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Arlo must help a girl he doesn’t know, and she has a parcel for him. Arlo lives with his uncle upstairs over their bookshop. He is home-schooled and doesn’t go out much or have a lot of friends.

Lisette’s arrival in Arlo’s life turns his whole world upside down. He goes from being almost invisible to the world to being a wanted person. Criminals are after him. Is there a link between Lisette, the parcel and the chaos in Arlo’s life? How does he sort it out?

 enjoyed the rich characters and the tension the characters experience trying to solve the mystery.

Recommended for readers aged eight years and older.

Published by Puffin Books 2022

CBCA Notable Book 2023

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin.

Peijing loves stories, but her younger sister Biju is better at telling them. Peijing creates whole worlds out of paper, and both sisters love to lose themselves in this fantasy world.

The Guo family moves from Singapore to Australia, and the change challenges family values, beliefs and dynamics. Storytelling gives the girls a safe place as they find their way in the new world.

 enjoyed the rich characters and the cross-cultural insights the story provides. Migration is hard, even if the challenges are expected. 

Recommended for readers ten years and older

Published by Puffin Books. 2022

CBCA Notable Book 2023

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin

August hates football but has played it since he was three. Jones moved to the city after the farm was sold due to drought. Both are searching for where they belong. Gus wants to find the courage to give up football, and Jones must fight for her life.

What brings these two Year Five students together? How do they help each other?

I enjoyed the complexities and rich dilemmas the characters had to address—where do you fit into the world, speaking up, making hard choices and finding your happy place?

Recommended for readers aged ten years and older.

Published by Lothian 2022

CBCA Notable book 2023.

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin

Tulsi’s life in the circus was perfect until the night her mother disappeared. Circus people were her family. They helped each other and stood together in times of trouble. But trouble dogged the circus. It was not making money, and the owner threatened to close it down if it couldn’t make money. That was the night Tulsi saw her mother vanish. 

Tulsi’s mother could do big magic, travel between parallel universes, make things and shapeshift but refused to teach Tulsi magic, saying magic law forbade it until she was 16. Desperate to find her mother and bring her back, Tulsi takes magic lessons from her grandmother, who has a history of breaking magic law, doing the wrong thing and making trouble for everyone. 

Three weeks have passed, and time is running out for Tulsi to bring her mother back. Can she learn big magic quickly enough, can she travel between parallel universes, and can she find her mother and get back in 24 hours? 

I enjoyed the mix of circus life and magic. 

Recommended for readers ten years and older. 

Published by Hardie Grant 2022 

CBCA Notable Book 2023

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

 Now there’s just Lucy and Dad. Mum got sick and didn’t come home from the hospital. Lucy’s tired of moving all the time and being the new girl. She likes where she lives and wishes she had friends, but Dad says it is just them now. They don’t need anyone else, but Lucy does need more. That’s when she finds a snail, and Snail becomes her friend. She tells Snail everything, what she does at school, her dreams and wishes. 

This school is different. Tahnee doesn’t seem to notice Lucy’s crumpled clothes, untidy hair, or dusty smell. Tahnee wants to be her friend. The teacher wants everyone to work on a project about being helpful. Where does this lead? Lucy wonders how she can be helpful to other since she has no money and lives in a caravan. The journey leads Lucy on a journey of discovery. 

I enjoyed this rich verse novel, an insightful story of loneliness, isolation, grief and finding hope. 

Recommended for readers eight years and older. 

Published by UQP 2022 

Illustrated by Mandy Foot 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin  

Cassie is at boarding school, where she avoids other children and tries to stay invisible. With only a mother she hasn’t seen in seven years and no one to protect her, invisibility is the only way to stay safe. 

After the headmistress tells Cassie her mother has died, she runs away to try and find her mother, who she knows is still alive but gets lost. A talking cat recuses her. That’s when Cassie knows her life has been turned upside down. Cassie must pass important tests to continue the search for her mother. Can she pass the tests? 

Recommended for readers ten years and older. 

I enjoyed the fantasy of the story. 

Published by Welbeck Flame 2022 

Illustrated by Tomislav Tomic 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin. 

Alberta’s mother is an expert on manners and doesn’t stop reminding her how things should be done. Sylvie, her best friend, is avoiding her, Dad and Mum have split up, a local bully breaks her arm, and her summer holiday is imploding. What should she do since she can’t go swimming or surfing?

Mikki lives around the corner and stays at his family’s holiday house. He invites Alberts to visit the forest and listen to trees talk. Bored with nothing better to do and intrigued by talking trees, Alberta and Mikki find surprises in the forest. What happens to Alberta’s Summer?

I enjoyed the complex plot, which included plant intelligence and the complex issues around family dynamics when there’s a problem no one will talk about.

Recommend for readers ten years and older.

Published by Allen & Unwin, 2022

Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable book 2023

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin.

I read and I write.            

If you read why not write?            

More reviews coming from me and you.