Category: Jackie French

#AussieAuthors2026, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, challenges, check in post, Crime/Mystery, Disney Reading Challenge, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, Jackie French, Jacqueline Harvey, Junior Fiction, Kate Forsyth, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, mythology, non-fiction, Picture Books, plays, poetry, Publishers, R.A. Spratt, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, series, Speculative fiction, The Nerd Daily, translated works, Verse novels, Young Adult

The Nerd Daily Reading Challenge 2026 Completed

Ashleigh

Three months left in the year, and I have finished the 2026 Nerd Daily Reading Challenge. A few prompts could have bested me, but they didn’t, due to my strategy of tackling certain ones first, and a few books fell into place later, especially the Nerd Daily recommendation. I’d been trying to find one I… Continue reading The Nerd Daily Reading Challenge 2026 Completed

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Total Women

Ashleigh

Each year, I try my best to read as many books by women as possible, and to read as diversely as possible. In 2025, I read 234, participated in judging an award, and of course, continued to do my reviewing. Reading across as many styles and genres as possible, based on what I had from… Continue reading Total Women

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Australian Women Read

Ashleigh

In 2025, I read 210 books by Australian women, and may not have read as diversely as I wanted based on a focus for judging reading. That said, I did manage to get in as many diverse books as possible, where I could see or knew that the author was disabled, Indigenous or LGBTQIA, or… Continue reading Australian Women Read

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#AussieYAChallenge 2025 Completed

Ashleigh

And that’s a wrap on this year’s #AussieYAChallenge. 45 books read, and all the prompts marked off. Some of the books I read probably also crossed over into children’s and middle grade for various reasons, which I aimed to explain in the reviews. And I did my best to read as diversely as possible, as… Continue reading #AussieYAChallenge 2025 Completed

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Readings Book Bingo Completed-ish

Ashleigh

 One final challenge I took part in this year was the Readings book bingo. I managed to tick every prompt apart from the cookbook prompt off, which probably had more to do with time than anything else. 2024 Prize Winner:  A Gift from the Birds by Caroline Stills (Text Prize 2024) A debut author: Earth… Continue reading Readings Book Bingo Completed-ish

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Dymocks Reading Challenge 2025 Completed

Ashleigh

And just like that, another year of the Dymocks Reading Challenge is over. I managed to fill in each prompt for this one, and may have ummed and ahhed about the Gothic Ruins prompt, because I read a couple of books that seemed to fit it well. I did focus on Australian books and authors… Continue reading Dymocks Reading Challenge 2025 Completed

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The Nerd Daily Reading Challenge Completed

Ashleigh

It’s taken me around 8 months, but I have completed another reading challenge for 2025. I embarked on The Nerd Daily Reading Challenge again, and enjoyed the prompts because they were broad enough to interpret for any book that I had on my shelf. There were some that were specific, and a few that I… Continue reading The Nerd Daily Reading Challenge Completed

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The Mushroom in the Sky by Jackie French

Ashleigh

Title: The Mushroom in the Sky Author: Jackie French Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: HarperCollins Australia Published: 2nd July 2025 Format: Paperback Pages: 240 Price: $17.99 Synopsis: In the 80th anniversary year, Jackie French explores the dropping of the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, which ended World War 2. 1942 Japan has bombed… Continue reading The Mushroom in the Sky by Jackie French

#AussieAuthors2025, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, adventure, animals, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, challenges, check in post, Children's Literature, Crime/Mystery, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, humour, Jackie French, Jacqueline Harvey, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, mythology, Nevermoor, non-fiction, Picture Books, poetry, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, Sci-Fi, series, Speculative fiction, The Girls Who Change the World, The Nerd Daily, Verse novels, Young Adult

May 2025 Reading Round Up

Ashleigh

During May, I almost got caught up on my review reading, mostly completed all my reading for something else, and overall, I read 28 books. All these books were by Australian authors, which is a huge focus on my blog at the moment. That’s not to say there aren’t great books by authors not from… Continue reading May 2025 Reading Round Up

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Ming and Maria Explore the Universe (The Girls Who Changed the World #5) by Jackie French

Ashleigh

Title: Ming and Maria Explore the Universe (The Girls Who Changed the World #5) Author: Jackie French Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: HarperCollins Australia Published: 30th April 2025 Format: Paperback Pages: 272 Price: $16.99 Synopsis: In this fifth and final book in The Girls Who Changed the World series, Ming Qong discovers who she is, and… Continue reading Ming and Maria Explore the Universe (The Girls Who Changed the World #5) by Jackie French