Reviews by sophiesmallhands

790 reviews by:

sophiesmallhands

Mooncakes

Suzanne Walker

4.5

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

War Girls

Tochi Onyebuchi

3.75

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

On a Sunbeam

Tillie Walden

4.5

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Piranesi

Susanna Clarke

4.75

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

Becky Chambers

5.0

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

Dusty in the Outwilds

Rhiannon Williams

4.25

adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Many thanks to Hardie Grant Kids for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Dusty in the Outwilds made me so nostalgic for my childhood days of having a day of just wandering around all weekend and exploring a beach or a forest and coming back with treasured feathers or cool rocks.

When Dusty discovers the beloved bushland family property might be sold, she decides her only hope is to find her aunt Meg who went off to live “out wild” years ago and never returned. With only quiet whispers in the family and a mysterious photograph to go off, Dusty and her friends (and dog, of course!) discover the magical and, at times dangerous, Outwilds – a place they thought was just a fantasy told to her as bedtime stories.

Even though this book is middle grade, it explores some serious themes of anxiety (Dusty’s friend has a fear of heights and this is beautifully explored) and how adults in a family deal with a family trauma and how this can affect their children. There were two major twists in the story, both of which I didn’t guess until literally the page before it happened!

Dusty is a daring and genuine 12/13-year-old protagonist, and her internal monologue was so relatable; Rhiannon Williams did a fantastic job nailing her voice!

Content Warnings