I picked up Lotus because of an article my N. K. Jemisin. That lady doesn’t lie, this was awesome – the world building was fantastic and the pacing of the plot was wonderful. I’m a big fan of being dumped in a complex world and being expected to keep up. Amazing stuff.

Every Secret Thing is both darkly humourous and absolutely tragic. This is the story of the “river mob” (Aboriginal people) and the “mission mob” (white missionaries) trying to get used to each other and live together. The missonaries don’t understand why the river mob don’t want to abide with their instructions about the new way they should live and interact. Munkara skilfully weaves in both the seeming general idiocy of the whites along with institutionalised sexual abuse, physical abuse and issues about the Stolen Generation and the legacy that the people have to live with. The missionaries certainly don’t come off as being terribly well meaning. 

All the Bright Places tackled some pretty weighty issues about grief, depression and other mental illness, and suicide. It’s a gutsy, brave book, but was only a 3 star read for me.

A mysterious book store,  a secret society and a clueless but sassy protagonist?  Yes please! 

Controversial opinion time – I didn’t enjoy this book. It could be argued that this is not a book to enjoy – the information in it (the harrowing journey of one of the Lost Boys from Sudan) is deeply disturbing and upsetting. Stories like this need to be told, no told to the Western audience so we know of the horrors that have occurred in places like Sudan. Unfortunately I found the delivery boring – the structure seemed forced. Despite that, this book is incredibly important.

I’ve watched Tracey Spicer on telly for many years, and this book was not what I expected. Rich with ribald humour, this book is both a self deprecating look at her own journey through her media career and a scathing commentary on the Australian media industry. Worth a read!

This book is so bizarre. The main character is completely unlikable, and seems to walk through the world with little to no clue about the consequences of her actions. She has no real idea about empathy or how to interact with others. The story is gripping because you have no idea what she is going to do next.  If you’ve read Harmless Like You, Helen’s voice is how I imagine Yuki’s internal monologue may have sounded. (If you haven’t read Harmless Like You, you should remedy that immediately.)

What have you been reading?