australian women writers challenge

Jacob’s Toys by Claudia Woods

31 May 2019 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Australian Women Writers, The Picture Book Corner Tags: #aww2019, australian women writers challenge, aww 19, aww 2019, children's picture book, claudia woods, four stars

Published: 1st May 2018
Publisher: Harbour Publishing House
Illustrator: Claudia Woods
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Jacob tells his mother that he is too old for soft toys and he wants to give them away. His mother washes them and hangs them on the line to dry. But wild weather sets the toys free and sends them on an exciting adventure across the garden.

What will become of the toys? Will they make it to their new home safely?

Note: I received a copy of this book from the author

Woods has written a great story not only about the adventure of lost toys, but also one about maybe not being quite as ready to grow up as you might think you are. When Jacob decides to get rid of his toys he doesn’t realise it is about to send them on a dangerous journey through the wilds of the backyard.

It is a story about the various perils the toys face and what they must endure to get back home. The story is told with repetition and rhyme, the toys names being repeated over and over with a few variations as their adventure dictates. This creates a wonderful melody and rhythm as you read that flows from start to finish. The toys are often at the mercy of the weather or their circumstance but there is still a great adventure to be had.

It is not only the narrative that tells the story, the text and font is designed to add emphasis and intent to the words. With colours, drawn out words and various formatting styles it makes reading engaging and fun.

I liked that the toys accepted their move, there wasn’t a deep personification of the toys, but they still were self-aware enough to know what was happening. I can certainly see kids having favourites out of the toys, though they are all given the same standing, described in a collective bunch rather than separating them.

One of the most notable things about this story is the illustrations. They are a creative combination of different materials; Woods uses pencils, paint and a wonderful mix of natural and recycled components to show off the toys’ adventures. The colours are also bright and pop off the page and when you take the time to study each page you realise how detailed and clever they are. The combination of materials is a unique change from typical illustrations and the addition of a “look and find” feature also provides a fun element while you read.

Overall it was an enjoyable story enhanced by the fabulous illustrations and the creative formatting. One that will be fun to read time and time again.

You can purchase Jacob’s Toys via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Angus and Robinson | Fishpond

The One by Kaneana May

28 May 2019 1 Comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Australian Women Writers, Romance Tags: #aww2019, aussie books, australian women writers challenge, aww 2019, four stars, kaneana may, romance

Published: 17th June 2019
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 352
Format: ebook
Genre: Romance
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Fall in love like nobody’s watching…

On the wrong side of thirty, Bonnie Yates wants a happily ever after. Problem is, she keeps choosing the wrong guys. When an ex returns to town with a fiancée in tow, history and temptation collide. Unable to shake her inappropriate feelings Bonnie flees, becoming an unlikely contestant on popular dating show The One. Will she find what she’s looking for?

Working behind the scenes, Darcy Reed is a driven young producer, dealing with a tyrant of a boss. Despite being surrounded by love at work, her own love-life with long-term boyfriend Drew is floundering. Producing a flawless season is her best chance at a promotion. But with the unrelenting demands of the show, how will she save their relationship while making that shot?

Penelope Baker has relocated to a small seaside town to hide away with her secrets and nurse a broken heart. But with The One beaming across the nation’s televisions, she can’t seem to quite escape the life she left behind…

Before cameras roll on the final ceremony, all three women will discover just what they’re willing to do in pursuit of the one…

Note: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley

This a wonderful story about the different types of love and the unexpected ways you find someone. I loved the different characters and their journeys. Their voices were honest and while they certainly were foolish at times, there is a great human flaw to them. There’s a strange mix of predictability, but also the uncertainty that the story would go in that direction.

There are multiple character perspectives and May seamlessly transitions between them within the same chapter. I was never confused about who the focus was on and it shifted like a camera focus remarkably well. Bonnie is a great character because while she is hopeful and idealistic in her search for love, she is flawed as a result. I wouldn’t call her naïve, but she is idealistic maybe which then affects her actions.

Darcy was an interesting contrast because while I could see where her story was going, I enjoyed the journey we took to get there. May teases it out so that you have all the information and the history without any of the drama involved. I liked this method because it didn’t rely on the dramatics or the conflict, it made it real based on her story and experiences.

Penelope’s role is slightly smaller but I enjoyed her narrative. She brings a great mystery into this love story and following her secretive life allows for a lot of theories to swirl through your mind. The secondary characters were just as well developed as the key players and May knows when to bring a shift to character personalities which make you see them differently. It was amazing to see my own perspectives of them shift within a few key sentences and how the same actions could be reinterpreted.

There are a lot of different romantic relationships happening through this story and while some are inevitable, others are a nice mixture of complexity and realistic development. I really enjoyed all the different relationships and friendships May explores. I wasn’t expecting this story to have as much depth as it does. It isn’t as light-hearted as one would expected but that also doesn’t mean there isn’t wonderful romantic and heartfelt moments. For a book centred around a reality show about finding the love of your life, there is a great exploration of the different types of love and discovering which one works best for you. Even if you aren’t a fan of The Bachelor or those types of shows you will still love this behind the scenes look about what happens to those looking for love. A great read.

The expected publication for The One is 17th June 2019. You can pre-order via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Angus and Robinson | Fishpond

Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Sorry Day by Coral Vass

24 May 2019 1 Comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Australian Women Writers, The Picture Book Corner Tags: #aww2019, australian women writers challenge, aww 19, aww 2019, children's picture book, coral vass, dub leffler, five stars, kevin rudd, sorry day

Published: 1st May 2018
Publisher: National Library of Australia
Illustrator: Dub Leffler
Pages: 34
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Sorry Day acknowledges the past and shows a willingness to make things right. The story commemorates both the momentous speech made by the Prime Minister of Australia to say sorry to the indigenous people for past abuse and to also recognise the decades of abuse suffered by the Stolen Generation. Told through the eyes of a young girl participating in the ceremony today and, in sepia colours, the eyes of the stolen children in the past.

The anniversary of the apology is actually in February but it is recognised in May as part of National Sorry Day, a day first held on 26 May, 1998. In 2008 then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gave the apology that indigenous people had been rightly asking for for years, the one that apologised to the stolen generation for the way they had been treated by the government for decades.

I remember vividly watching this on TV, I cried then and I cried now. This is a remarkable book as it celebrates the momentous speech by Kevin Rudd but it also shows the past and the horrors indigenous people had to endure. Vass uses Rudd’s real words and she weaves it into this young girl’s story, not quite understanding the impact, but we see it through her mum and the adults around her.

As one story unfolds about that wonderful February day, it is shadowed by the realities of the history those words represent. The contrast from page to page is a stark reminder and a beautifully heartbreaking juxtaposition about the two eras, and what the importance of the speech means. In the present a young girl loses the hand of her mother and is lost momentarily in the crowd, in the past, young children lose their parents forever.

I loved that each page threw up into a different time in history. From the lawns of Canberra, to the creeks where children hide in terror, then back to watching the speech. It is such a powerful move to bring the voices of the past into the present.

Leffler uses colour to show the differences between eras, colours for the present, with sepia depicting the past. The images are vivid and emotive and coupled with Vass’ words and my own understanding of history, it is incredibly clever to see these two moments side by side.

What I found interesting was the information included at the back about the history from the stolen generation to Prime Minster Keating in the 90s to Rudd in 2008. As I said, Sorry Day is recognised every single year and it is important that people acknowledge and understand what it means.

More people need to remember this speech, remember the impact it had, but also remember why it needed to be said in the first place and wonder just why it took so long to be said. This is the ideal book to tell the story in an impactful yet gentle way and it is certainly one that can spark great discussions.

You can purchase Sorry Day via the following

Booktopia | Dymocks

Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon Aust

Beginnings: An Australian Speculative Fiction Anthology by Various Authors

06 May 2019 3 Comments

by Amy in 4 Stars, Australian Women Writers, Short Stories Tags: a. a. warne, alanah andrews, anthology, austin p. sheehan, australian women writers challenge, belinda brady, carolyn young, chris foley, four stars, jocelyn spark, kel e. fox, lachlan walter, maddie jensen, marcus turner, matthew p. copping, maureen flynn, rebecca dale, sasha hanton, speculative fiction, stephen herczeg

Published: 24th November 2018
Publisher: Deadset Press
Edited by: Jocelyn Spark, Alanah Andrews, and Austin P. Sheehan
Pages: 147
Format: ebook
Genre: Anthology
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

16 stories. 16 Australian authors. One theme. Beginnings.

Esmerelda is trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake and escape from the darkness.

A simple bus trip turns into a fight for survival.

Alone in a strange place with no memories of who she is or how she got there, Alora’s world changes forever.

Note: I was asked to review this anthology by one of the editors

From an incredible first story I was excited by this anthology. I was amazed at the variety of styles and stories that each of the writers came up with for the same theme. “Beginnings” means a lot of things and it is evident that each of these writers has chosen their own interpretation of that.

The opening story Edge might be one of my favourites but a few other stand outs include The Inheritance Experiment, Next Journey, and Break the Spell. There is a mixture of settings and writing styles and you can clearly see the speculative nature woven through each tale. I loved discovering how each writer chose to interpret that and how it is explored in the setting of their stories.

With any anthology there will be those stories that appeal more to some people than others. Some of the stories blew me away while some actually managed to creep me out a bit. Within the speculative guidelines there is also some horror and some fantasy in these stories, as well as a range of contemporary settings. One thing I like about speculative stories is they are so broad that they can cover almost anything strange, unknown, magical, and mystical.

There are fantastic short stories that grab you from the start and amaze you as they finish, there are stories that read like a great prologue of a bigger story yet to come, but there are also a few that read like short chapters that didn’t seem to go anywhere. Thankfully those were the minority as many of the stories were truly captivating.

You can purchase Beginnings via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Once by Kate Forsyth

03 May 2019 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Australian Women Writers, The Picture Book Corner Tags: #aww2019, australian women writers challenge, aww 2019, children's picture book, four stars, kate forsyth, krista brennan

Published: 1st April 2019
Publisher: Wombat Books
Illustrator: Krista Brennan
Pages: 32
Format: Paperback
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Once, a long time ago
My grandmother’s grandmother
Travelled far, far across the seas

Kate Forsyth tells tales of her ancestors’ lives in Australia in this beautifully illustrated picture book. From the first perilous journey to a new land, to the great wars and civil rights movements, readers live through key moments in Australia’s fascinating history.

This is a beautiful story about the power of stories and the impact they have on those who listen. Forsyth tells us the story of her family and the stories they passed down as they lived through all the important moments in Australia’s history, not to mention the strength of the women who experienced them. It is a beautifully simple tale about telling your own story, and the power your own story has.

Brennan’s stunning illustrations accompany Forsyth’s words with colour and vibrancy. The full page, complex scenes are beautiful and filled with rich colours, each page telling its own visual story as well.

There are not many words or rhyme, but there is a repetition and a pattern that becomes more powerful the further the story progresses. It makes you realise that in a few generations the world can change, but it also is brought to life through those who remember it.

Forsyth’s words are simple but impactful and evoke a lot of meaning. I loved that we see the generations of now and long ago, cherished and remembered through a connection of stories.

You can purchase Once via the following

Dymocks | Amazon Aust

Booktopia | Angus & Robertson