3 Stars | Lost in a Good Book

Long Lost Review: Night Swimming by Steph Bowe

13 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Australian Women Writers, LGBTQIA, Long Lost Reviews, Young Adult Tags: #llr, long lost review, Long Lost Reviews, loveozya, steph bowe, three stars, young adult

Long Lost Reviews is a monthly meme created by Ally over at Ally’s Appraisals which is posted on the second Thursday of every month. The aim is to start tackling your review backlog. Whether it’s an in-depth analysis of how it affected your life, one sentence stating that you only remember the ending, or that you have no recollection of reading the book at all.

Published: 03 April 2017
Publisher: Text Publishing
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars

Imagine being the only two seventeen-year-olds in a small town. That’s life for Kirby Arrow—named after the most dissenting judge in Australia’s history—and her best friend Clancy Lee, would-be musical star.

Clancy wants nothing more than to leave town and head for the big smoke, but Kirby is worried: her family has a history of leaving. She hasn’t heard from her father since he left when she was a baby. Shouldn’t she stay to help her mother with the goat’s-milk soap-making business, look after her grandfather who suffers from dementia, be an apprentice carpenter to old Mr Pool? And how could she leave her pet goat, Stanley, her dog Maude, and her cat Marianne?

But two things happen that change everything for Kirby. She finds an article in the newspaper about her father, and Iris arrives in town. Iris is beautiful, wears crazy clothes, plays the mandolin, and seems perfect, really, thinks Kirby. Clancy has his heart set on winning over Iris. Trouble is Kirby is also falling in love with Iris…

I read this book in 2017 and unfortunately I recall absolutely nothing of it. So much so that every time I see my draft review for it (which literally only contains the blurb, not even a single note or thought) I think I need to reread it because I can’t even summon up any recollection at all. This has obviously not improved as the years went on and I still recall nothing and the hope of suddenly remembering pieces of plot diminished further. I should reread it, but for now I am making it a Long Lost Review because if these are for anything it is for those book we read in 2017 and remember nothing of it whatsoever.

I also feel given the passing of Steph Bowe that I should reread. And I may. But for now I will say I read it, gave it 3 stars, and nothing in the blurb sounds even remotely familiar. At a stretch I could say it was one of the earliest F/F books I’d ever read. Maybe the first? Seems like a hard thing to pin point but I do recall that being a stand out reading the blurb.

Whose Poo? by Daisy Bird

07 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: children's picture book, daisy bird, marianna coppo, picture book

Published: 07 Apr 2022
Publisher: Andersen Press
Illustrator: Marianna Coppo
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars

One day, Daddy Rat announces to his baby rats that he’ll be taking them to the zoo . . . but only if they’re good, which means no talking about poo! And yet, before the family can even leave the house, the two rascally siblings can’t help but wonder . . . what sort of poo would an astronaut do? Shiny, silver, space-age poo! Rocket-powered, weightless poo, and it spins round and round like a planet does, too!

Anyone who knows me knows I am an avid hater of picture books that fall into the lazy trap of farts, poop, and other bodily functions. I know the kids love them, but aside from being stupid, it’s also something celebrities easily get to publish and it feels like a storytelling cop out.

ANYWAY.

I know there can be good poop books, like the delightful The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business where our protagonist tries to find who pooped on his head. You wouldn’t think it adorable, but it is.

This is another one that balances a fine line. It is quite fun, our parent mouse is obviously sick of the kids always mentioning poo, and on their outing they have strict instructions to refrain from mentioning it.

I liked the work around the kids had, and I liked that their discussion of poo end up being fun imaginings of what it looks like from various people and animals they pass. I liked that tattooed people have tattooed poo, that balloon animal makers have balloon animal poo. I also liked the fun illustrations that match the poo to their shape.

In an easy to understand way, all the animals have the same kind of poo. This isn’t the place to learn about the different poos from butterflies and bats to snakes and people.

The story is told with a great rhyme. It’s a fun story that really plays into the taboo of poo and the sneaky ways the kids want to discuss it. The story isn’t all about jokes about poo. As the story goes on they discover what happens to the poo in the zoo and how it is used for growing plants and trees. It debunks the myth for the kids that’s there is anything special about poo, it’s the same for everyone, with a little bit of humour without taking it too far on the grotesque side.

Honestly, I can’t even believe I have typed and discussed poo so much in one review let alone at all, but here we are. Sometimes needs must.

If you’re like me and are sick and tired of the poo books, this one may be an ok compromise when the kids really want to laugh at the grubby side of things.

You can purchase Whose Poo? via the following

QBD | Blackwell’s

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Cone Dog by Sarah Howden

24 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: carmen mok, children's picture book, picture book, sarah howden, three stars

Published: 1 November 2023
Publisher: Owlkid Books
Illustrator: Carmen Mok
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ –3 Stars

One day, Emma the dog leaves the vet with a giant plastic lampshade on her head. It cuts off her corners, dulls her digging, and makes Garson the greyhound gawk. One thing is clear-the cone is not good, and the only thing left to do is sulk. When Emma’s human tries to cheer her up with a game of fetch, Emma discovers that the cone miraculously catches every ball she fumbles! Emma realizes the cone has other surprising advantages too, from serving as a helmet during her hallway hurtles to helping her dig at triple-speed. This fresh and funny follow-up to Cone Cat is a charming ode to ingenuity and making the best out of a ruff situation.

The story follows Emma the dog, who has gone to the vet for an unspecified reason and left wearing a “plastic lampshade” aka the cone of shame on her head.

I love the insight into Emma’s life as she works out what the cone is, explaining her previous antics getting stuck in various things. Howden does a wonderful job letting us into the mind of a dog and how having the cone of shame on would feel: impacting digging, being judged by other dogs etc. As the story goes on Emma realises the cone has a lot of benefits and uses it to play a trick on a local pest which is delightfully cute.

The illustrations by Mok bring out Emma’s moods and her activities while in the cone, perfectly reflecting the words on the page. The other people and animals around her are a good combination of realistic but there is also room for playfulness as well. The colour scheme is also gorgeous with full page colours managing to be both vibrant and subdued.

I’m not sure how long Emma keeps this cone on for, the seasons change which is interesting, but given the lovely autumnal colours at the start it might be only a few weeks.

As someone with a puppy who has had a cone on before it was delightful to see her experiences reflected in Emma’s actions (especially the sulking). It is a fantastic book at seeing cone life through the eyes of a dog, which also takes away some owner guilt at having put them in it in the first place.

You can purchase Cone Dog via the following

QBD | Blackwell’s

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Time of My Life by Mary Frame

09 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Audiobook, Fiction Tags: Audiobook, mary frame, rachanee lumayno, three stars, time loop

Published: 04 January 2021 (print)/10 August 2021 (audio)
Publisher: Self Published/Self Published
Pages: 270/6 hours, 32 minutes
Narrator: Rachanee Lumayno
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
★ ★ ★ – 3.5 Stars

Today is the worst day of Jane Stewart’s life. And she’s reliving it over and over (and over and over) again.

She’s late to the same make-or-break meeting.

She’s fired from the same soul-crushing job.

And—the cherry on top—she’s dumped by the same lying, selfish dirtbag.

But no matter how many times she relives the same disasters and no matter what she tries to change them, it all ends in the same abysmal mess. Because, apparently, being stuck in a time loop on the worst day of her life hasn’t cured her crippling social anxiety. Go figure.

The one bright spot? Her long-time crush wants to be more than friends…if only she can get them past their first date. And so her happily ever is doomed before it can even begin unless she can find a way to save her job, her heart, and, oh yeah, the space-time continuum.

I love a time loop story, and I like too one that plays with form, though there is something to be said for the classics too. This story dives into a bit of both.

Frame skips over multiple loops almost instantly which was interesting. Part of the fun of time loops is seeing the multiple early loops play out, but after a few the story skips and a lot of it is telling of what Jane has done instead.

There are a lot of deviations from the original day too, Jane changing up her routine almost instantly. Which is fine, but I was hoping for more exploration of the same day for a bit, it’s a core feature of the time loop I think to see characters adapt. This could easily be a time saving thing, and a chance to explore further down the line.

It isn’t all bad, I enjoyed the format in a few place where we see repeats of the same situation play out, but I still think it was an interesting choice to start skipping so soon. Jane comes to terms with it so quickly and it’s curious to see her shift in mindset.

The addition of magical realism – clearly proven early inclusion of magical realism – was also interesting. I like having a cause for these kind of situations. Mysteries are nice, but when something strange happens that has these kind of effects it’s fun.

I enjoyed the resolution to the loop. It was sweet but not over the top and it felt natural which is what you want with a story that has a little bit of magic in it.

Lumayno was a good narrator and it was an easy listening experience that let you fall into the story right away. It’s a relatively short story but one that tells a well-rounded narrative while still being light.

You can purchase Time of My Life via the following

Wordery | Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann

24 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Audiobook, LGBTQIA, Young Adult Tags: Audiobook, caroline sorunke, claire kann, lgbt, LGBTQIA, three stars, young adult

Published: 04 June 2019 (print)/2021 (audio)
Publisher: Swoon Reads/Spotify Audio
Pages: 352/9 hrs and 48 mins
Narrator: Caroline Sorunke
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars

Winnie is living her best fat girl life and is on her way to the best place on earth. No, not Disneyland–her Granny’s diner, Goldeen’s, in the small town of Misty Haven. While there, she works in her fabulous 50’s inspired uniform, twirling around the diner floor and earning an obscene amount of tips. With her family and ungirlfriend at her side, she has everything she needs for one last perfect summer before starting college in the fall.

…until she becomes Misty Haven’s Summer Queen in a highly anticipated matchmaking tradition that she wants absolutely nothing to do with.

Newly crowned, Winnie is forced to take centre stage in photoshoots and a never-ending list of community royal engagements. Almost immediately, she discovers that she’s deathly afraid of it all: the spotlight, the obligations, and the way her Merry Haven Summer King, wears his heart, humour, and honesty on his sleeve.

Stripped of Goldeen’s protective bubble, to salvage her summer Winnie must conquer her fears, defy expectations, and be the best Winnie she knows she can be–regardless of what anyone else thinks of her.

I almost gave up on this book quite early on. It was uninteresting and I wasn’t connecting to these characters or their weird small town celebration. It is one of those small town beauty pageants that is revered to only those in the town limits. Puddin’ had something similar which was also just as strange.

I persisted because I wanted to see the diversity rep, it had appeared on a few lists and I was reading it as a box ticker instead of any real interest in the plot. Thankfully it got better by the halfway point, by then you get to know the characters and could work around the weird stuff and pick out some good moments.

I liked Winnie, and I liked her opinions and her fight against injustice. The weird pageant isn’t as big of a plot point as I thought it would be which made it better. I zoned out on a few bits but it didn’t impact the plot or my understanding.

It is a great book for representation because it covers a lot of different experiences. Winnie is queer, kinda bi, kinda pan, but queer easily covers it. Despite armed with this knowledge I’m still not entirely sure what the deal is with Cara. There is mention of a queer platonic relationship which is fantastic, and she has been pegged as aromatic but it is vague within the story. Again, unspecified is totally fine, there doesn’t need to be neon signs and labels pointing everything out to a reader, but sometimes it is nice having things confirmed. I think the implications are enough to go on though, especially given Kann’s history of writing LGBTQIA rep.

Around the strong opinions and the personal strife the story does get boring again but you power through. There’s generational issues to explore plus there are good, serious, and honest conversations between friends and family members which is a nice change from unrealistically avoiding conversations for plot tension.

Overall it’s slow, it’s a bit boring, but I can see it is important and Winnie is a good character to tell the story. Sorunke is a decent narrator and brought Winnie’s voice to life. I liked that the ending wasn’t a perfect happily ever after. It felt real, and it felt hopeful, which is all you could ask for really.

You can purchase If It Makes You Happy via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible