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Tamsin is obsessed with Edie St Claire. The author who lives next door. She waits to see her red boots walk past her basement apartment window every afternoon. 

Tamsin has read all nine of St Clair's books and is holding her breath, waiting for her to finish the tenth and final in the series. How will it end? Readers have gone wild wanting book ten. Edie can't write it. 

Tamsin's decision to go next door and help St Clair write the final book has enormous ramifications for Tasmin and the story.  

I enjoyed the complex plot and character development. 

This book is recommended for readers aged 10-13 years and aspiring writers looking for creative character development.  

Published by Walker Books 2020 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Allison can’t wait for her older sister, Larrie, in Year 12 to finish school and get out of her life. Al is sick of teachers and the principal saying she should be more like her sister. 

At home, it is not much better. Mum and Dad have prioritised all family activities around Larrie's imminent exams. 

Study weeks roll around, and Al is sure things will improve but no. Her sister is outed and makes the schoolyard gossip big time. Pictures appear on social media, and anonymous messages haunt Al’s sister. 

Al searches for answers. Maybe, just maybe, her problems aren’t caused by her sister. What causes Al’s change of heart? 

I enjoyed the sibling tensions, the complexity of the plot and the drama of friendships at high school. 

Recommended for readers aged 12 years and more. 

Published by Walker Books 2011 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

I read and I write.      

If you read why not write?      

More reviews coming from me and you.

Poppy McGowan is renovating her tiny inner Sydney house, loves her job at the ABC and has a boyfriend she sees a lot off. What could go wrong? 

Boris, the builder, finds bones in her house, and it must be established if they are of historical significance before any further renovations can be done. That shouldn’t be a problem. That is until a body is found amongst the archaeological dig in her loungeroom foundations. 

Poppy’s tiny house is full of police, who think she murdered the woman lying dead in her lounge and archaeologists who may have killed the woman. 

The dead woman has a past that makes for strange goings-on between politicians, churchgoers,  museum staff, and the ABC. 

Will Poppy ever get her renovations finished? 

I enjoyed the contemporary nature of the story, the interwoven characters, and the humour. 

Recommended for young adult and adult readers. 

Published by HQ Fiction an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises. 2021

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Sam Thaiday was a legend at the Bronco’s rugby league football club. His grit, determination, work ethic and hard playing won the respect of his peers and opposition players. 

This co-authored autobiography of his football career is interesting, explains the foundation of his success and addresses the hardship of a professional football career. 

I enjoyed the insights into the hard work he put into achieving his successful career. 

This young readers’ version is recommended for Middle-Grade and reluctant readers 

Published by Puffin Books 2018 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Milo is bored. Kicking stones up his street, he finds $105. With luck like that, he never has to be bored again. 

Frog, the new kid next door, congratulates him, and they plan how to spend the money, but Mum says, he has to look for who owns the money. 

Finding the owner of $105 gets way more complicated than Milo expects. What does Milo find? 

I enjoyed the humour and the complications the main character experienced. This story made me smile. 

Recommended for Middle Grade and reluctant readers. 

Published by ABC Book under licence by HarperCollins Publishers 2022 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Anna Dupont finds herself running a very unusual hotel. A hotel for animals. Determine to outshine the flash hotel up the road.

Anna sets about putting things right but fixing up a hotel is harder than Anna expected, and she calls on pink flamingos to help. 

I enjoyed the humour. 

Recommend for middle-grade readers. 

Published by Piccadilly Press 2019 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Edie decides writing in her diary is fun after all. Oscar has been her best friend since kindergarten. Edie knows high school will be fine because Oscar will be there too. 

Day one changes high school. Oscar is not in her tutor groups. Their timetables are different, and they can only be together during breaks. What’s worse is Edie’s parents and home teacher think it’s a good thing, that she should make new friends. Edie’s distressed. Nobody knows her like Oscar. Who will help her when she falls because of her cerebral palsy? 

Oscar makes new friends playing football, and Olivia wins a place in the school musical. Boyfriends and girlfriends complicate school. How do they sort out their friendship, and do they make new friends? 

I enjoyed the strong characters, insights into teen life and the humour.  

Recommended for readers aged 10-14 years 

Published by Hodder 2021 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Yesterday lives in a cage. Her fox ears, which she hates, make her a circus attraction. Her prized and only possession is the book The Pocket Book of Faeries. An encounter with a silver-haired man with an evil smile and a talking Raven changes her life. She escapes and is taken to Miss Dumpling’s Travelling Tearoom. 

Miss Dumpling asks Yesterday to be her apprentice at the Travelling Tearoom. Yesterday decides she likes to make teas and agrees. 

What do they set out to find? 

I enjoyed the fantasy of the story. 

Recommend for middle grade and readers aged 10-12 years. 

Published by Orion Children’s Books  2022 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin. 

Doreen wanted her family to take in an evacuee so she could be like everyone else, but when Rhoda arrives, Doreen’s not so keen. Until recently, she’s had to share a room with her two older sisters, and now she’ll have to share with someone she doesn’t know. 

Rhoda is keen to fit in and sets out to please everyone. She’s a good singer, tidy’s her room, becomes a favourite and Doreen feels left out. The girls fall out. How do they sort it so they can live together? 

I enjoyed the clear descriptions of war time poverty that informs the whole story. 

Recommended for Middle Grade 

Published by Walker Books first in 1996 and then in 2014 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Annabel moves away. Olivia is grief-stricken and stumbles through life trying self-help strategies her mum recommends to overcome her loss. Life is grey without her best friend.  

Annabel returns, life in Queensland, Australia, didn’t work out. 

Olivia can’t believe it. Her life will be righted, her soul mate by her side. Only Annabel is friendly with the girls they used to ridicule and cool to Olivia. Joy turns to anger, and both girls struggle to sort their friendship. What happens that creates a pathway? 

Recommended for Middle Grade. 

Published by Walker Books 2019 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Wassim lives with Uncle Otto. Life is tough in his war-torn country. He must find a friend of his grandfather. The friend will help them. Finding him is not so easy. 

The unfriendly librarian is suspicious when he is there in school time. The bullies find him, thugs find Uncle Otto and they must run. Does he find the friend? Does the friend help Otto? 

I enjoyed the tension and the complexities of the story. I couldn’t put it down. 

Recommended for Middle Grade and readers aged 10-13 years. 

Published by Viking an imprint of Penguin books 2021 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin. 

Bul-boo enjoys Sister Leonisa’s story but is highly suspicious that they do not have a strong scientific basis to them. A story of a special tree, a two-legged hyena and a girl catches her attention.  

Fred and Madilla live next door. Their grandmother is a witch and a storyteller too. She tells of a special tree and a two-legged hyena. She also believes Fred has magic too and will carry on her ways.  

Grandmother wants to take Fred to the special tree in readiness for his magic abilities. Fred is frightened of his grandmother and asks Madilla and Bul-boo to go with him. What do they find at the special tree? 

I enjoyed the South African setting. 

Recommended for Middle Grade. 

Published by Walker Books 2013 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin

I read and I write.   

 If you read why not write?    

More reviews coming from me and you.