Junior Fiction | Lost in a Good Book

Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

14 Apr 2026 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Audiobook, Junior Fiction Tags: alan gratz, Audiobook, bahni turpin, four stars, junior fiction

Published: 29 August 2017 (print)/29 August 2017 (audio)
Publisher: Starscape/Overdrive Listen
Pages: 256/5 hrs and 17 mins
Narrator: Bahni Turpin
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Contemporary Junior Fiction
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

An inspiring tale of a fourth-grader who fights back when her favourite book is banned from the school library–by starting her own illegal locker library!

It all started the day Amy Anne Ollinger tried to check out her favourite book in the whole world, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, from the school library. That’s when Mrs. Jones, the librarian, told her the bad news: her favourite book was banned! All because a classmate’s mum thought the book wasn’t appropriate for kids to read.

Amy Anne decides to fight back by starting a secret banned books library out of her locker. Soon, she finds herself on the front line of an unexpected battle over book banning, censorship, and who has the right to decide what she and her fellow students can read.

It’s always a weird novelty reading about USA book banning things because it’s baffling as an outsider. The school boards and random people being able to impact a school when I’d have thought there be a board of education that standardised things and had legislation about school requirements not one random lady with a misguided view of the world.

The story is actually better than the last couple I’ve read on this subject. This has actual change and action and isn’t just a shrug of shoulders and tuts at the unfairness. I love how the kids are the pillars of change/ They point out the ludicrousness of the banning and use it to their advantage in multiple ways. The technicalities and the loop holes are beautifully executed and for a bunch of nine and ten year olds it’s great to see. Be the change you want to see in the world and all that.

As a character I understood Amy Anne’s frustrations and the hassles of being in a house like hers. It’s good to see her grow in herself and have her family understand a bit more her needs. I enjoyed her realistic assumption of things and why she does what she does, shows a lot of wisdom without taking away the emotional and impulsiveness of being a child. Through Amy Anne Gratz shows that passion and feelings that can often overlook reason and logic.

Bahni Turpin does a good job narrating. Amy Anne’s voice comes across and while Turpin doesn’t make her voice younger, it is still a reasonable voice for the character.

Overall it’s a good representation of friendship, misunderstandings, and using the system to your advantage. Gratz shows the power of community, both positively and negatively, and provides hope and the possibility of growth and change for everyone.

You can purchase Ban This Book via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Exit Through the Gift Shop by Maryam Master

11 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Australian Women Writers, Junior Fiction Tags: aussie books, australian, australian women writers challenge, junior fiction, maryam master, three stars

Published: 21 July 2021
Publisher: Pan Australia
Pages: 216
Format: Paperback
Genre: Junior Fiction
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars

Anahita Rosalind Ghorban-Galaszczuk (yes, that really is her name but you can call her Ana) is discovering that life is absurd. As if dying of cancer at the age of 12.5 isn’t bad enough, she still has to endure daily insults from her nemesis, Alyssa (Queen Mean) Anderson. Ana’s on a wild roller-coaster of life and death, kindness and cruelty, ordinary and extraordinary. And she’s got a few things to do before she exits…

I enjoyed this book but it also got me really invested in some of the bullying aspects so there are some smidge spoilers in here. I tried to be vague but there are some mini spoilers ahead as my impassioned response took over.

Being a book about a child with cancer is going to divide a few readers. I think though that sometimes having a book where it isn’t doom and gloom is a powerful choice. It isn’t about the disease it’s about living life with the disease and Master has chosen that route well. The fact this side plots with a case of severe bullying was a wild decision but again, Master manages to tie into Ana’s life philosophy and really highlights her character and strength, even if I wasn’t pleased with some of the directions the plotline took.

I thought from the blurb this would be a general mean girl taunting situation, not full scale years of targeted horrific abuse. The description of bullying, and the years of emotional and borderline physical abuse this girls suffers is enough to break anybody. If she were a different person she could have taken it to heart and really withdrawn, hurt herself, or worse. It’s only that she’s kept a positive attitude and acknowledges the bad behaviour to make light of it, while still mentioning the dread it causes. ‘Recognise it, but ignore it’ is her approach.

I understand her plan of not saying anything, and not standing up for yourself. It’s hard. But I thought her new plan was brilliant. There are laws now, she found the right law, and she had the evidence. The plan was great, she finally told her parents. The fact she stops because she discovers something about her bully is ludicrous.

What if she never discovered that? What if the bullying got so bad she’d killed herself to escape it? What if she harmed herself because she believed what this girl was saying? I cannot believe after all the great things Master was putting in here that that was the result. There is being the bigger person and there is justifiable consequences for this horrific abuse.

“As horrid as Alyssa had been and continued to be, her life obviously sucked and getting the police involved wasn’t going to help anyone.”

Disagree. It will teach her a lesson and make her realise her behaviour. It might give her some help or support, or some perspective about other people. Tell her there are consequences for her actions and it could stop her doing it to someone weaker than Ana. Disgraceful.

I know we have to teach kids to be nice, but I think there is also an important lesson about teaching them when to avoid someone, tell and adult, and leave each other be. You can’t make someone forgive you or be nice to you after years of singled out, targeted bullying. Especially when it continued after the news came out this twelve year old was dying for goodness sake. If that doesn’t make someone come to their senses nothing will.

I wished there was less ‘make the bullied kid stand up for themselves’ instead of having a teacher and parents address the issue in a one on one situation. Let the adults know about what happens but make the kids deal with it isn’t a great solution.

I will stop going on about it, but it really got up my nose how Master executed this plotline, especially when we came so close to a real solution that could have real world positivity for readers who experience the same thing. Or might change their own behaviour as a result.

Other than that I enjoyed Ana’s approach to her diagnosis and her plan for the last part of her life. There are random references to hospitals and Ana’s weakening state but Master filters these in so well you forget sometimes that there is a physical toll of Ana’s condition. It is sad, but with Ana as our narrator she never makes us feel too depressed, she goes on with life plans and a smile and is taking her life into her hands. Ana’s voice is definitely the tone setter. It is surprisingly light-hearted and funny, she navigates things like family drama and puberty with grace and with as much ease as she gives her terminal diagnosis. She has a time limit on her life but there is still life happening in the meantime.

Her friendship with Al was great, he is a wonderful support for her as well as a distraction and a sounding board for her troubles.

I loved the ending because as readers we’re given no definitive answers. Ana’s philosophy about life is to be lived and how everything matters and nothing matters is a nice message and not having a solid ending leaves readers with hope even with the knowledge of the inevitability of it all.

You can purchase Exit Through the Gift Shop via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon Aust | Audible

Wundersmith (#2) by Jessica Townsend

05 Aug 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Audiobook, Australian Women Writers, Junior Fiction, Young Adult Tags: Audiobook, aussie, aussie books, australian women writers challenge, fantasy, five stars, gemma whelan, jessica townsend, junior fiction

Published: 30 October 2018 (print)/26 November 2018 (audio)
Publisher: Lothian Children’s Books/Hachette Australia
Pages: 467/11 hrs and 50 mins
Narrator: Gemma Whelan
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Junior Fiction Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Wunder is gathering in Nevermoor …

Morrigan Crow may have defeated her deadly curse, passed the dangerous trials and joined the mystical Wundrous Society, but her journey into Nevermoor and all its secrets has only just begun. And she is fast learning that not all magic is used for good.

Morrigan Crow has been invited to join the prestigious Wundrous Society, a place that promised her friendship, protection and belonging for life. She’s hoping for an education full of wunder, imagination and discovery – but all the Society want to teach her is how evil Wundersmiths are. And someone is blackmailing Morrigan’s unit, turning her last few loyal friends against her. Has Morrigan escaped from being the cursed child of Wintersea only to become the most hated figure in Nevermoor?

Worst of all, people have started to go missing. The fantastical city of Nevermoor, once a place of magic and safety, is now riddled with fear and suspicion…

I loved Nevermoor and Wundersmith exceeds it by being even more amazing. I loved seeing Morrigan’s growth as a person, in her abilities and this new world she has become a part of. The same fun and flighty characters are there but in new ways as more of the world and school is explored. Not to mention as new dangers arise.

There is a darker theme running under the story, but with this strange world Morrigan’s in there was always the capacity for darkness given we start off the series with her having a curse. It’s a dangerous world and seeing Morrigan try to understand it and navigate it is wonderful.

Jupiter is always a brilliant character, his erratic nature is balanced by his desire to protect Morrigan, but per usual he always knows more than he lets on and isn’t as flighty as he appears. There’s new and returning characters to fall in love with and the different knacks of the other people in Morrigan’s unit are creative and it shows that everyone’s abilities are diverse but can always have a use.

The lead up to the ending was absolutely divine. It brings together so much and plays out so brilliantly it was hard not to admire this book for those moments alone. I am so keen to see where Townsend is taking Morrigan’s story because I’m certainly hooked so far.

You can purchase Wundersmith via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Booktopia

Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl

22 Jul 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Junior Fiction Tags: four stars, junior fiction, quentin blake, roald dahl

Published: 1st November 1978
Publisher: Puffin
Pages: 32
Format: Paperback
Genre: Junior Fiction
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

The Enormous Crocodile is incredibly hungry-and incredibly greedy. His favourite meal is a plump, juicy little child, and he intends to gobble up as many of them as he can! But when the other animals in the jungle join together to put an end to his nasty schemes, the Enormous Crocodile learns a lesson he won’t soon forget.

I reread this book not that long ago and it is a lot longer than I remember it being. I was thinking it was a picture book but in reality it’s like a long book but in the style of a picture book, 32 giant pages with pictures but the length of a kid’s paperback in terms of words. Not that it isn’t still incredibly enjoyable and fun, but I was surprised. It’s quite wordy but despite this it isn’t a complicated story or overly detailed.

I love the crocodile’s plans to eat children. His cunning ideas would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the meddling animals getting in his way. I love a villain being a villain because they want to, no justification or backstory.

Once again the downfall is telling people your plans and think they won’t dob on you. In Dahl’s world the animals can talk to the humans and it’s a great parallel universe where nobody uses that to their advantage except to warn people about being eaten. There are also a lot of human activities right on the edge of the jungle so maybe that could be something they improve in the future after this determined crocodile’s schemes?

Blake’s illustration are classic as expected. The text fill up a lot of the page but the pictures integrated well around the text. The crocodile’s disguises and hiding places are clever and Blake balances larger scenes and simple pictures well.

There is a level of disbelief as with a lot of Dahl’s books and I like that it is clearly one bad crocodile that needs punishing, not all. There is balance and Dahl is clear that this one specific croc is naughty, not all crocs are children eaters (something I think Jaws could have tried).

This truly is a book that blurs the lines on whether it’s a picture book or not. There’s a lot of pictures, but there are also a lot of words so brace yourself going in that is isn’t the quick read you might be planning for.

You can purchase The Enormous Crocodile via the following

QBD | Angus & Robertson | Blackwell’s

Dymocks | Wordery

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy

08 Jul 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Audiobook, Junior Fiction, LGBTQIA Tags: Audiobook, julie murphy, junior fiction, phoebe strole, three stars

Published: 1 October 2019 (print)/1 October 2019 (audio)
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/Harper Collins
Pages: 273/6 hours, 20 minutes
Narrator: Phoebe Strole
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Contemporary Junior Fiction
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars

Patricia “Sweet Pea” DiMarco wasn’t sure what to expect when her parents announced they were getting a divorce. She never could have imagined that they would have the “brilliant” idea of living in nearly identical houses on the same street. In the one house between them lives their eccentric neighbour Miss Flora Mae, the famed local advice columnist behind “Miss Flora Mae I?”

Dividing her time between two homes is not easy. And it doesn’t help that at school, Sweet Pea is now sitting right next to her ex-best friend, Kiera, a daily reminder of the friendship that once was. Things might be unbearable if Sweet Pea didn’t have Oscar–her new best friend–and her fifteen-pound cat, Cheese.

Then one day Flora leaves for a trip and asks Sweet Pea to forward her the letters for the column. And Sweet Pea happens to recognize the handwriting on one of the envelopes.

What she decides to do with that letter sets off a chain of events that will forever change the lives of Sweet Pea DiMarco, her family, and many of the readers of “Miss Flora Mae I?”

This book was enjoyable, had a few issues, but for a book kids will read it was a nice story. There was a lot of diversity and insights into being a kid, body issues and friend dramas, as well as big family changes.

Being in year seven I think Sweet Pea is around 13, which explains the lack of critical thinking and the impulsive actions. But while she is sensible in some areas, and has a well-rounded view on others, she is still quite selfish and judgemental of those around her. Having a character like this is good because why should a kid be perfect when they are still growing, and hopefully this story is the start of her growth. She has a lot of important things happening in her life and her good intentions don’t always work out.

One things I thought was curious was there are no consequences for Sweet Pea hiding her father’s important mail or deleting phone messages. I felt that was the wrong message to send that even if Sweet Pea felt bad, no adult found out what she did and even when it was clear there would have been major consequences nothing seemed to come of it.

Opening all the mail was magically forgotten about too, as was reading everyone’s private letters to Flora Mae and then resealing them (perfectly somehow) and sending them on. Even though there are consequences for the ones she does deal with, it was a weird thing to leave unmentioned.

The way characters are described aren’t blended well, there is a lot of “there is a guy behind the counter, he looks like this and is wearing this” but imagine this for every person Sweet Pea sees. It’s takes you from the story a little, especially in audio form when you stop to describe someone then the story continues. It shows off good representation and shows diversity, even if it’s a one off background character, but the writing needed to make it more streamlined.

Another unrealistic thing is I cannot imagine her school calling her Sweet Pea, even if it has Patricia on her forms. What kind of awkward thirteen year old wants everyone calling her Sweet Pea, I feel that is prime humiliation, even in a small town and a small school. She can’t be awkward and anxious while also being on having everyone call her a personal nickname.

Strole does a good job as narrator, I liked her voice for Sweet Pea and aside from the clunky descriptions I fell into the story easily.

Overall I liked the story, even with the flaws. Murphy writes these characters who are imperfect and finding their way in the world. It’s a bold adventure and a lot of change for Sweet Pea but one I think would resonate with a lot of kids around the same age.

You can purchase Dear Sweet Pea via the following

QBD | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible