Another new month, and another post looking at what I read last month. I read 10 books in June ranging from children’s classics, to a verse novel to a historical nonfiction title. And, in the month that my own little cat book was released, I hope I can be forgiven that my favourite read was a doggy story – Dianne Wolfer’s Scout and the Rescue Dogs. Here’s the full list:

Books for Kids

• 1. Sunshine on Vinegar Street, by Karen Comer (Allen & Unwin, 2023).  I had to head to my local bookshop on release day to buy this one – because any new Australian verse novel is a cause for celebration.  The story of Freya, whose life is turned upside down when she moves to Abbotsford, away from everything she knows and loves. I love the use of different poetry formats, including the use of text and chat messages, and the importance of the setting  to really explore the theme of belonging.
  2. Scout and the Rescue Dogs, by Dianne Wolfer (Walker Books, 2023). I was lucky enough to read this ahead of having a double launch for this book and my own down in Albany. So I may be a bit biased in recommending this book, but if you know Dianne’s work you know that she is a wonderful writer, and this one is no exception. Young Scout has had a truly difficult year but spends her Christmas holidays helping rescue dogs, truckies and others.
  3. Leeva at Last, by Sara Pennypacker (Harper Collins, 2023).  I loved this author’s previous two books, especially Pax, so was delighted to see a new one.  A whimsical, heart warming story of a girl whose life so far has centred on keeping her parents happy, but who wants desperately to  to understand what people are for – and where she fits in the world.
  4. Secret Boat, by Mark Macleod & Helen Magisson (Dirt Lane Press, 2023)>
     It was a lovely surprised to receive this in the mail, having supported a Crowd Funder for it some time ago. A high quality hard cover collection of poetry for younger readers, suitable for individual reading and classroom use. It can be read cover to cover (as I did) but could also be dipped in and out of for one poem at a time. Magisson’s illustrations are delightful.
  5. The Borrowers , by Mary Norton (First Published 1952).  Another favourite from my child that I’ve been meaning to reread and, now, at last, have. I was obsessed with this book and its sequels when I was perhaps 7 or 8, and am glad that a reread did not disappoint.

1. 1. 1. Books for Young Adults

      2.  1. We Could Be Something, by Will Kostakis (Allen & Unwin, 2023).  Two overlapping stories: that of Harvey, whose dads are splitting up, and of Sotiris whose life is on the rise when his first book is published.  Told in alternating chapters and exploring coming out, coming of age and the importance of family and of friends.

Books for Adults

1. Becoming Mrs Mulberry, by Jackie French (HQ Fiction, 2023). I picked this up on a whim when I saw that Jackie  French was the author. Set in the years post World War 1 and exploring the impacts of war on both those who fought or served in other ways, and those wat home, long after the war is over. Agnes, who was studying for a medical degree, has had her studies impacted first by the war and then by a marriage to a wealthy, but shell-shocked, husband. A chance discovery of a traumatised child is at the centre of  her gradual  realisation of what she wants her new life to look like.
2. Untamed, by Glennon Doyle (Vermilion, 2020). I read this a couple of years ago but, being a huge fan of Glennon’s podcast, I decided o was time to reread.  Hard to explain just why this book is so awesome – it is just a book that every woman should read. Perhaps the subtitle – ‘stop pleasing, start living’ is a hint why.

3. The Lost Man, by Jane Harper. Picked this one up in a Little Street library, and read it in a day. Set in remote Australia, as two brothers try to unravel what led their third to a lonely death on their remote property.
4. Women to the Front, by Heather Sheard & Ruth Lee (Ebury Press, 2019). Intriguing nonfiction about the Australian women who served as doctors in WW1. A piece of history I had been interested in, and now am even more fascinated by – but coincidental that I picked this one up before I realised this was also part of Mrs Mulberry (above).

1. 1. That brings my total for the year to sixty. I am well behind last year’s total of 169, but my plan this year was to read fewer but to read for deeper pleasure – and I’m achieving that.