Terrifying cults, the ups and downs of life as a surgeon, Royal detectives and more — just some of the subject matter to be found in the best books read by Booktopia’s staff in February 2021! Read on for our reviews…
Mark Harding – Brand & Content Manager
The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek by Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal
Why I loved it: If you’re looking for something to scratch that Stranger Things itch, this is the book for you. A bunch of teenagers fight evil in a small town in the early 90s – this time, evil comes in the form of the Whitewood School, a reform school which has seen many students mysteriously perish over the years. When Alicia is sent there after accidentally injuring the head of the school during a film shoot gone bad, her best friends Rex and Leif try to help her escape. But first, they must confront the many mysteries of the school and fight against an entire town that seems determined to keep its secrets.
Buy it here
Olivia Fricot – Senior Content Producer
The Project by Courtney Summers
Why I loved it: Courtney Summers’ latest YA novel, The Project, was so good that I devoured it over one feverish weekend. It follows Lo Denham, a 19-year-old girl looking for her sister Bea, who disappeared after their parents’ deaths and joined a mysterious Christian group known as The Unity Project — a group that Lo suspects is a cult. When Lo finally gets the chance to find Bea and expose The Project and its founder, Lev Warren, she jumps in head first, only to find herself neck deep in trouble before long. This is a harrowing slow burn thriller that builds up to a cathartic finish, sure to engross anyone as fascinated by cults as I am, but it’s also a heart-rending story about two sisters trying to find their way back to each other. It’ll haunt you for at least a week after reading.
Buy it here
Ben Hunter – Fiction Category Manager
The Truth About Her by Jacqueline Maley
Why I loved it: Walkley Award-winning investigative journalist Jacqueline Maley will astound you with this novel. Single mother and newspaper journalist Suzy Hamilton’s exposé of a 25-year-old wellness influencer who faked a life-threatening illness sets off a wave of trolling that precipitates her death. Over an oppressively hot summer in her uncle’s crumbling Glebe terrace house, Suzy develops a strange friendship with the grieving mother of the young woman she exposed. There’s so much to discover in this incredibly readable story about motherhood, the ownership writers take for their stories, the complex ways in which we grieve, and how women are marginalised in modern Australia. I think this will be the next big thing in Australian fiction.
Buy it here
Sarah McDuling – Kids & YA Category Manager
The World Between Blinks by Amie Kaufman and Ryan Graudin
Why I loved it: This gorgeous book held me completely spellbound in a way that reminded me of the magic and wonder I felt as a child when I would stay up all night to finish a book that had captured my whole imagination. Sparkling with creativity and charm, this book is packed full of rollicking adventure with a truly delightful premise that will prompt readers to start googling things like ‘Phoberomys Pattersoni’, ‘Kitezh’ and ‘The Frost Fair of 1814’ (seriously, this book is a true treasure trove of fun facts!). Most of all, The World Between Blinks is a really beautiful story with a big throbbing heart. All the stars and a million thumbs up for this one — what a joy to have found a new go-to rec for middle-grade readers!
Buy it here
Shanulisa Prasad – Lifestyle Category Manager
Emotional Female by Yumiko Kadota
Why I loved it: This is an honest and unflinching memoir that is a personal exploration of how zeal, intelligence, passion and skill counts for nothing when faced with a broken medical system. It explores how bullying, racism and sexism can flourish unchecked and how promising surgeons are treated as disposable. Essential reading!
Buy it here
Renae Adolfson – Trade Product Coordinator
The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.
Why I loved it: The Prophets is a magical and stunning debut novel; it is magical in its beautiful lyrical tone and moving depictions of desire, and it stuns with the harrowing cruelty that is inflicted upon every character, by one means or another. Set in the Deep South on the Halifax plantation, this story primarily focuses on two enslaved men, Isaiah and Samuel, who have found a forbidden love. Accompanied by a multitude of characters who are given voices that speak of a love, loss, betrayal, pain, and the terror of losing one’s humanity or being owned by someone who has lost theirs.
Buy it here
Cassandra Sharpe – Assistant Category Manager
All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung
Why I loved it: All You Can Ever Know dives into the murky territory of family, the stories we’re told, and the truths we discover as adults. Nicole Chung was given up for adoption as a baby, and raised by a white family in a white American town. She faces racism from schoolmates and neighbours alike, which is swept aside by her parents. Their insistence on her being a delivery from God papers over Chung’s struggles, and tears appear when she begins to find herself at university. She begins to look for her biological family, and those tears become bigger as she has her own child. Chung has a beautiful way with words, with a measured and considered voice. This book will make you think about your own family, and whether those often-told stories our parents hand us down are as true as we think.
Buy it here
Amy Evans – Assistant Category Manager
Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
Why I loved it: Man was this the cutest book I have read in a long time! Second First Impressions is the clever, funny and unforgettably endearing story of a muscular, tattooed man hired as an assistant to two elderly women — under the watchful eye of a beautiful retirement home manager. With all the easy humour and tension we’ve come to love in Sally Thorne’s writing, I think this is her best yet. It’s a new level of adorable and I loved every sappy moment of it.
Buy it here
Eden Samuel – Assistant Category Manager
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
Why I loved it: A gruesome and gory historical thriller sure to set your teeth on edge! Inspired by the Ripper murders, we follow Audrey Rose as she secretly works under her uncle’s tutelage, studying forensic science and following the trail of a serial killer side-by-side with the sarcastic and flirtatious Thomas Cresswell, defying societal expectations in Victorian England while using her wit and charm to outsmart all her superiors. This book was absolutely riveting and I’ve already ordered the rest of the series!
Buy it here
Robert O’Hearn – Academic & Professional Category Manager
The Beat of Life by Dr. Reinhard Friedl
Why I loved it: An accomplished heart surgeon, accustomed to only seeing the heart as a pump in the operating room reaches for a more holistic view. Exploring the wider physical, cultural and emotional connections of this most vital of organs, Friedl touches on many fascinating aspects: heartbeat synchronisation between humans, heart nerve cells controlling other organs, cardio-electromagnetic fields, effects of love on tissues, and many other heart-brain connections. With some revealing glimpses of hospital culture, and some vivid scenes of surgery, he takes us within a surgeon’s life. We are left viewing the miraculous heart as the very hub of the human.
Buy it here
Ashleigh Berry – Campaigns Coordinator
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Why I loved it: I have been incredibly eager to read The Nickel Boys, and now having finally done so I regret not picking it up sooner. Based on a true story of a reform school, this is the story of Elwood, a Black boy whose bright future is ripped away when he finds himself sent to Nickel Academy. This is a masterful novel that will leave you in awe of the prose and devastated by the events that unfold.
Buy it here
Scott Whitmont – Business Development and Relationship Manager
The Windsor Knot by S. J. Bennett
Why I loved it: Lovers of ‘cozy crime’ and admirers of the Queen will relish this first in a projected series about the double life she has long led. Away from the public eye, Her Maj is not merely a nice old lady, but a distinctly talented sleuth — decisive, shrewd and canny — with a knack for quietly solving crimes. When the body of an apparently murdered young Russian pianist is found in the guest rooms of Buckingham Palace after an official reception, QEII sets out to quietly unravel the mystery being hopelessly mishandled by MI5. This is an amusing and charming entertainment!
Buy it here
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