Status update: exhausted. But in a good way.

I arrived home in the wee hours of this morning after four days in Melbourne. Last night I had about three hours consecutive sleep (which was the most in several nights thanks to a dodgy rented room in the city), due to drink...

“Don’t judge me, bitch. This is a high-stress situation.” - Frankie, p. 9.

Shivaun Plozza’s debut YA novel 'Frankie' (Penguin, April 2016) will slice you like an electric knife through kebab meat. The title character’s sassiness, cynicism, mistrust and anger h...

Forever

Judy Blume

Macmillan (2015 reprint)

My son pulled 'Forever' off a shelf in a bookstore. It was next to Enid Blyton in the young readers’ section.

He thought I’d like it because it had a cherry on the front, and I like cherries. He’s a young, innocent child. Thought...

We’re sending our children mixed messages. 

On one hand – be confident to be yourself. On the other – don’t be too much like yourself, because difference is something to be feared.

Between the failings raised by the current inquiry into institutionalised child abuse, t...

Diversity is a hot topic in young adult book titles set for release in Australia in 2016.

Publishers travelled from all over the country to Melbourne last night, spruiking their upcoming releases with the five-minute time limit strictly enforced by the tambourine of doo...