Bec Kavanagh
Bec Kavanagh is a former Readings Kids bookseller
Review — 26 Aug 2024
Anomaly by Emma Lord
In the wake of a mysterious sickness that killed the majority of the world’s population, Piper does her best to survive, and to forget she’s alone, almost out of food…
Review — 27 Jan 2022
The Furies by Mandy Beaumont
In Mandy Beaumont’s debut novel, the vengeance of the mythological Greek Furies is wrought upon an Australian outback town. Cynthia – Cyn – was 16 when her younger sister, Mallory…
Review — 29 Sep 2021
Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down
After being named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist two years running, it should come as no surprise that Jennifer Down has delivered another gem. But Bodies of…
Review — 1 Aug 2021
Dark as Last Night by Tony Birch
In Dark as Last Night, Tony Birch celebrates stubborn women and gentle men. Like the poem by Anne-Marie Te Whiu that lends the collection its title, these stories speak…
Review — 28 Jun 2021
The Newcomer by Laura Elizabeth Woollett
When Judy Novak’s daughter, Paulina, doesn’t show up for lunch, it doesn’t mean anything but further frustration for Judy, who is used to her daughter’s failings. Later, after Judy hascalled…
Review — 1 Jun 2021
Echolalia by Briohny Doyle
While Briohny Doyle’s second novel Echolalia is less overtly end-of-days than her first (The Island Will Sink), it still carries a sense of desolation that speaks to Doyle’s preoccupations with…
Review — 30 Mar 2021
A Million Things by Emily Spurr
Emily Spurr’s A Million Things is an enthralling, devastating debut. Shortlisted for the Unpublished Manuscript Prize in the 2020 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, this is a story about love, family…
Review — 1 Oct 2020
Grown by Tiffany D Jackson
In Grown, a book about a talented young singer whose big chance to succeed comes at a price, Tiffany D. Jackson reminds readers that the conflicting pressures we put…
Review — 6 Sep 2020
Show Me Where It Hurts by Kylie Maslen
In Kylie Maslen’s generous debut collection of essays, Show Me Where It Hurts, she invites the reader into her experience of chronic pain. Hers, not anyone – or everyone…
Review — 23 Feb 2020
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
Will Stanton is the seventh son of the seventh son, unaware that his life is about to change forever. As the snow falls, and Christmas approaches, Will begins to notice…
