Alexa Dretzke
Alexa Dretzke is a children’s & YA book specialist at Readings Hawthorn
Review — 1 Sep 2021
It's Not You, It's Me by Gabrielle Williams
Who would have thought a 1970s Brother typewriter would be the inspiration for this fabulous time-slip young adult story?
Forty-year-old Holly is returning from her birthday lunch in Melbourne 2020…
Review — 27 Jun 2021
Kafka and the Doll by Larissa Theule & Rebecca Green
What a charming story this is! Kafka and the Doll is based on a factual event in Franz Kafka’s life, when he and his love, Dora Diamant, encountered a crying…
Review — 28 Mar 2021
Don’t Forget by Jane Godwin & Anna Walker
There are all the ordinary things that children are reminded not to forget, such as brushing your teeth and doing your homework. But what about the more intangible things, the…
Review — 28 Feb 2021
Ruffles and the Red, Red Coat by David Melling
Ruffles is an adorable dog who loves doing all the familiar doggy things like playing, chewing and fetching, but there is one thing he does not care for and that…
Review — 25 Apr 2021
A Glasshouse of Stars by Shirley Marr
Meixing and her family have arrived in a new country to pursue a life with more opportunities and yet, their overwhelming feeling is they don’t belong, particularly as they don’t…
Review — 31 Jan 2021
My Spaghetti ABC by Deborah Niland
Spaghetti as an art medium wouldn’t be every parent’s choice – but oh, what fun in the hands of a young child, with their baby sibling and even Nana joining…
Review — 29 Mar 2020
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
To write this review, obviously, I had to have completed reading the book and that is the sadness for me because I did not want it to end. This absorbing…
Review — 8 Nov 2020
Catvinkle and the Missing Tulips by Elliot Perlman & Laura Stitzel
Here comes the delightful feline Catvinkle and her dalmatian friend Ula for a new adventure, one in which they have to defend their new sheep friends who have been accused…
Review — 1 Oct 2020
What We'll Build by Oliver Jeffers
A companion to Here We Are, that gorgeous, wise book that introduced our world and beyond to a young boy, What We’ll Build is a more collaborative exploration of…
Review — 6 Sep 2020
How To Write the Soundtrack To Your Life by Fiona Hardy
Fiona Hardy you have done it again! The dreaded second novel that often stalls writing careers is nowhere to be seen here. A deft and very capable writer’s hand has…
