MARCH Book of the Month
Ruins, Child
By Giada Scodellaro
Loose, liquid and unsettling, Ruins, Child is brought to us by a Greek chorus of six women living in the Bronx, without any temporal or spatial markers. Their apartment building is crumbling around them, as is the literal city while the government sits back and watches, claiming that decay is inevitable. We mourn the library sinking an eighth of an inch every six months, the neon orange the neighbourhood is being painted and the neglect of the government who tell them that everything is ok.
Ruins, Child is both surreal and cinematic; we watch the women watch themselves being watched, and Scodellaro gives the sense that we are eavesdropping on these women’s lives. Focused around the marginalisation of black communities and from one of the most distinctive voices I’ve read in a very long time, Ruins, Child is a masterclass on the temporality of infrastructure and the importance of seeing the individual through, and despite, the collective.
MARCH ILF Book of the Month
Ruby's Web
By Ellen van Neerven
Ruby’s Web is a moving coming-of-age novel for young teens that has the makings of an Australian modern classic, written by a powerhouse author. Ellen van Neerven masterfully uses Ruby’s struggles as a Year 7 student navigating friendships, and online bullying and racism as a microcosm for the broader political landscape as the whole country debates the referendum for a First Nations Voice to Parliament in 2023.
Ruby’s growth from timid and unsure to a proud young woman who uses her poetry writing skills as an outlet of empowerment unfolds so beautifully it made me want to cry. Ruby’s Web is a powerful commentary on the dangers and potential positives of the internet for teens, and the power of using your voice at any age, which will hopefully spark important conversations between friends, and parents and children.
– MISCHA –
MARCH Kids Book of the Month
Different
By Eva Eland
Sometimes feelings can be so BIG that they overwhelm us.
That's how Mia feels, when one morning she wakes up and just doesn’t seem to fit in anymore and no matter how much she tries, different will always be different.
This is Book 3 in Eland’s Big Feelings series of picture books for kids, written to help them navigate feelings and emotions. With this book, kids can celebrate being different, and discover the power of finding someone who feels a little bit different, too.
– ROBERT –
MARCH Cookbook of the Month
Home Food
By Elizabeth Hewson
This very appealing new book by Elizabeth Hewson – author of one of my favourite cookbooks, Saturday Night Pasta – is all about making home cooking easy and delicious, especially if you are feeling a bit tired from juggling work, family, life and everything else you might be attending to. (Perhaps even actual juggling? You never know …) What’s more, Elizabeth’s recipes offer comfort, flavour and culinary joy – three more of my favourite things!
With recipe titles such as It’s Going To Be Ok Stew, Soup For Exhausted People, A Midweek Fish Pillow Pie and A Sunny Dhal with Crispy Curry Leaves, you can also feel confident Elizabeth will support you through any breakfast, lunch or dinner. And now, surely, it must be time to try Elizabeth’s Sour Cream and Strawberry Ripple Slab Cake … mmmm …
– SYLVIA –
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