Kathryn White.
 
Author. Book critic. Blogger. Poet. Cat lover. INTJ. Caffeine junkie. Insomniac.
Frederick Fife is an amiable and generous man. However, at age 82 he has found himself completely alone and close to homelessness. His luck changes, however, when a case of mistaken identity leads him to assume the identity of Bernard Greer, a miserable and lonely old resident at a nursing home. Frederick suddenly finds himself making all kinds of friends at the nursing home, but the biggest…
Award winning children's author Danielle Binks has penned a thought provoking novel for children about two children and their neighbour who are all going through, well, rather a lot. Leo's life has been a bit rough of late. He's almost finished year six at the local primary school. He's been abandoned by his childhood best friend Tash in favour of the cool kids, his dad has gone away to the other…
Australian author Lily Crozier's debut is a pleasing gothic romance and retelling of Beauty and the Beast ... but with vampires. Clara Wagner has grown up in a town plagued by poverty and a prince who appears to be using his people to satisfy his desire for blood. Now, Prince Raleigh has decided that it is time that he married and someone join him in the castle. And that someone just happens to be…
Picking up where Binding 13 left off, the second novel in the Boys of Tommen series starts on a dramatic note, with Shannon copping a near fatal beating from her abusive, alcoholic father. From there, the reader witnesses a rollercoaster ride of events, melodrama and even forbidden romance as Shannon's long-lost brother Darren swoops in to care for his injured sister and vows to do everything to…
May is desperately searching for ... something. Her mother has passed away, her father disappeared years ago. May and her brother were taken in by Aunty, but her brother leaves following a domestic violence incident and May soon finds herself looking for him. And for her dad. However, as she journeys through Australia she soon learns what will give her a much needed sense of belonging. This was a…
Adelaide author Allayne L Webster's latest novel is a moving coming-of-age tale about a teenage girl who is living in poverty. Things are not going well for Maisy Hayes, who turns fourteen in the early chapters of the novel. Her family, which includes her mum, older sister and younger half brother are doing it tough. Money is tight, their Housing Trust home is in a state of disrepair and older…
It is no secret that the Off Campus series is well, kind of a big deal. Not only are all five novels bestsellers, but the series has recently been developed into a series for Amazon Prime. But how does it stack up? Not too bad. In a world where the market is absolutely saturated with contemporary romance novels featuring every theme, or trope, imaginable, the concept of a college romance featuring…
The question of who shapes the narrative of the stories that are told in the media and in wider Australia is at the heart of Discipline the latest novel (and first adult novel) by former lawyer Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah. Set in Sydney in May 2021, it tells the story of two very different people who find themselves changed by the same incident. A year twelve student from a local Islamic college has…
Forty years after Kristy's Great Idea first hit the shelves, The Baby-Sitters Club is back! The first fully original BSC book to be released in a number of years, Baby-Sitter Summer is a collaborative effort between beloved BSC author Ann M Martin and six other authors--Becky Albertalli, Coe Booth, Sarah Kuhn, Peter Lerangis, Jahnna N Malcolm and Emma Staub. And the result is a delight from start…
Bestselling author Sarah A Parker offers readers an eerie and beautifully illustrated retelling of Rapunzel with To Bleed A Crystal Bloom. Nineteen years ago, Orlaith survived an attack by strange creatures, wild beasts who were not quite feline, nor canine but who knew how to attack humans. (If, indeed that is what Orlaith is.) The same attack killed her family, her mother still in the process of…
The Sunbird is a short and beautifully written novella of a heartbreaking loss. It is also a call for compassion. Nabila Yasmeen is a quirky woman in her eighties, living in Australia. An avid gardener, she keeps her plants in pots because she cannot bear to put them in the ground. She regularly attends protests and has many friends. And she was born in Palestine. The short novella moves between…
Attention seeking and selfish parents are at the heart of the latest Baby-Sitters Little Sister graphic novel release, Karen's Surprise. Thanksgiving is almost here and Karen's parents, her mum and stepfather in the Little House, and her father and stepmother in the Big House, aren't giving in an inch. Both want Karen and her little brother Andrew to attend their Thanksgiving dinners. Meanwhile,…
Thirteen-year-old Micheal is a kid with a problem. A very big problem. His mother is gone. And in her place is a woman who looks, acts and sounds just like his mother. Everyone else thinks that she is still the same person, including his younger brother and sister, and his annoying stepfather Asshole Glen. But Michael knows better. And now, how does he go about trying to find his real mother. This…
Eerie and claustrophobic, Soft Serve is a story of friendships, expectations, small towns and secrets. Two years ago, Taz passed away. Since then his friends have remembered him the best way they know how. By visiting the local McDonalds where his mum Pat works, and toasting him with a soft serve ice cream. This year, however, things are not going to be so easy. Tensions between the three friends…
Bestselling Australian author Lynette Noni's latest novel Shadow Reaper is a deliciously detailed yet fast paced page turner that ticks all of the right boxes as it moves toward one heck of an ending. Viri's parents died when she was just eleven, killed by a mysterious individual who, it seems, is now behind the disappearances of a number of local children. Lovingly adopted by a warm hearted woman…
Melissa is the story of George. When most people see George, they see a boy. But George knows different. George knows that she is a girl and that she would rather be called Melissa, but she does not know how to make the world understand that. When her class decide to stage a play of Charlotte's Web, George finds herself wanting to audition for the part of Charlotte. When the teacher says that…
Jojo Moyes' bestseller, Me Before You has left me with a whirlwind of emotions. Anger. Heartbreak. And, perhaps, just the tiniest bit of hope despite the bleak subject matter. The novel opens by introducing the reader to Will Traynor a businessman with a thirst for adventure, on a morning when a chance accident whilst crossing the road changes his life forever. Mostly paralysed from the neck down,…
Wow! It is difficult to believe that the Sweet Valley Twins graphic novel adaptation is now up to volume seven! (Well, actually, by the time this review goes live, volume eight will have just been released in the USA and Canada.) Three's A Crowd is a faithful adaptation of the original, telling the story of how the Wakefield twins become frustrated when Jessica's friend Mary starts hanging around…
University graduate Kip Grady is stuck in a go nowhere job making smoothies. Underemployed and living with his parents, his prospects are looking grim. He is having no luck finding a job he is degree qualified for, further study is too expensive and most of his friends have moved on to bigger and better things. But he can make a good smoothie ... which is fortunate as professional ice hockey…
What a delight it was, from start to finish to read this Mr Men/Agatha Christie mash up. Although technically a children's picture book, there is a lot of fun to be had within the pages of this story as Little Miss Marple--think Agatha Christie's famous detective but as a small, round and purple lady with a friendly but no nonsense look--investigates a mystery in St Mary's Mead. The Vicar,…
Aussie sports romance fans rejoice--finally we have a sports romance set in the high stakes world of AFL. Debut author Darcy Green's After the Siren tells the story of Theo and Jake, a pair of enemies from rival football clubs. When Theo Bestravos fails to kick what should have been a career changing goal, he finds himself put up for the draft and picked up by a rival interstate club. The same…
Heavy, heavy, heavy ... Neil from The Young Ones has like, written an autobiography. Well, okay, not quite. The cover certainly plays on what is arguably Nigel Planer's most famous role of Neil. But Young Once is a well rounded and much deeper dive into his career as a comedian, actor, author, screenwriter and voice actor. In Young Once, Planer gives readers plenty of inside information about his…
Those wonderful and wacky Wakefield Twins Elizabeth and Jessica are back. And this time they have back up ... Picking up where Sneaking Out left off, the sixth Sweet Valley Twins graphic novel adaptation opens with Elizabeth and Jessica encountering Brooke Dennis once again. A new arrival in Sweet Valley, Brooke has moved to the neighbourhood with her dad, a successful screenwriter. Brooke most…
Twenty-seven year old schoolteacher Kaede has a knack for encountering mysteries. Her beloved Grandfather, whose mind is still sharp despite having Lewy body Dementia, has a knack for solving them, in this heartwarming and often philosophical novel from Japan. Beautifully translated into English, we read as Kaede relies on her grandfather's help to solve all kinds of things, such as how did an…
Australian comedian and former school teacher Bron Lewis takes readers on a roller coaster ride of emotions in her memoir of motherhood and mental illness I'm Not Mad (Anymore). I found this one to be hilarious in places--seriously, she got away with throwing her report cards in the bin in high school? I also found it to be heartbreaking in others, particularly the account of the days that…