Familiar – Michelle Rowen (novella)
Amazon Digital Services/Smashwords, 2011
RRP: US$0.99
ASIN: B0050OWWIO

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

Familiar, a novella first published in Trisha Telep’s Kiss Me Deadly anthology of young adult paranormal romance, has been released separately as an ebook on Smashwords and Amazon. It’s about a young, reluctant witch-in-training, Brenda, who chooses a kitten as her familiar, only to find out that it’s no ordinary cat.

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The Double-Edged Sword – Sarah Silverwood (Nowhere Chronicles #1)
Hachette Gollancz, 2010
352 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 9780575095793

Reviewed by Kate Smith

I have never been one to avoid books because of their targeted age range. I have come across both shockers and brilliant stories in all ages ranges, and The Double-Edged Sword lies far closer to the positive end of the spectrum, despite not being primarily targeted to an adult audience.

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World’s Next Door – Tehani Wessely (ed)
Fablecroft, 2010
222 pages
RRP: AU$19.99
ISBN 978-0-9807770-1-7

Reviewed by Russell B. Farr

World’s Next Door is a refreshing attempt by an Australian independent press to target the young adult market. There is certainly a buzz going on with YA right now, and it’s a very savvy business approach for a press to make.

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Lord Sunday – Garth Nix
Allen & Unwin Children, 2010
324 pages
RRP: AU$15.99
ISBN: 9781741145915

Reviewed by Kate Smith

The Keys to the Kingdom series has been a thoroughly enjoyable read and the final part of the tale does not disappoint.  While the series is aimed at younger readers, adults will also be able to enjoy a diverting story if they allow themselves to read Lord Sunday for what it is and what it is meant to be – a well written and simple tale.  It is not absolutely necessary for someone to read the first six novels in order to understand events, however it is advised in order to understand why the different characters are motivated as they are.

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How to Ditch Your Fairy – Justine Larbalestier
Allen & Unwin, 2009
298 pages
RRP: AU$17.95
ISBN: 978-1-74175-737-8

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

How to Ditch Your Fairy is different from the other novels I’ve read from Justine Larbalestier. It’s written in the same conversational, easy-to-read style, but the world it inhabits is more removed from our own, where a person’s luck is attributed to their personal fairy. Charlie, the heroine of this novel, is saddled with a parking fairy who ensures a perfect parking spot no matter whose car she is in. This is quite annoying for her as she a) doesn’t have a license yet and b) hates cars! Her mission is to get rid of her fairy and aquire another one, hence the title of the novel.

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Living Hell – Catherine Jinks
Allen & Unwin, 2007
281 pages
RRP: AU$16.95
ISBN: 978-1-74114-828-2

Reviewed by Nicolee Baxter

Travelling through space in search of a habitable planet, 1400 humans alternate between stasis and active duty on the ship. When the ship passes through a strange emission wave, it mutates into an organic lifeform. The ship’s non-organic systems suddenly begin to behave in a manner similar to the human immune system. These systems identify the human crew as foreign invaders and begin to attack them.

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Ophelia – Lisa Klein
Allen & Unwin Bloomsbury, 2007
325 pages
RRP: AU$15.95
ISBN: 9780747587330

Reviewed by Kate Williams

If you have ever studied, read or seen Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and, let’s face it, few of us have escaped unscathed then Lisa Klein’s Ophelia will provide at least an entertaining read littered with familiar characters and quotations. For those of us who always thought that Ophelia was given short shrift compared to the male characters in the play then this book is even more satisfying.

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