Book Reviews
The Beauties by Lauren Chater
A masterclass in storytelling, this sumptuous historical novel centres around art, love and the power of feminine beauty.
Potty Mouth, Potty Mouth by Alex Creece
Screaming, crying, throwing up: this debut poetry is a hilarious and visceral exploration of selfhood, queerness and neurodivergence.
Diving, Falling by Kylie Mirmohamadi
A refreshing and engaging story of a woman rediscovering herself after the death of her domineering husband.
Big Time by Jordan Prosser
Cinematic in scope, boldly imaginative in delivery, and worryingly close to the bone in its ‘speculative’ aspects, we couldn’t put this one down.
How to Knit a Human by Anna Jacobson
In her debut memoir, Anna Jacobson invites readers on a journey through the fractured landscape of her memory and selfhood.
Ordinary Human Love by Melissa Goode
Ordinary Human Love is a book for those who love quiet novels, with a suble interrogation of grief, regret and finding purpose.
We All Lived In Bondi Then by Georgia Blain
An evocative and heart-rending collection of previously unpublished short stories from Georgia Blain.
Go Lightly by Brydie Lee-Kennedy
A charming debut that captures the messiness of being in your twenties, and the importance of familial and platonic love.
Appreciation by Liam Pieper
This witty novel exposes the underbelly of the art world and a complex portrait of queer identity.
Ghost Poetry by Robbie Coburn
In this poetry collection, Coburn navigates the intricate dance between the light and shadow of selfhood.
Dress Rehearsals by Madison Godfrey
Described as a “love story to the queer self”, Dress Rehearsals is a refreshingly confessional, enlightening and bold collection.
Others Were Emeralds by Lang Leav
This perceptive coming-of-age novel illuminates the impacts of war, racism and interpersonal conflict.
Tissue by Madison Griffiths
Madison Griffith’s nonfiction debut is an ode to complexity, in a searing analysis of abortion and everything it intertwines with.
The Hummingbird Effect by Kate Mildenhall
The third novel from Aussie literary fave Kate Mildenhall takes us on an epic journey across time through the lives of four different women.
A Real Piece of Work by Erin Riley
This ‘memoir in essays’ explores how we create our identities and how we can transcend them.
Compulsion by Kate Scott
Compulsion is a story about love, yearning and trying to come right in a world that makes it too easy to self-destruct.
The Jaguar by Sarah Holland-Batt
Winner of the 2023 Stella Prize, this powerful and heartbreaking poetry collection explores Holland-Batt’s grief over losing her father to Parkinson’s.
Bad Art Mother by Edwina Preston
Good mothers are selfless. Artists are selfish. So what does this mean for a mother with artistic ambitions?
The Street Poet by Jaidyn Luke Attard
Take a ride through Melbourne’s underbelly with Johnny Lock: a self-proclaimed paranoid narrator on his journey to becoming a street poet.
Hydra by Adriane Howell
A wickedly original debut about a woman on the edge: mysterious, compelling and with lashings of dark humour.