When he is chosen by a Circus Scout, he can’t believe his luck. He’s survived a disaster at the Orphanage and the Scout believes he might do amazing things at the Circus of Light.

Beatrice is mourning the loss of her father but with his dying words, and with his diary in her hands, she sets off for his childhood home – The Circus of Light, or as the occupants know it, The Circus of Lost Children.

When they reach their destination, they along with another new recruit are in total awe of a circus run entirely by children. The children sleep in hammocks high off the ground, practise death defying feats with fire, and show Marlon more kindness than he’s ever had in his life.

This Circus of Lost Children is organised, well-fed, and incredibly skilled, but they have a nemesis in a rival circus. Marlon & Beatrice along with their new friends are soon caught up in a plot to destroy this magical circus with age-old magic.

Can a boy who has never known friendship, kindness, heard music or ever danced, summon enough courage to save his new home?

Can a girl still mourning her father become someone else long enough to unravel an evil plot against them all?

This is the 1st in a brand new series by the best selling author of Dragon Defenders and Children of the Rush. This time James Russell takes readers into the lives of a circus with children running every aspect of it.

The settings are richly portrayed, the characters engaging, dealing with past troubles or keen to prove themselves, and the plot sears with ever increasing tensity.

James Russell’s writing effortlessly grabs the reader early and completely. I read into the night, keen to know the fates of the characters.

I think Marlon Foundling and the Circus of Lost Children is his best yet!

Author – James Russell

Age – 10+

Find more exciting books by this author here

(2026, Dragon Brothers Books, Circus, Orphans, Friendship, Stallion, Horse training, Big top, Rival circus, Earthquake, France, England, Conflict, Family, Award Winning Author, Aotearoa New Zealand Author, Series, Magic, Fantasy)

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Ash’s mum was known as a mammoth whisperer, and as Ash grew up, she learnt everything she could about these amazing animals. Ash lives on a remote and high security Research Base in the Arctic with her dad. She misses her mum who has passed away, but she remembers her mum’s advice.

Struggling with dyslexia and other learning challenges, Ash hates her schooling – whether it be in the classroom or remotely at the base. It takes her so long to read and understand everything before she even tries to answer the maths problems or writing exercises. But she knows she must do well to be able to work alongside her well respected father, with the mammoths she loves so much.

Her mother’s words and skills come when they’re needed one day on the ice, and Ash inadvertently bonds with a new and very special calf. It is pure white, and has been kept a secret from the outside world, but its existence is out and poachers are after it. Although against the rules, Ash names the calf by the sound it makes, and they get to know each other.

This growing bond is exactly what Ash needs when she and her friends realise that something is not right at an exclusive party at the base – for investors and interested scientists.

Suddenly it’s not only the white calf in danger, but Ash’s father, everyone on the base, and Ash and her friends too. They must work together to outwit a merciless group of trophy hunters while facing a reeling betrayal.

Mammoth Rider is full of action, ice, friendship dynamics, and mighty mammoths raging across the tundra!

Ash is a likeable character, wanting to do the best she can for these creatures that modern technology and science have brought back to life with the help of elephant DNA. She is dealing with the loss of her mum, but falls back on her mum’s mammoth advice again and again within this novel.

Three pre-teens up against the villains makes an exciting story, and their combined talents of mammoth knowledge, general smarts and sheer bravery and confidence, are used to try and prevent a terrible tragedy both for human and mammoth lives.

Lovers of Hannah Gold’s The Last Bear series will love Mammoth Rider. I mean who wouldn’t like a ride on one of these majestic creatures in a mad dash across the ice to save a megaherd of them!

Author – S J Poyton

Age – 9+

(2026, Simon & Schuster Australia, Harper Collins, Mammoth, Elephant DNA, Arctic, Research Base, Science, Albino Calf, Friendship, Danger, Courage, Snow, Animals, Climate Change, Environment, Revenge, Betrayal, Blended Family)

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Conrad prefers Herman to stay close to home and their bookshop. He has never forgotten losing their younger brother in Cook Strait and is fearful of anything happening to Herman. Living in Nelson at the top of the South Island of New Zealand, they have plenty of food and are safe from outside dangers.

Another dispute in their household is whether plentiful Nelson should help hungry and struggling Wellington, or stay safe and closed off from the world. Conrad believes their lives are better keeping to themselves, but Herman’s mum and uncle want to help.

Against all of their rules, Herman stows away on The Seeker until it is too late to turn around. Another terrible accident befalls the brothers, and Herman finds himself in an orphanage known as Castle Grim.

Suddenly his need for adventure and time away from his comfortable life in Nelson has turned into a terrible, dangerous and life threatening idea. Along with new friends made at Castle Grim, he suffers an endless work schedule, terrible food, and no knowledge of his uncle and father’s whereabouts.

But the bravery and knowledge from the other orphans of Castle Grim, it’s staff and surrounds, aids Herman to find all the courage he needs to help defeat pirates, gang leaders and his own fears. There is so much at stake and he must step up to save his entire family.

Castle Grim has everything that middle-grade readers love. Action, adventure, friendship, courage, pirates, an orphanage, along with a dystopian setting on a treacherous piece of ocean between New Zealand’s North & South Islands (Cook Strait).

There is no technology left, no knowledge of the outside world, and increasing food shortages, pirates and press gangs – making it a dangerous place indeed.

The main character’s viewpoint is joined by others as this exciting tale is told, giving readers the whole picture of Castle Grim, which increases intensity in both the threats to characters, and their plans to defeat the bad guys.

These ‘bad guys’ have been building their strongholds, members and ambitious plans for years and Castle Grim portrays it all playing out on vicious ship wrecker reefs, and the tumultuous waters of Cook Strait.

Winner of the Tom Fitzgibbon Award 2025, Castle Grim‘s author Shaun Barnett wrote it whilst looking out from his writing desk at the Pencarrow & Haewai Lighthouses, which star in his book.

I for one am glad that he stuck with Castle Grim over the 12 years in writing it. It’s a grand adventure with kiwi kids doing extraordinary things in a dystopian New Zealand.

Author – Shaun Barnett

Age – 10+

Publisher – Scholastic NZ

Set – Future Wellington / Cook Strait NZ

Viewpoint – Multiple – 3rd person

Violence – Yes

Real Life – Yes / Future Wellington / Nelson

Fantasy – No

Blend – Dystopian / Action / NZ

(2026, Scholastic NZ, Aotearoa New Zealand, Tom Fitzgibbon Award Winner, Award Winning Author, Cook Strait, Sailing Ships, Lighthouses, Books, Pirates, Wellington, Action, Adventure, Blended Family, Bullies, Courage, Crime, Dystopian, Friendship, Greed, Growing up, New Zealand, Poverty)

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Nantucket is more beautiful than imagined with golden beaches and sparkling clear waters in abundance. Meeting Todd’s golden-haired son Eric is an added bonus too. At least it will be a distraction from her melancholy after losing her best friend in an accident.

Todd and Mum announce that they expect Eric and Lucia to have summer jobs on the island, scarpering Lucia’s plans to just sleep and read and rest after a terrible year. Her new job in an ice cream store making smoothies is how she meets ‘the three’. This is the name she dubs three gorgeous teen girls who are full of life and don’t seem to care what anyone thinks about them. When they accept her into their fun, carefree group she relishes it.

Eric tries to warn her away from them, as he thinks they’re trouble, but Lucia enjoys breaking some rules for a change. Just when she is relaxing a little into her Nantucket summer, she discovers another girl on the beach… dead.

Lucia follows the news like a hawk, wanting to know who the girl was, and is increasingly alarmed that no one seems to know her, or report her missing. How can that be on such a small island?

The more she hangs out with ‘the three’, the more things don’t add up. Where do they get their money? Are they responsible for local thefts? Did they know the dead girl?

A YA murder mystery with a mythological twist.

“Nothing Bad Happens Here”, is the mantra of the island people of Nantucket, with their mansions, money and connections. So when a body is found, and a crime spree spreads, the tongues wag and fingers are being pointed at strangers on the island.

Main character Lucia is 16 and keen to break some rules, all the while filled with guilt at the death of her best friend back home. This guilt trickles through the story until she admits her part in it to a new brother-to-be family member.

A fish out of water in this glittering world of wealth, Lucia makes the most of it, trying to follow her mother’s rules, but wanting answers to a strange island crime. All the while, she is enjoying but wary of a group of girls who are equally fun and strange.

Author – Rachel Ekstrom Courage

Age – 13+

Find more YA Murder Mystery novels here

Publisher – Random House

Set in – Present / Nantucket

Point of View – 1st person

Violence – Yes

Real Life – Yes

Fantasy – Yes

Sex – No

Blend – Thriller / Mystery / Mythological Creatures

(2026, Random House, Mystery, Family, Crime, Blended Family, Friendship, Nantucket, Wealthy, Beaches, The Three, Parties,

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Moving from London has been a big change, but his mum brought Evan and his big brother Charlie to Wales, claiming it was more “home.” Evan has got used to his new life away from the city. He has plenty of time with his Grandad, especially now Charlie is off at University, and his dad stayed in London in his 19 year stint as the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera.

One thing that hasn’t worked out well in Wales, is school. Evan likes his teacher Mr Thomas, especially during history lessons in class. History is Evan’s favourite subject as events have already happened and they can’t change after the fact, can they? But Mum seems to thrive on change. She seems to get bored with jobs, after being a baker, a clown, and an exercise instructor. Now after moving them, she has another business idea involving spin classes and karaoke.

The problem with school is Mr Thomas’ son Kai, who is determined to make Evan’s life as horrible as possible. Evan hasn’t made any friends and feels the isolation, especially after a school trip goes wrong and Kai ridicules Evan for his fear of the dark. A trip down through a mine museum and down underground is far from fun for Evan, but he also experiences something strange that no one else knows about.

He tries to talk about it with Grandad, as he worked in the local coal mines, but Grandad refuses to be coaxed into his past. Grandad has been the best part of Evan’s new life, with outings, pizza and movie nights and lots of fun, but now he is changing too. He seems to be getting confused about a lot lately, and doing strange things.

The last straw is the news that Mum’s boyfriend’s daughter Melly is moving in with them, “for a while.” Melly’s dad has been living with them while his house is renovated, and another change in Evan’s life makes him wonder where he actually fits in any more.

Mum’s mantra of, “…we’ll figure something out,” just isn’t good enough any longer.

Although there is a horse on the cover and pony is even in the title, there isn’t a strong flavour of horse or pony in The Shadow Pony. Sure, readers will learn about the shocking amount of pit ponies used in UK coal mines in the past, but this heart warming novel is really about a blended family, and a boy trying to find his place as it moulds and moves, and changes around him.

Relationships bend and almost break but not forever, and a mother’s way of putting problems aside until later, highlights problems that arise if the time is not taken to deal with them.

Dementia is a strong theme in this novel as a beloved Grandad struggles with change as much as his grandson does, but the bond between them is lovely. My heart was breaking for main character Evan when time with his beloved Grandad seems to be slipping away from him.

There is a lot going on in this novel, but that’s true in real life too. 

Author – Olivia Wakeford

Illustrator – David Litchfield

Age – 10

Publisher – Harper Collins UK

Set – Small town, Wales / Present

Viewpoint – 1st person, direct to reader

Violence – No

Real Life – Yes

Fantasy – A little

Blend – Real Life / Family / Change and Growing up

(2026, Harper Collins UK, Wales, Rugby, Pit Ponies, Mine Museum, Fear of the Dark, Class Bully, Bipolar, Dementia, Memory, Change, Animals, School, Family, Blended Family, Growing up, Bullies, School Project)

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It does help that Ruth’s might-be cousin Dylan is there too. In fact the whole family has turned up. What was supposed to be a couple of screen-free days with family, is stretched into more when a someone gets bitten by a snake and ends up in hospital. They decide to wait for his release, when something even worse happens. GG is murdered!

It’s a shock. No-one is particularly close to her, but still, she was alive when they all went off to bed, then suddenly she wasn’t. The murder weapon seems to be the unlikely and strange choice of GG’s own typewriter.

After the shock of a death in the family, and murder at that, Ruth’s clue finding, detective-wannabe mind kicks in. She quickly ropes Dylan into the sleuthing and together they piece together motives, clues, missing items, and strange behaviours.

Who killed GG?

Despite her dad trying to keep her away from all the discussions, she won’t quit on this mystery.

Was it an aunt who really wasn’t? A long lost son after GG’s money? Grandad’s love child lost to the family when adopted out as a child? A couch surfing surfer? Or maybe someone else in the family with hidden agendas?

With multiple awards to it’s name, My Family and Other Suspects deserves every accolade. This murder mystery is funny, clever, brilliantly plotted, and has a killer ending. (Scuse the pun).

Ruth is hilarious, talking directly to the reader as she unravels clues, crushes on her might-be cousin, second guesses herself one moment and takes giant risks with her assumptions the next. She, along with her aunts all swoon (just a little), as the hunky neighbour comes to condole them after a death in the family.

Blame flies from one family member to the next in Ruth’s mind, but surprises and secrets are everywhere, and untangling them all takes Ruth on all manner of trajectories. Bit by bit, clue by clue, she begins piecing them together to find the culprit – all while mocking the reader with questions on how well they’re doing with their own investigations and puzzle solving.

A murder mystery like no other, My Family and Other Suspects is captivating. 

Author – Kate Emery

Age – 12+

Awards:

• Selected, One of the Best Young Adult Books for 2024 – Readings Books, 2024, AU
• Winner, Best Young Adult Fiction, Indie Book Awards, 2025, AU
• Notable Book, Book of Year: Older Readers, CBCA Awards, 2025, AU
• Shortlisted, Best Young Adult Cover, Australian Book Design Awards, 2025, AU
• Winner, John Marsden Book of the Year for Older Children, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2025, AU
• Winner, Young Adult Book of the Year, WA Premier’s Book Awards, 2025, AU
• Longlisted, Best Young Adult Crime Fiction, Davitt Awards, 2025, AU

Publisher – Allen & Unwin

Set in – Contemporary Rural Australia

Viewpoints – 1st person – Direct Address

Orphan – No (Parents apart)

Violence – Minimal

Real Life – Yes

Fantasy – No

Sex – No

Blend – Mystery / Humour / Family Dynamics

(2026, Allen & Unwin, Blended Family, Crime, Family, Humour, Murder, Mystery, Real Life, Secret, Cousins, Grandmother, Fraud, Clues, Award Winner, Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards Winner, 2025 ABIA Winner, Australian Books Industry Awards, Sherlock Holmes & Watson)

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“Hello Daddy!” says a tiny yellow bird.

“I’m not your Daddy. I’m a bear, and you look like a gosling.”

But no matter how many times Bear reminds the little goose, Gozzle set her eyes and heart on being a Gozzle-Bear.

Gozzle follows Bear up trees, into fields, across rivers, and she falls asleep with him in his cave at night.

The seasons pass and Bear still can’t go back to life on his own. By Summer, Gozzle is looking much more like a grown-up goose, and much less like a Gozzle-Bear. But it’s only another young goose that convinces her the truth.

Just when Bear had got used to sharing his life with Gozzle, she decides she likes hanging out with her new feathered friends instead.

Will she come back?

An adorable story about family, identity, and the passing of seasons. This shows the normal cycle of a goose from gosling to growing up to fly away for winters.

Just like in the huge hit Wild Robot by Peter Brown, there is someone waiting for her when she returns.

Author – Julia Donaldson

Illustrator – Sara Olgivie

Picture Book

(2025, MacMillan UK, Animals, Bear, Gosling, Goose, Love, Seasons, Bond, Cave, Identity, Care, Family)

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Her Aunt Desdemona is a clairvoyant who helps people with their paranormal questions, and is Evie’s loving guardian. Evie isn’t sure what her aunt has against the abandoned slaughter house, except for the story of a local man who is infamous for his crimes. Long gone, his creepy legend remains in their small town called Blight Harbour. The abattoir is connected to this killer so that at least is one reason to stay away.

There are other spooky places around town, but the occupant ghosts and witches are widely accepted by the human residents of Blight Harbour.

Evie moved in with her aunt four years before, after losing her parents to a house fire. Despite having a memorial for her parents, Evie believes that somehow, somewhere, her parents are alive.

Her aunt Desdemona has become her family, her person, her rock. So when she tells Evie she is going to the abattoir, Evie is keen to go too. Not just for her own curiosity, but to make sure nothing happens to the only family she has left.

But when the abattoir’s terrible reputation proves itself, Evie must place everything on the line, face her fears and fight her panic attacks, to save her Aunt D.

The Clackity lives inside the abattoir. It’s a terrifying creature, with a deal for Evie. A deal with no other choice….

Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Middle Grade Fiction 2022, The Clackity is a truly, terrifying tale.

The cleverly constructed plot takes the reader and character through a series of ghastly challenges and tests. Evie meets all manner of menace along the way, in order to save a beloved family member.

Evie is a likeable character with everything on the line, which forces her into ghastly situations again and again. Forced to make decisions constantly, and using both everyday items and magical gifts, she navigates a world of monsters, endless black depths, and a trio of witches, all with a serial killer who has been dead a 100 years, on her trail.

This novel is followed up by The Nighthouse Keeper & The Loneliest Place, continuing the story of brave Evie Von Rathe in her small town full of supernatural neighbours and the parallel land that lives within it.

Author – Lora Senf

Illustrator – Alfredo Cáceres

Age – 10+

(2025, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Monsters, Witches, Paranormal, Parallel World, Deal, Serial Killer Ghost, Action, Adventure, Betrayal, Blended Family, Courage, Crime, Family, Horror, Fantasy, Ghost, Grief, Murder, Series, Aunt, Librarian, Clairvoyant, Panic attacks)

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Completely out of the blue, Matilda receives an email from her father. He’s inviting her to his home on Beechwood Island and has a gift waiting for her. Her father is none other than Kingsley Cello, an artist whose works sell for millions of dollars. He’s been called a visionary, a genius, reclusive, mysterious, and is a God in the art world.

Now that Matilda’s mother has left her to go and live with her new boyfriend, and Matilda has broken up with her own – she decides that she has nothing to lose. Maybe meeting her father will give her the ‘something’ she is missing and help her explain her constant need to sketch and draw maps and designs for possible computer games? She sets off for the home of her father called Hidden Beach.

When she arrives after long flights, air sickness and the worry she’s made a terrible mistake, she meets a boy called Meer who is her half brother. His mum June lives in the seaside mansion too, along with two other guys near her age. But the one person she travelled all those hours for is absent.

Disappointed but fascinated by this huge house and the reasons the guys named Brock and Tatum are there, Matilda decides to stay. Seeing her father’s work makes her realise all his kudos in the art world is understandable. His work stirs something deep in Matilda, and she can’t wait to tell him in person.

However, Kingsley Cello is an enigma, not ruled by anyone’s rules but his own. He comes and goes where and when he pleases, and just because he wanted to see her last week, doesn’t mean he still wants the same a week later. This information is shared by Meer’s mum, June, and the tension between her and Matilda builds the longer she is on Beechwood Island.

Feeling increasingly unwelcome by anyone but Meer, Matilda wonders whether she should give up and go home. But this is her only chance to know more about her father’s branch of the family tree. Is she related to the wealthy Sinclair family who lost teens in a fire on the island? Why has her father painted a picture of her floating alone in a boat, and why won’t he return home when he invited her there in the first place?

As a huge fan of We Were Liars, I had to dive back into another ya novel by E Lockhart, not bothered whether it was linked or not. We Fell Apart can be read on it’s own, but there is a definite link to the Sinclair family tragedy. It’s interesting to see their plight from an outside point of view of people who lived nearby on the same island.

A warning though – if you read We Fell Apart, I guarantee you’ll want to know more about the gutted burnt shell of the mansion the characters visit, and who the Sinclair family are.

We Fell Apart is definitely intriguing, and more so the longer you read. It is a deep dive into one young woman’s discovery of family, self, past secrets and current lies. A surprising reveal is entertaining, with an enemies to lovers thread, and a satisfying ending.

Author – E Lockhart

Publisher – Allen & Unwin

Age – 12+

(2025, Allen & Unwin, Family, Blended Family, Secret, Betrayal, Mystery, Series, 2012, Sinclair family, Finding family, Father, Alternate lifestyles, Island, Wealth, Art, Discovering the truth, Paintings, Portraits, Seaside Mansion)

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There’s a boy in town called Donnie. He’s larger, faster and good at all the things Rav isn’t, and he reminds him every time he sees him. Not just with words either. Rav isn’t brave enough to fight back, and he doesn’t have any friends to help him do it, so avoidance of Donnie is key. It doesn’t help that their fathers both work at the slaughterhouse in their small town called Slaughterville.

Late one night, Rav is still awake and he sees something he’s not supposed to. Across the street at midnight, seven children climb out of a truck with bags, parasols, and soft toys tucked under arms, and go into the empty house belonging to their old neighbour. Intrigued, Rav says nothing to his parents, watching and waiting to see who the children are and why they moved in at midnight.

To his wonder, he slowly makes his first real friend in a girl his age named Virginia. She’s clever, and bold, and completely unafraid of Donnie. She doesn’t laugh at Rav’s name, his bird boxes or the way he does things. In fact, she tells him he’s gold. Over time they become closer, and finally Virginia tells him the answer to a question he’s been dying to ask. Why did they move in at midnight?

He can hardly believe the life Virginia and her brothers and sisters have been living, and what’s waiting for them if they are discovered. When the worst person in town discovers their secret, Rav knows he must step up and prove he really is best friend material.

The Midnight Children is pure Gold! Dan Gemeinhart does it again and again. The Coyote Sunrise duology, then Busted and now The Midnight Children – left me beaming at another wonderful story for middle grade readers. With just a touch of magic (a teensy bit really – but just perfect), this tale of choices, courage, cows and friendship will touch the heart and soul of any reader.

Main character Rav wants a friend, and wants to be brave, and wants to do things other kids do in his town – someday. But with the arrival of seven children aged from 5 to 17, all of his wishes and hopes do too.

Beautifully told in third person, sprinkled with chapters from a villain’s point of view, the two narratives weave together tighter and tighter to become a nail-biting, thrilling, and frightening finale.

Rav has a chance to be all the things his new friend says he is. Brave, smart, kind and… gold.

The Midnight Children brilliantly culminates in another heart hug from the pen of Dan Gemeinhart.

Just wonderful!

Author – Dan Gemeinhart

Age – 8+

(2025, Square Fish Publishing, St Martins Press, Blended Family, Bullies, Courage, Friendship, Historical, Love, A Little Magic, Secret, Hiding, Small town, Raft Race, Hunter, Souls, Bird lover)

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It feels strange to be back on the island without their grandmother, and the home the locals just call The House, is quiet and strange without her. Mind you, Gwen still remembers her eccentric Grandma, with her belief in monsters and learning to face and fight your fears.

As the oldest, Gwen looked after her siblings through their mum’s illness, and isn’t happy that Henry is planning to hire someone to look after them while he finds work on the mainland. She is adamant they don’t need a babysitter.

A woman arrives, and she is young, pretty and kind. Henry seems relieved, and the twins and Roger warm to her, but Gwen is wary. Something is not quite right with Esme Laverne.

Henry is happy to leave his stepchildren in the care of this local island woman, brushing off Gwen’s worries. He cooks and cares for them as well as he can when he’s home from work, but begins to struggle with his oldest stepdaughter as she insists Esme isn’t who or what she claims to be.

Gwen thinks of their Grandma’s words and warnings from years before, and knows she must stand up to whatever is taking over the house and her siblings. She must be brave, face her fears and the fight that is coming…

Set on a sparsely populated island that is cut off from the mainland daily by the tide, GLOAM is an eerie, atmospheric read within a large old house, that was once an inn where Dick Turpin is said to have stayed.

There are creepy places in and outside of the houses, where the characters must venture, in a fight for their lives. The backstory of the house and main character’s relationship with her strange but loving grandmother, is well written and draws the reader in further.

The further into the novel you get, the creepier it becomes – just as it does for four siblings who must believe in each other in order to survive something truly evil.

I read GLOAM in one sitting. Great read!

Author – Jack Mackay

Age – 10+

(2025, Oneworld Publications, Horror, Old House, Siblings, Stepfather, Monsters, Fears, Spooky, Eerie, Scary, Island, Sinister, Action, Blended Family, Courage, Family, Fantasy, Love, Grandmother, New Home, Memories)

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Worries of Japanese forces invading Australia encourage even more young men to sign up to fight, and one such young man is Ossie.

Ossie only has one member of family, and that is Lucky – his strange looking, one-eyed companion that he hates to leave behind. Ossie had heard of a lady called Mrs Plum, who takes in servicemen’s dogs until they return from war.

But Mrs Plum already has over 40 dogs – and she can hardly feed them, let alone another. Kat steps in to foster Lucky, and soon her life changes again.

Kat and Lucky build a close bond, while Kat helps Mrs Plum with the other dogs in all of her spare time.

The war rages on as rations get tighter and letters and postcards travel between Kat and Ossie. They too develop a friendship, and through Lucky, something more.

The first time it happened, Kat isn’t sure what to believe. When it happens to Ossie, he is just as surprised. Neither tell anyone that they seem to be able to reach across the miles and ‘see’ each other and their surroundings.

One such ‘visit’ is the sight of a bright light and a mushroom cloud which engulfs the sky, and scares Kat. She’s frightened for Ossie’s safety when she learns what it was.

Will Ossie return for Lucky? Did he survive the bomb so powerful, it turned cities to dust?

Another thought provoking historical novel for older tweens and young teens, from an author who is an expert in this genre.

Again and again, Jackie French has brilliantly portrayed a time in history for children and teens, this time showing a young Australian soldier (Ossie), and then his time as a POW (prisoner of war) in a Japanese camp.

The other point of view in this excellent novel is from Kat, a young teenage girl who met Ossie in small town Australia, just before he signed up. Their link through Ossie’s dog will entertain animal lovers too.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a shock to the world, but there is more to it than most know and along with the author afterword, The Mushroom in the Sky is an engaging novel.

Jackie French historical novels always seem effortlessly written, but much research is undertaken beforehand and whilst writing – the author herself admitting she is a stickler for the facts (as much as possible to keep the story flowing).

As always with Jackie’s novels – I loved it.

Author – Jackie French

Age – 11+

Want to see more Jackie French novels? See here.

(2025, War, WWII, World War 2, Atomic bombs, Nuclear, Japan, Honour, Surrender, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Dogs, Love, Connection, Letters, POW, Prisoner of War, Australian soldiers, Historical)

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Living in a cul-de-sac provides a safe space to get to know all the other cats that live there, and he makes close friends of Coco, Daisy, Freddie and Toffee. There are two other cats in their close-knit neighbourhood, who don’t fall under Pusskin’s natural grace and charm.

Monster has an owner but lives like a feral, beating up any cat he can ambush, and Cleopatra is a cat only spoken of in hushed tones. She is said to live in a wardrobe in her human’s home and she never leaves the house, let alone speaks to anyone. It is claimed she is a seer and as wise as the Egyptian cats of old.

Life is fairly peaceful in the cul-de-sac until a new human government begins to enact a new law upon the cat population. Bird numbers are declining rapidly, and cats are made the villains. Feral cats are first to go, but when domestic cats join the cull list, Pusskin knows he must do something. With a well thought out plan and then some faith in his mother’s words breathed long ago, Pusskin leads his friends from the only homes they’ve known and out into an adventure.

The Incredible Journey was one of my favourite novels as a child, and The Last Journey instantly grabbed my attention.

The Last Journey however is not just a journey made by animals. Instead of pets making their way back to their family as in Sheila Burnford’s classic, these cats are leaving all they know and love behind as a panicking authority rules that cat’s must be culled to save birdlife.

What follows is an exciting adventure with both loveable and flawed cat characters as they look for a new home. Despite the title, the journey is only part of the tale, and the reader gets to see what happens well after they reach their destination, allowing even more investment in the cat characters.

Feline action, adventure, love and friendship, with a thought provoking environmental theme underpinning the tale – The Last Journey will be loved by cat fans and animal lovers across the world.

Author – Stacy Gregg

Age – 8+

(2025, Simon & Schuster, Animals, Adventure, Courage, Environment, New Zealand, Blended Family, Cats, Journey, Special, Prince, Island, Cull, Blame, Loss of Animal Diversity, Escape, Teamwork, Kittens)

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In a world of empty and eerie cities after an apocalypse of man vs machine, Jen and her father are in constant survival mode. Gangs of armed men and women will stop at nothing to gain food and weapons, so Jen and ‘Father’ try to steer clear of them as much as possible.

When they discover a compound of people who are growing their own food and working together, Jen is keen to stay with them. But they haven’t shared the whole truth with these kind strangers, knowing what the outcome will be.

But this compound has its own dark secrets, and its reveal explains so much of their shared and devastating past.

Middle-grade dystopian at its best, AFTER is a compelling read. It’s easy to even imagine it as a movie. The relationships between man and machine are both terrible and wonderful and as each truth behind them are revealed, the story becomes even more gripping.

I loved this novel even more than Stitch, also by Pádraig Kenny.

The publisher description of ‘The Last of Us meets Wall-E‘ is spot on.

Author – Pádraig Kenny

Illustrator – Steve McCarthy

Age – 9+

(2025, Walker Books, Dystopian, Post-Apocalypse, Relationships, Man vs Machine, Survival, Community, Lies, Betrayal, Father & Daughter, Courage, Power, Technology, Secrets, Family)

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And to top it off? His goldfish looks seriously ill. He certainly isn’t living up to his name – Han Solo. Mind you, he never was a very energetic fish, and the green slime around his bowl probably isn’t helping. This just makes Jasper feel even worse, even though he knows it’s his fault.

Everything just feels so hard. His mum’s news about her boyfriend moving in doesn’t help, or the looks from his Year 9 Dean when he’s late for school, again.

But the worst thing, the worst of everything is the bear.

It turned up in his dreams when he was younger. It seemed to go away for a while, but it was back. Telling Jasper how useless he was and he was going to get him once and for all. Jasper’s lack of sleep is not helping at all, and when he realises the Bear has followed him to school – he snaps. More trouble.

The only light between all the dark thoughts and feelings swallowing him bit by bit is Nina. She’s smiled at him, and been kind when others laughed. Jasper has no friends any more, but maybe Nina might be a friend one day?

Before that can happen, Jasper goes through even worse turmoil, pushing everyone who loves him away, leaving his mum distraught, confused and worried. Jasper knows he must change. He knows he must confront the Bear.

Winner of the 2024 Storylines Tess Duder YA Award, BEAR is amusing, tender, painful and beautiful as m/c Jasper emerges from anxiety and depression with love and care of those around him.

This journey is far from smooth, destructive, angry and hurtful sometimes, but through art, support, love and understanding, this 13 year old boy fells his inner foes and learns to deal with his outer ones.

Another special element of this YA novel is the dozens of pencil sketches throughout as Jasper tells his tale. Along with the larger font and white spaces the illustrations help provide, this make BEAR an much more engaging read for reluctant readers.

Perfect for any teen struggling with dark thoughts, self doubt, or anxiety, as Jasper is very relatable and authentic. 

Author – Kiri Lightfoot

Illustrator – Pippa Keel Situ

Age – 13-16

(2024, Allen & Unwin, Winner of the 2024 Storylines Tessa Duder YA Award, Anxiety, Depression, Worry, Worries, What Ifs, Self Doubt, Change, Missing Dad, New Stepdad, Relationships, Trouble, Anger, Lashing out, Destructive)

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He can see it’s injured and isn’t sure what to do, but leaving it hurt isn’t an option. Telling someone he trusts about what he’s found is just as difficult, and with a few well placed questions to his vet stepdad, he knows what he must do.

With his secret safe and hopefully getting well with his help, he breathes a little easier. But that doesn’t solve the bigger problem in his life. Thomas is the target of a boy called Eddie. Ever since Thomas was in an accident, he has developed a stutter. This gives Eddie reason to tease him. Going to the same school and living in a small seaside town, it’s hard to avoid Eddie, but he does his best. But Eddie won’t leave him be. When Eddie blames Thomas for the loss of his cellphone, Eddie steps up his bullying campaign.

Keeping his new dragon friend a secret, avoiding Eddie and wondering when he’ll see his dad again, Thomas has a lot on his plate. But with friends, both human and magical, Thomas finds solutions to not only his problems, but his entire town’s safety too.

At only 120 pages and the striking cover of a taniwha on the cover, young readers will definitely snap this off the shelves. Susan Brocker has many fans, and this new book will capture animal lovers, dragon lovers and those who love an authentic kiwi read.

Bullying is the main theme within Eye of the Dragon, with both children and adults as perpetrators. Imaginations will fire as readers dream of finding their own dragon or taniwha in a hidden cave, then bonding with them to aid in every day problems.

Secrets, dragons, a cute wee dog and rising tension throughout will keep even reluctant readers reading Eye of the Dragon.

Author – Susan Brocker

Age – 10+

Publisher – Scholastic NZ

(2024, Scholastic NZ, Blended Family, Action, Animals, Fantasy, Friendship, Greed, Environment, Aotearoa, New Zealand, NZ, Bullies, Secret, Beach, Cave, Dog, Bully, Threats, Bullying, Taniwha, Dragon, Injury)

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One night, Jack hears upset in his home and after doors are slammed, his Dad leaves. Life is different with just Mum, but he tries to be brave. At least he still has DP by his side, who knows how Jack is feeling without him saying a word.

More changes are on the way, including a man named Brendan and his daughter Holly. At first Holly and Jack get on well, but Holly is becoming a teenager and things start going wrong. It all culminates in an argument and DP is suddenly…..gone!

Jack can’t believe it. How can it be? Gone? Surely DP can be found? But alas, the only fix is a new, small, soft toy pig. But this one doesn’t look right, smell right, and couldn’t ever possibly be right.

But it’s Christmas Eve, and special things happen on this night. The new Christmas Pig tells Jack he can help him find DP. They only have until midnight to do it, otherwise they’ll be stuck in the Land of the Lost forever.

The Land of the Lost is a place where things are put somewhere different, mislaid, been careless with, or lost by mistake. Jack and Christmas Pig (CP), discover different towns in this land, and depending on how or when you were lost, depends on which town you live in. You are sorted by loss adjusters. These are usually knives, boots, mallets or other pointy things, and they can be truly awful to lost things.

Things must stay in the place they are sent to, and human boys are definitely not permitted in this land. But Jack is determined and CP brave, so they continue their search for DP.

There is a castle where other things are lost. Ambition, Happiness, Hope and Principles are waiting for their owners to get them back so they too can leave the Land of the Lost.

Time is ticking by however, and Jack and CP are being hunted down. They have heard all the stories of The Loser who will take their life force from them if they are never found by their human owners. Will they ever find DP in time, and then what will happen to CP?

The Christmas Pig is essentially a Christmas story, but is also a clever fantastical adventure quest to find a beloved toy. The Land of the Lost is a place where all lost things end up, whether it be something as inconsequential as a used ticket stub, a marble, a broken compass, or something like ambition, happiness or even hope.

This is a clever concept, and I could relate to all the lost things and their situations. The feelings were the most profound for me as of course, we can lose them just as we can lose a first draft of a poem, an expensive earring, or a lunchbox. All of these ‘things’ star in this story.

The Christmas Pig is scary in places and not for the faint-hearted. It has everything a good story needs however. A likeable main character who goes on a quest to find a loved one, making new friends, defeating enemies, and is courageous along the way – and when it really matters.

The ‘ticking clock’ scenario adds even more excitement and tension.

Jim Field’s wonderful illustrations add even more to this tale that can be read any time of the year.

Author – JK Rowling

Illustrator – Jim Field

Age – 8+

Learn more about this book here

(2022, Hachette, Christmas Eve, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Magic, Land of the Lost, The Loser, Lost things, Courage, Bravery, Lost Items, Stuff, Family, Changes, New Home, New School, New step dad, New step sister, Upheaval, Favourite Toy)

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This birthday party is what she looks back on a year later when her family is smashed beyond repair, her country is trying to extricate itself from the chaos and turmoil it has been subjected to, and she’s reeling with loss and loneliness.

An MP had risen to power quickly on a vehicle of hate, racism, prejudice and lies. First it was letters to the public, reassessing whether they ‘belonged’ in the UK. It didn’t matter if they were born there, or what their profession is. When Clem’s super organised, doctor and loving step mum Claudia receives such a letter, the entire family is stunned.

Clem’s father is among many wanting to resist this regime and he becomes part of a resistance group. But it seems no one can hide from the authorities. When Clem herself must flee, she sets off to her Grandpa’s home in the country. There is no escaping the new regime however and Clem’s life is far from normal here too.

All she wants is for life to return to normal, but she knows that events along the way will never allow the old normal to return. The UK spirals even further into hate, suspicion and loss and Clem doesn’t know where to turn or who to trust.

A dystopian novel that seems scaringly close to possible, with immigration around the world stirring up bigotry, suspicion and lies. The slide into chaos around main character Clem and her family is gradual at first, with no one believing the key instigator will ever rise to power. Using media and propaganda to spread hate and lies, the downward spiral speeds up and everything the characters think impossible comes barging through their front door.

This story is told in pieces by main character Clem to a patient and kind social worker. A fairytale narrative runs alongside the real one as another story thread, and the secrets Clem holds are kept until she must finally reveal them. These twists surprised me more than once and made me reach for the tissues, for good and bad reasons.

An all too possible future which started with the unbelievable and became the unthinkable.

Novels like The Things We Leave Behind are so important to show us what is possible in our troubled world. 

Left me a little shell-shocked.

Author – Claire Furniss

Age – 12+

(2024, Simon & Schuster, Dystopian, Love, Family, Secret, Grief, Friendship, Prejudice, Racism, Loss, Journal, Fairytale, Chaos, Martial Law, Soldiers, Checkpoints, Rationing, London, Sisters, Blended Family, Riots, Hide)

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Lodyma has other things collected from the past and a world Basti never experienced. Basti was born into this new harsher world, with less people, and the ongoing threat of illnesses sweeping through populations at random.

“Far as I can tell, the big collapse was when the climate got hotter, the cities washed into the sea and the pollution and diseases took out most of the people.”

Now it is most dangerous for men and older boys to live in the towns, as they are more susceptible to the virus’. Most have left their families and live in the hills away from people, surviving on what they can catch and kill.

Farm stock are non-existent due to the illnesses that spread from them to humans. Chickens are also under suspicion by most and rare for the same reason.

Basti, Lodyma and their town, barter, exchange and look out for one another. But Basti believes Lodyma only took her in because she was missing her son who she’d sent into the hills alone, to protect him from the sickness.

Basti reveres her home in Lodyma’s caravan and when another child arrives, she worries she will lose her position as Lodyma’s apprentice. She knows she has always worked hard for Lodyma, but can this young, clever, and spirited newcomer take her place?

Based in an all too possible future, Bren MacDibble takes readers into a different way of life. Less people, and more care within communities, but within a subsistence, bartering world with simple pleasures and no electricity.

I found the backdrop of main character Basti’s world fascinating as this is the only world she knows. Her guardian remembers how the world used to be and has survived the changes when many haven’t.

Basti herself is a caring, hard-working, and thoughtful soul, and has a knack for capturing the beautiful moments in life around her.

Regardless of the backdrop or the time it is set, the theme of a mother’s love is eternal wherever and whenever, and this is a key theme in The Apprentice Witnesser. Unsure where Basti fits within a family suddenly morphing before her, it is heart-wrenching to watch her uncertainty at her future.

Loved the ending.

Author – Bren MacDibble

Age – 9+

(2024, Allen & Unwin, Future, Dystopian, Blended Family, Animals, Growing up, Love, Women, Girls, Storytelling, Collecting stories, Miracles, Viruses, Illness, Population decimated, Climate changed world, Melted icecaps, Flooded coastlines, Subsistence living, Foraging)

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The fact that he is white with a fro does make him look a little different from his peers, but his best mate Aiden doesn’t think he looks weird, accepting Sam for who he is. Sam has always believed what his mum told him about his dad and he’s never been interested in the man that left his mother before he was born. At least until she tells him his dad is in town and wanting to meet him. Mum had never told him the whole truth.

Finally, Sam realises where his distinct hair comes from as his father is black South African, and his journey of figuring out who he really is, begins. He discovers he has more than just his father to add to his family tree, and through a school project about who he is and where he came from, he digs deeper into his true self.

It’s not a straight forward path, with a few bumps, much confusion and many misunderstandings to work through, but with his Mum and Nanna alongside (no matter how annoying or embarrassing they are), and his dad’s love and patience, Sam learns he’s not black and white, a white kid with a black dad or a black kid with white skin. He is Sam, a year 6 student of Wesley State Primary School with great friends, a loving extended family and a future to look forward to.

To and Fro made me laugh out loud in so many places as main character Sam learns who his father is and gets to know him. This humour is effortlessly woven through this story with a serious topic of understanding who you are as a mixed-raced person.

Learning his father is black helps Sam understand his distinctive afro, but there is so much more for Sam to learn about being black, even if he is white. His journey is brilliantly written and will help readers understand the complexities of being mixed-raced in a world that often labels and applies expectations to a person over the colour of their skin.

Sam isn’t the only one that ‘grows’ through the novel. His OTT teacher Mr Peacock has much to learn, as does his judgmental white grandmother, but the author keeps a light heartedness throughout with a farting dog (and Nanna), Sam’s horror at going through puberty, and his quick thinking and funny dialogue.

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel written from personal experiences by this author, and look forward to reading anything else he pens. 

Author – Anton Clifford-Motopi

Age – 10+

Learn more about Anton Clifford-Motopi here

(2024, Allen & Unwin, Humour, Funny, Mixed-Race, School Project, Family, Friendship, Family Secret, Being Yourself, Finding Yourself, Growing  Up, Puberty, Love , Blended Family, Black Dad, White Mum, Blackface, Fake Tan, Misunderstandings, South African, Real Life)

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