australian women writers challenge

AWW Update Jan – Mar

13 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in Australian Women Writers Tags: ambelin kwaymullina, aussie books, australian women writers challenge, aww 2021, aww2021, aww21 update, jaye ford, Melissa Keil, pip smith, rebecca lim

While I have read a lot so far this year (she says when she’s actually three books behind schedule), it seems almost none have been Australian. With the first quarter of the year gone I need to step up my game because I will be very behind soon on my projected goal of reading 40 and reviewing 35 books for this year’s AWW.The fact I have only read one book is abysmal and even the fact I reviewed four they were all read in previous years so it’s not a good start.

I have so many physical books I want to read but I am still on the audiobook path so my options are sparse unless they are picture books I stumble across. I have a few novellas I’ve been wanting to read so I might ease my way back into physical books and see how I go. I am a lot better than last year at reading physical books so I am going to take the slow and steady approach, a lot of it this time round is the time to sit and read too so it will be a delicate balancing act.

All is not lost though, I have read or reviewed some books by Aussie women so that’s something at least. I am now hoping to use the shock that I’ve read so few spur me on for the next three months and get my numbers up — in the meantime I’ll be glad it’s not zero.

AWW21 BOOKS Jan-Mar

Theodore the Unsure by Pip Smith – Review

Darkest Place by Jaye Ford – Review

Meet Me at the Intersection ed. Rebecca Lim and Ambelin Kwaymullina – Review

The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil – Review

The Fire Wombat by Jackie French

AWW21 TOTAL

Read: 1/40

Reviewed: 4/30

Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Causes Trouble with the Easter Bunny by Skye Davidson

09 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 2 Stars, Australian Women Writers, The Picture Book Corner Tags: australian women writers challenge, aww2021, children's picture book, easter, skye davidson, two stars

Published: 1st March 2019
Publisher: Elephant Tree Publishing
Illustrator: Skye Davidson
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ – 2 Stars

It’s Easter time and Archibald’s good friend Basil’s first year as the Official Easter Bunny. What could possibly go wrong? Be enchanted as you join Archibald, Basil, a blue-haired pixie, a flying pig and hundreds of little bunnies in an adventure somewhere over the rainbow, amongst the stars.

This a cross over book as Archibald the Naughtiest Elf moves on from Christmas and into other holidays. This time it involves Easter and Archibald only wants to help his friend Basil on his big important job of being the Easter Bunny.

The main problems I have with this book is that it’s long. There are A LOT of words per page and the story itself is long and drawn out which doesn’t suit the picture book format; it is more suited to being a chapter book with a few pictures.

With such a long story the narrative text fills an entire page which on a picture book is a lot of writing. Despite all the words, the illustrations are pretty; Davidson has used strong, bright colours and the vibrancy adds a wonderful magical feel to the page.

There’re moments of friendship and helping, as well as fun and magic. Archibald is still naughty per his nature but not in a malicious way, more like a rule breaker but for a good cause. If you have kids who can sit and listen to such a long story then it is a fun adventure filled with mischief and holiday spirit. The story is not complicated per se, it is just busy and wordy.

You can purchase Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Causes Trouble with the Easter Bunny via the following

Booktopia | Dymocks

Fishpond | Amazon Aust

The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil

22 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Audiobook, Australian Women Writers, Young Adult Tags: Audiobook, australian women writers challenge, aww 2021, aww2021, four stars, loveozya, Melissa Keil, roshelle fong, young adult

Published: 1 September 2014 (print)/ 9 May 2016 (audio)
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont /Bolinda Audio
Pages: 295/7 hrs and 55 mins
Narrator: Roshelle Fong
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Alba loves her life just as it is. She loves living behind the bakery, and waking up in a cloud of sugar and cinnamon. She loves drawing comics and watching bad TV with her friends.

The only problem is she’s overlooked a few teeny details:

Like, the guy she thought long gone has unexpectedly reappeared.
And the boy who has been her best friend since forever has suddenly gone off the rails.
And even her latest comic-book creation is misbehaving.

Also, the world might be ending – which is proving to be awkward.

As Doomsday enthusiasts flock to idyllic Eden Valley, Alba’s life is thrown into chaos. Whatever happens next, it’s the end of the world as she knows it. But when it comes to figuring out her heart, Armageddon might turn out to be the least of her problems.

I loved this book so much and yet writing this review has been so hard because I never feel like I am doing my complete love and adoration of this story the justice it deserves.

The story takes place during that timeless period over Christmas and New Year where you don’t know what day it is and there’s a strangeness in the air. Alba and all the characters are wonderful and I love how Keil has developed them and expressed them on the page. They felt so real, so alive, and the complexity of their emotions and their lives comes through even with the smallest of interactions.

There are so many little things I adored about this book: the atmosphere of the small town and the impending Doomsday, the exploration of friendships and growing up and making choices. There is no love triangle which was fantastic and there is a wonderful exploration about friendships and how old friends as kids don’t always mean friendships as adults. Keil demonstrates that sometimes these relationships can end up better, but at the same time you can also outgrow one another.

Alba not wanting to leave her small town is a nice change from the desperate need characters have to get out of their small town and never return. The sense of belonging and the attachment she has to her town is sweet and I loved that she enjoyed her home and the people in it. She doesn’t have a hatred towards it, but the understanding that you can’t really have the life you want staying where you are is a profound theme to explore.

As a character Alba is so wonderful. Her love of baking and being an artist was so wholesome and seeing her express herself through both her passions was refreshing and comforting. She is comfortable in herself and her bubbly and chatting nature was never a bad thing. She had such a depth to her personality it was amazing to see it revealed.

While there is a plotline of Doomsday and the end of the world on New Years Eve, the weirdness takes a backseat. There is a focus instead on Alba, Sarah and her friends, their journeys and their friendships take centre stage and I loved that their connections was what the story was about, the other stuff is all secondary.

Through the whole thing I felt so content. Reading it was such an enjoyable experience and it was so great to read an Australia YA that felt Australian without having reference after reference thrown in your face to really remind you it was set in Australia.

I could listen to this book over and over. There was such a loveliness to it but also so many details to get wonderfully lost in and with a slow but never stale plot I relished this journey with all these beautiful characters.

You can purchase The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Theodore the Unsure by Pip Smith

12 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Australian Women Writers, The Picture Book Corner Tags: australian women writers challenge, aww 2021, aww2021, beau wylie, children's picture book, five stars, pip smith

Published: 1st August 2019
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Illustrator: Beau Wylie
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

King Theodore is the Ruler of the Whole Animal Kingdom.

When his mane keeps growing and growing and growing, he must decide whether to cut it or keep it.

But Theodore is always so unsure! What will he do?

This is a very cute story. Poor Theodore has been crowned ruler of the animal kingdom but he dislikes making decisions. When the summer heat gets too hot for his growing mane, he can’t decide whether to cut it off or not. Enter the vote!

I liked the humour about Theodore’s reign and how he rules the animal kingdom when he’s never left the savannah. Travelling to the different habitats also showed off the differences in all the animals and their experiences. It was clever how Smith shows the misunderstanding between habitats for while Theodore is too hot with his mane, the polar bears for example worry if he cuts it off he will freeze. The in-jokes about the voting systems were divine, and I loved the comments of the animals because they were clever and had jokes that made adults laugh if they understood the references.

I’m not sure whether Smith or Wylie made the comments for the animals in the pictures but they were the best. I absolutely loved all the illustrations in this book, Wylie’s pictures of the different animals were brilliant; snakes in hats and cockatoos with fancy dos were only some of the joys I experienced reading this. I also loved how the uncontrollable mane started to take over the literal page while Theodore remained undecided.

There is a fun solution to Theodore’s problem and once again it shines through with Wylie’s illustrations. The story itself is very cute, but getting to read it while also seeing the fun, clever and adorable illustrations was a much better bonus.

You can purchase Theodore the Unsure via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon Aust

Long Lost Review: Darkest Place by Jaye Ford

11 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Australian Women Writers, Thriller Tags: #aww21, #llr, australian women writers challenge, aww 2021, aww2021, four stars, jaye ford, long lost review, thriller

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: 1st February 2016
Publisher: Random House Australia
Pages: 390
Format: Paperback
Genre: Fiction
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Carly Townsend is starting over after a decade of tragedy and pain. In a new town and a new apartment she’s determined to leave the memories and failures of her past behind. However that dream is shattered in the dead of night when she is woken by the shadow of a man next to her bed, silently watching her. And it happens week after week.Yet there is no way an intruder could have entered the apartment. It’s on the fourth floor, the doors are locked and there is no evidence that anyone has been inside. With the police doubting her story, and her psychologist suggesting it’s all just a dream, Carly is on her own. And being alone isn’t so appealing when you’re scared to go to sleep.

This is a perfectly suited Long Lost Review because I remember bits and pieces of this book but not enough to write a proper review about it.

Looking at the literal one sentence note I wrote about it when I read it in 2016 I determined it was clever and “You understand Carly’s reasoning for what she does, and even at the end, she leaves you wondering about her and what her future holds.” All very important pieces of information.

I remember feeling unsettled as I read, the nature of the story and how Ford plays with your mind that you get caught up in Carly’s own paranoia. As she suspects the people around her so do you and the unknown is a very good fear factor. The simplicity of this thriller is what makes it works. It isn’t anything over the top, it relies on playing with the human experience, the unsettling nature of the unexplainable and our own fears and using that against us. The everyday nature of the narrative is what connects you, the fact this could happen to anyone is where it becomes most unnerving.

I would be interested in a revisit to this story because I think I remember how this ends but getting caught up in Ford’s gripping, dark and twisted story again could be worth it.

You can purchase Darkest Place via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Angus and Robinson

Amazon Aust