Who Is Allowed Access to Education?: What Bri Lee’s “Who Gets To Be Smart” and Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Klara And the Sun” can tell us about equitable education
Australian / Book Reviews / British / nonfiction / Opinion Pieces / study / The Latest

Who Is Allowed Access to Education?: What Bri Lee’s “Who Gets To Be Smart” and Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Klara And the Sun” can tell us about equitable education

What does a nonfiction social commentary book from Australian writer Bri Lee have to do with a dystopian futuristic novel from Japanese-British author Kazuo Ishiguro? The short answer – A lot.
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“Witness”: A Review of Louise Milligan’s Investigations into the Human Costs for Seeking Justice
Australian / Book Reviews / nonfiction / The Latest

“Witness”: A Review of Louise Milligan’s Investigations into the Human Costs for Seeking Justice

This book is not easy to read. It is harrowing and it made me extremely emotional and it even made me cry. With that said, I also feel that this book is extremely important and desperately needed – not just for the Australian criminal justice system, but for many countries the world over. Continue reading

A Review of Kavita Bedford’s “Friends and Dark Shapes”: sharehouses, the gig economy, and millennial living
Australian / Book Reviews / The Latest

A Review of Kavita Bedford’s “Friends and Dark Shapes”: sharehouses, the gig economy, and millennial living

Disclosure: Sections of the blog may contain affiliate links. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission. This helps keep this small independent blog going. This is one of those times where I bought the book because the cover was just too beautiful. Despite the old saying … Continue reading

Review of “The Coconut Children” by Vivian Pham: immigrant voices in Australian literature
Australian / Book Reviews / The Latest / Vietnamese

Review of “The Coconut Children” by Vivian Pham: immigrant voices in Australian literature

Sonny and Vince find each other in the chaos of trying to unpack their parents’ struggles and traumas as well as navigating the two worlds of Vietnamese culture and Australian culture. And possibly even a third culture – Vietnamese Australian identity. It is a beautiful and bittersweet teenage love that just had me sighing and clutching my heart. Continue reading

Book Review of “About A Girl”: transgender lives in Australia
Australian / Book Reviews / nonfiction / queer / The Latest

Book Review of “About A Girl”: transgender lives in Australia

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission. About a Girl was written by Rebekah Robertson about her experiences as a mother of twins, and as a mother of a trans daughter. Although this goes beyond being just a memoir. … Continue reading

A Review of “The Mother Fault”: Australian climate-change dystopia and the ‘Chinese bad guys’
Australian / Book Reviews / The Latest

A Review of “The Mother Fault”: Australian climate-change dystopia and the ‘Chinese bad guys’

Why is it that in our imagined fantasies, Asian countries are the bad guys? In light of the pandemic, I feel like this is even more important to talk about. What internal biases do we hold as a country if this is our default bad guy? Continue reading

Be “Your Own Kind of Girl” in 2021: A book review of Clare Bowditch’s memoir
Australian / Book Reviews / nonfiction / The Latest

Be “Your Own Kind of Girl” in 2021: A book review of Clare Bowditch’s memoir

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission. Clare Bowditch became famous for her singing and songwriting in Melbourne, Australia from the early 2000s. She also went on to be an actress in a nationally famous T.V. series Offspring. Of … Continue reading

Reading Race in “The White Girl”: A review of Tony Birch’s novel
Australian / Book Reviews / The Latest

Reading Race in “The White Girl”: A review of Tony Birch’s novel

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission. I didn’t always enjoy audiobooks, but in recent years I have been loving them. I tend to stick to nonfiction books, but I do occasionally go for some fiction when I listen. … Continue reading