gabrielle zevin | Lost in a Good Book

2025 Book Bingo Wrap Up

30 Dec 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in Book Bingo Tags: alex gino, alex latimer, ali hazelwood, book bingo, book bingo 2025, book bingo 25, clayton zane comber, dahlia adler, daria defore, disha bose, elana k. arnold, gabrielle zevin, helena fox, j. e. morris, janette paul, jasper fforde, jenna voris, jordyn taylor, keris stainton, maureen johnson, peter brown, sean williams, serena valentino, shivaun plozza, vikki wakefield, walter lord

What I’ve enjoyed with my Book Bingo cards of late is reading whatever books through the year and come December seeing what I can put into my card, then trying to find something to read to fill in the final few boxes if there are any left. I think this time a few choices could be a bit stronger, and of course, one year this will backfire miserably, but for now we’re safe.

With 150+ books at my disposal to choose from I only managed to not fill in two. But the year is not finished yet, I could maybe do it, but I think we’ll call it and aim better next year. I’ll add that in as a new rule, what isn’t completed one year must be on the next year’s card. I vaguely recall that happening in the very beginning but all it resulted in is a lot of empty poetry boxes before I learnt my lesson.

Last year I was going to move more into fantasy, but I’ve not really gone the fantasy route instead there’s a lot of contemporary, my push to at least try a few romances, and of course my rereads were always fun. My diverse reads are getting better and I have found some amazing Aussie YA through my challenge and through the #LoveOzYA tag and website. Though, having said that, the point of the bingo card is to read widely so maybe I need to add poetry and fantasy back on and read more outside the norm.

I am keen to get into a new bingo card. I will say I am going to up my short story and anthology reads, I did have one, technically, but I also needed a Shakespeare spot filled and as it was a Shakespeare anthology it was a toss up which slot it should satisfy. Maybe in the final days of the year I can get through a Shakespeare adaptation and balance out the boxes. But for now, this is my list and I will link up to the reviews when they come out.

Debut Author: All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield

From Own Shelf: Rocking Horse Hill by Cathryn Hein

Romance: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Chosen for the Cover: Flubby Will NOT Go To Sleep by J. E. Morris

Non-Fiction: A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

Aro/Ace Character: The Trouble by Daria Defore

Historical: The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor

Picked Up by Chance: The Bad Mother’s Book Club by Keris Stainton

New author: Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose

Lesbian: Say A Little Prayer by Jenna Voris

Non Human Main Character: The Duck Never Blinks by Alex Latimer

Free Choice: The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

Different Culture: Impossible Music by Sean Williams

Fairytale: The Beast Within by Serena Valentino

On TBR Pile: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

CBCA Book: How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox

Published This Year: The View From the Balcony by Janette Paul

Shakespeare Retelling: That Way Madness Lies by Dahlia Adler

Number in the Title: 100 Remarkable feats of Xander by Clayton Zane Comber

Own Voices: Green by Alex Gino

#LoveOZYA: Tin Heart by Shivaun Plozza

Reread A Series: Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde

TV/Movie Adaptation: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

18 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Audiobook, Fiction Tags: Audiobook, cassandra morris, fiction, four stars, gabrielle zevin

Published: 9 September 2005 (print)/11 October 2005 (audio)
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)/Listening Library
Pages: 275/7 hrs and 3 mins
Narrator: Cassandra Morris
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Fiction
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Welcome to Elsewhere. It is warm, with a breeze, and the beaches are marvellous. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can’t get sick or any older. Curious to see new paintings by Picasso? Swing by one of Elsewhere’s museums. Need to talk to someone about your problems? Stop by Marilyn Monroe’s psychiatric practice.

Elsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. It is a place so like Earth, yet completely different. Here Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth. But Liz wants to turn sixteen, not fourteen again. She wants to get her driver’s license. She wants to graduate from high school and go to college. And now that she’s dead, Liz is being forced to live a life she doesn’t want with a grandmother she has only just met. And it is not going well. How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one? Is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward?

Despite being well before The Good Place, this is a beautiful story that captures what I adored about that show: an afterlife that is still a life where you can grow and think and love before starting the cycle again.

There is a wonderful structure to the Elsewhere world while also being mystical. There’s rules and guidelines, there are things still bound by reality in terms of what is possible, but there is also a touch of the unknown, the magical, and the unexplained. The Benjamin Button aspect of the universe was really well conceived and I loved how Zevin ties that into relationships, living situations, and jobs.

We get to see Liz’s perspective mainly but around halfway through Zevin branches out and we see aspects of other characters like Betty and other key characters. I liked this balance because Liz’s story is what we want most, but the small additions of the other voices gives unique insights and great additions to the story without overshadowing Liz.

Stuck at 15 is a hard age, and I understand Liz’s fear at never growing up. She has a strong obsession with her breasts which was interesting, as well as never getting to take her driving test. I liked that despite being in an afterlife situation, she still felt bound by the fact she couldn’t accomplish life goals like getting her driver’s license. The exploration of the stages of grief and the yearning to return to the living, to live vicariously through them, to keep the connection alive is explored in subtle but powerful ways. I loved the gentle way Betty interacts with Liz, as well as Thandie and other characters who are often far more accepting of their fate than she is.

One interesting thing is, and isn’t a spoiler, but I doubt the reality of Marilyn Monroe being there given my understanding of the aging and rebirth system. Even with a vague setting of when this book takes place I think it is still unlikely Marilyn is still in Elsewhere and hasn’t been reborn. Just a curious observation. Other than that I do love the concept of Elsewhere. I love how jobs are viewed and how family reconnects, even the respect and ceremony of rebirth and the regulations around contact with the living is cleverly done. Zevin has created a beautiful story that is light-hearted but still explores the weight of grief, death, and what it means to be alive.

You can purchase Elsewhere via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Top Five of 2024

30 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in Top Five List Tags: alexis hall, calum mcswiggan, clementine ford, clint mcelroy, gabrielle zevin, jane godwin, jean gourounas, john larkin, julia mills, kate emery, lysa mullady, meg mclaren, sandra boynton, terry pratchett, top five, top five 2024

I had a lot of books on my Top Five list this year. If I finished a book I felt was worthy I would add it to the list and figured I would have a few by the end of the year. I had nine by the end of the year. Then of course I had to choose. They were all five stars for a reason, but which ones were better?

Thankfully there are honourable mentions but I feel those books aren’t some that just missed out. If I was in a different mood I might have a different list entirely, put a different lot on my list. Considering I had a few years where I only managed four maybe I shouldn’t complain about nine.

Of course I also have five picture books which doesn’t always happen. I love discovering an amazing picture book, there’s always so much variety because they can be funny, cute, heartfelt, or incredibly profound. This lot is a mixture of all of those.

As Happy As Here by Jane Godwin

I wasn’t expecting this book to knock me over as much as it did. It is so unassuming and it packs and emotional punch that changed me forever. It’s a beautiful Australian story about three girls in a hospital room and their lives that intertwine as a result. The characters are complex and flawed but wonderful at the same time. It’s a fantastic story to read through the eyes of a young girl while also coming at it with an adult’s perspective and understanding. Godwin has truly written a phenomenal story. If I could give it ten out of five I would.

My Family and Other Suspects by Kate Emery

What grabbed me first about this was the great narrative voice. Emery brings our teen narrator to life so well and engages you early on with this fun mystery. It is funny, openly addresses the reader in a unique way while never taking you out of the story, and the mystery element is creative and keeps you guessing. It is a book that look deceptively lighthearted but manages to still be an amazing read.

The Pause by John Larkin

An incredible book reminiscent of Sliding Doors and the consequences of choice. How one decision can alter the world and change your life. It is a book about mental illness and suicide, which it explores realistically, but still brings the teen perspective and opinions while not making it too light or too heavy. A gorgeous book that highlights the stress of growing up and what it means to be alive.

I Don’t by Clementine Ford

I wasn’t sure I’d be interested in this book despite my love of Ford’s other books, but I adored it. The history of marriage and the role it’s played in society, women’s lives, and how it has changed over the years was fascinating. I loved the quotes that could have been from this decade but were from centuries ago. Women have always had strong opinions and thoughts and I loved being able to see people have always been people.

Husband Material by Alexis Hall

I love these boys, and any chance to revisit their messy, loving lives I will jump at. Hall has written a story that draws you in immediately and is complicated, deep, loving, and familiar as we keep up with the lives of Oliver and Luc. This is the sequel to Boyfriend Material (also amazing) and I love that we get to see the next stage of their relationship. The characters are fun, so real, and reading about their lives makes you envious of their friendships.

Honourable Mentions

The Suffering Game by Clint McElroy

Straight Expectations by Calum McSwiggan

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Mort by Terry Pratchett

Top Five Picture Books

The Littlest Turtle

The Littlest Turtle by Lysa Mullady

Something’s Fishy

Something's Fishy by Jean Gourounas

I am Stuck

I Am Stuck by Julia Mills, Julia Mills

Peep!

Peep! by Meg McLaren

Woo Hoo! You’re Doing Great

Woo Hoo! You're Doing Great! by Sandra Boynton

12th Blogiversary (and Int Giveaway)!

23 Jan 2025 4 Comments

by Amy in Giveaway Tags: 12th blogiversary, alexis hall, blogiversary, calum mcswiggan, clementine ford, clint mcelroy, gabrielle zevin, giveaway, jane godwin, john larkin, kate emery

Two half dozens, the square root of 144, the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one, and a dirty dozen. Here we are again, twelve years deep when I still vividly recall being astounded at another blog doing ten years and being amazed they’d been at it that long. It was an amazing achievement and yet I often never think of my own time blogging like that.

Blogiversary time is always so weird, I’m celebrating but sometimes it feels weird to mark the occasion I got a wild idea and after months of talking to myself about it I finally took the plunge. But it isn’t about me really, I like this time to share the love and appreciation for all the people who comment on my posts and who share them with other people. I love finding out that someone read a book based on one of my reviews and I like rewarding people for coming to share my little corner of the internet.

The books I am offering this year were some of my favourites from the past year like always. I have yet to put up my Top Five because I forgot it would play a role here and it’s going up next week. However, it works to my advantage because I have so many to pick from making up my giveaway books was easy because I was spoilt for choice on amazing reads.

There is a lot of young adult on the list, but there are also adult fiction, nonfiction, and a graphic novel so hopefully, if you do wish to enter, there is something in there to tickle your fancy. Some of these books were absolutely phenomenal and I will link reviews when I can, but even if I haven’t got a post yet, trust me, these books were so wonderful any of them would be a great pick.

An infographic that says Lost in a Good Book's 12th Blogiversary Giveaway. There is a selection of eight book covers underneath and a small picture of an owl holding a balloon. The background is a parchment colour with an ornate black border

The Selection

As Happy As Here by Jane Godwin

My Family and Other Suspects by Kate Emery

The Pause by John Larkin

I Don’t by Clementine Ford

The Suffering Game by Clint McElroy*

Straight Expectations by Calum McSwiggan

Husband Material by Alexis Hall*

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

*Note: These items are sequels to other books.

To enter: For a chance to win one of the pictured books simply enter here and complete the Rafflecopter form.

Please note: This giveaway is international on the basis Blackwell’s ships to your country.

To see if you are eligible you can check their website.

Thank you for helping me celebrate twelve wonderful years of blogging and if you enter the draw I wish you the best of luck!

Giveaway runs until midnight AEDT on Thursday 20th February 2025

Book Bingo 2024

30 Dec 2024 Leave a comment

by Amy in Book Bingo Tags: amal el-mohtar, book bingo, book bingo 2024, book bingo 24, claire kahn, clementine ford, clint mcelroy, gabrielle zevin, helena fox, john green, john larkin, judith clarke, julia mills, kate emery, kate o'donnell, katherine locke, maureen johnson, max gladstone, meg mclaren, melanie gillman, michael noonan, natalie murray, nina kenwood, rick riordan, terry pratchett, tim minchin

A few days ago as I went to write my book bingo wrap up I realised, despite announcing it to the world in January, I never actually ended up making it. Which is a shame because it is one of my favourite challenges, not only to do but to create. Who knows what happened to distract me. But now we are here, and I made one quickly a few days ago to keep my goals alive.

In an effort not to sway my results I pulled random ones from the past bingos I have made, as well as a few online ones. I picked things I knew I hadn’t selected before and some classics because there’s so much variety in a simple bingo prompt sometimes you always get something delightful.

Then the joy came from going through the 75 or so books I had read this year and seeing if any matched. I rarely keep up with bingo anymore through the year, I make it and see come December if I made a bingo. I like this approach because I do often hit my targets, but occasionally when I pick an out there prompt like poetry or something that isn’t usually in my reading wheelhouse I feel bad and try and get a last minute read it.

Looking back at my reading there are a lot I read back in January or March that feel like a lifetime ago, a good feeling since it felt the year flew by. I read a lot of young adult, and a few picture books, though not as many as usual. I balanced out my foreign reads with local, and attempted to diversify my shelf more in terms of genre, content, and character to mixed appreciation.

I finished series, started new series, and lots of Aussie reads though those #LoveOzYA ones are still hard ones to hit when you don’t have time to read a physical book. I did some power reads in the last few days, still sought out audios instead of the three books that are currently in front of me that are all on average 200 pages (why is that???). Maybe there will be a NYE miracle. The issue is reading takes time, even the shortest audiobook on 1.5x speed takes hours to read, but it won’t stop a mad attempt to finish books to tick off an arbitrary goal I set for myself.

So it’s been a weird bingo this year, technically made and completed in the span of a few days but an honest attempt was done. I am calling this a loose definition of a win. One because yes I did make a lot of full lines, but yes I did make this last minute and I feel making and completing a bingo in a week might not be in the spirit of the challenge. I have never been a fan of using one book for multiple prompts, and I read way more than 25 books a year so I have had choice on my side. Plus with some of my categories being broad or typical reads I am usually in with a good shot of a line or two being completed by years end.

Here’s to 2025 being a better organised bingo year. I may even make one up now while the guilt is still fresh. But for now here is the breakdown of my reading achievements. I will link those with reviews when they go up.