pop up on her page. Bethany is currently working on a manuscript, which I happen…
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Q&A with Aussie kids author Jeremy Lachlan
I’ve been reading more and more middlegrade/children’s fiction novels by Aussie authors over the past few years – as my daughter grows our reading tastes seem to be coming closer to each other and this year it’s the category I’m judging for the Aurealis Awards. There are soooo many amazing Aussie kids books and authors – literally someone for every reader to love – and one of my favourite series for kids who love adventure books is Jeremy Lachlan’s Jane Doe Chronicles. Today I’m lucky enough to have Jeremy as a guest here on my blog, chatting about his books and reading and summer. Read on for our chat, and…
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Review :: The Goodbye Year by Emily Gale
I really love books about those times when people – young people especially – are about to step into a new phase in their life, where they are just on the cusp of something new and the story centres around all be bittersweetness of beginnings and endings and change. This is one of the things I really love about both YA and children’s novels, and with a title like The Goodbye Year I had a feeling that Emily Gale‘s latest book was going to hit right on all of those feels! What is Emily Gale’s The Goodbye Year about? It’s the start of 2020 and Harper is filled with anticipation…
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Currently Reading :: The Wintrish Girl by Melanie La’Brooy
I know I keep talking about how obsessed I am with ‘middlegrade’ books at the moment, but honestly, spending any time in the “older readers” section of my local bookshop has me wanting to take a year off work to read them all. I thought I’d pop in tonight and share my current read, because after only 2 days I’m just over halfway through the 400+ pages of Melanie La’Brooy’s The Wintrish Girl, and I absolutely loving it so far. Also, can we please take a moment to admire that gorgeous cover? The illustration is by Lili Uivel, and I love it. I feel like every time I think I’ve…
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Review :: A Girl Called Corpse by Reece Carter
I’m so excited to finally be sharing my review of Reece Carter’s debut children’s fantasy novel, A Girl Called Corpse, which hits shelves today. I have been looking forward to this one from when it was first announced and busting to talk with fellow kids’ book lovers since I was lucky enough to get my eyes on a super early copy (you can see my preview here). What is Reece Carter’s A Girl Called Corpse about? Find the thing the Witches call a treasure,’ says Old Man, ‘and you’ll get back all those memories you’re missing.’ With a body made of wax, seaweed for hair and polished abalone shells for…
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Preview :: The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat by Kate Temple
I might have already said here that I really think middlegrade books (ie for readers 8 to 12, ish, sometimes called “older readers” in book shops) are having a moment right now. I feel like the Aussie middlegrade space in particular is so exciting – there are so many amazing looking titles out and coming out soon. Also, on a more personal note, it’s kind of perfect timing for me as my daughter turned 8 this year so we are enjoying a lot of these fab titles together. The latest fab Aussie middlegrade title to arrive at our place is this one – The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat,…
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Author Chat :: Summer Reading :: Reece Carter
You know I love any excuse to have writers here on the blog for a chat, and since I’ve been keeping an eye out for middlegrade reads to keep my newly 8 year old busy over summer I thought it would be fun to talk to a few fellow middlegrade readers about their summer reading habits and get a few recommendations at the same time. Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Reece Carter here for a chat. Reece is a Sydney-based writer – his debut middlegrade fantasy novel will be released later this year. Check out our chat below… Hey Reece! Thanks so much for joining me on BookishBron.com…
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Friday Favourites :: 4 June
Happy Friday bookish friends! Doesn’t the week fly when you start with a long weekend? It’s been a real whirlwind type of week here – I was super busy at work this week, out at painting class on Wednesday, and catching up on things at home today. I’m planning a bit of a furniture re-arrange over the weekend – does anyone else love shifting things around at home? My family always get nervous when they see me with the tape measure haha. One of my favourite things this week has been the way that my 7 year old reads “secretly” under her blankets with her owl night light every night.…
