The quandary began a couple of weeks ago. Making a list and checking it twice. What book to choose as my best read of this year. I just cant go past this beauty from Brit Bennett as ( drumroll please ) my favourite  for 2020. 
 I read this book in one sitting on a rare Sunday afternoon with free time. It got me from the very first chapter and there I stayed until it was finished. I felt like I was interfering in their lives, looking through the window like a nosy neighbour to see what was going to happen next. Each character was described and their innermost thoughts revealed in such a human and fragile way. Generational family drama with the issues of racism and identity front and centre.  Do yourselves a favour over summer and pop this on your TBR list.
Click here to buy The Vanishing Half

Official Blurb: The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities.
Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined.
What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' story lines intersect?  Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing.
Looking well beyond issues of race, THE VANISHING HALF considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

Well there's no need for an introduction to this new mega book out on 10th November. Its a massive blockbuster, hard cover edition and oh so popular. So on with the show.....

Official blurb -
The Ickabog is coming... A mythical monster, a kingdom in peril, an adventure that will test two children's bravery to the limit. Discover a brilliantly original fairy tale about the power of hope and friendship to triumph against all odds, from one of the world's best storytellers.
The kingdom of Cornucopia was once the happiest in the world. It had plenty of gold, a king with the finest moustaches you could possibly imagine, and butchers, bakers and cheesemongers whose exquisite foods made a person dance with delight when they ate them.
Everything was perfect - except for the misty Marshlands to the north which, according to legend, were home to the monstrous Ickabog. Anyone sensible knew that the Ickabog was just a myth, to scare children into behaving. But the funny thing about myths is that sometimes they take on a life of their own.
Could a myth unseat a beloved king? Could a myth bring a once happy country to its knees? Could a myth thrust two children into an adventure they didn't ask for and never expected?
If you're feeling brave, step into the pages of this book to find out...
A beautiful hardback edition, perfect for sharing and gift-giving. Brought to life with full-colour illustrations by the young winners of The Ickabog Illustration Competition.

SOPHIA SPARKS by ELANOR BEST
This story is such a great way to show that girls can do anything. Sophia is an inventor and her bow is the magical key to it all. Included with the book is a beautiful blue bow to wear. With help from her friends they create wonderful things. I love the rhyming text and the colours just pop out at you. If you have girls in your life between the ages of four to eight then this book is perfect.  Super cool, super fun!!
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Official blurb - Sophia wears her bow whenever she needs to come up with a new, dazzling invention. But one day, she can't find it! Join Sophia as she learns — through the power of mashed potato and friends — that she didn't need a bow on her head to think of brilliant things, after all.

Fun, rhyming text and Lara Ede's sweet illustrations combine to bring Sophia's world of incredible inventions to life! From glitter-fueled rockets to dancing robots, there's something in this story that will spark the imagination of every little reader who hears it.
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Starts with a bang from the very first page. Gritty, raw and very emotional. Its a story that will have you reading into the wee hours. I know there was some controversy surrounding this book when it first came out earlier this year but as a work of fiction I found it thoroughly engaging from beginning to end. Its a Yes from me and a Meh from Miss Bella who was not impressed that the bedside lamp stayed on while she was trying to slumber. 
Official blurb - También de este lado hay sueños. On this side, too, there are dreams.
Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.
Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy—two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.
Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia—trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?
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Well ladies, here's the latest Kathy Lette pearler to enjoy. The minute I saw this new book was coming, I made sure to grab my copy. Yet again Kathy doesn't disappoint. Going totally to heart of every woman over 45 who just wants to say it as it is to family and friends. Grab the wine, take the time and spoil yourself! I did and couldn't of been happier. 
Official blurb - Ruby is generous, sunny and funny - which is why all her friends, family and colleagues have turned up to celebrate her 50th birthday. But with a few too many glasses of champers under her belt, Ruby's speech doesn't go exactly to plan. Instead of the witty and warm words guests are expecting, Ruby takes her moment in the spotlight to reveal what she really thinks of them. Shocking them all, she also accuses her husband, Harry, of having an affair, and reads to the audience the evidence she found on his phone that very morning. And, saving the best till last, Ruby lambasts her calculatingly cruel mother for spending her life playing her three daughters against each other. It's blisteringly brutal. As the stunned gathering gawk at Ruby, the birthday girl concludes her bravura monologue with the throwaway comment that she has terminal cancer. She has cashed out her life savings and plans on taking her two sisters cruising until she dies. Only, do they really want to go with her? And, was it her medical results she read?
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Well this story is one my grandsons just cant get enough of. The illustrations are so quirky and beautiful. The Smeds and The Smoos would make a wonderful gift and a fantastic memorable story time tale. 

Official blurb - Soar into space with a glorious love story of alien folk that's literally out of this world. The Smeds (who are red) never mix with the Smoos (who are blue). So when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love, their families strongly disapprove. But peace is restored and love conquers all in this happiest of love stories. There's even a gorgeous purple baby to celebrate! With fabulous rhymes and breathtaking illustrations, this is a sure-fire winner from the bestselling creators of Stick Man.

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To be Australian, is to be, feel and commemorate Anzac Day as a natural part of our psyche.  My family and myself have always attended the dawn service and gun fire breakfast, after a usually very cold morning, and emotions of such appreciation to these wonderful diggers who gave their lives and still do today.
A Century of Anzacs is one of those marvellous pictorial books that every home should own. From the beginning with The Colonial Wars(1840-1901), WW1, WW2, and right through to Iraq and Afghanistan today it tugs at the heartstrings as well as giving the factual information of each. The introduction given by the Honorable Paul Keating ( former Prime Minister 1991 - 1996). 
Lets all do our part to commemorate this years Anzac Day on April 25th. 

Official Blurb - The ANZAC tradition was forged on the killing fields of Gallipoli in 1915 and the legend grewthroughout the decades at places such as Tobruk, Singapore, Kokoda and Long Tan. A CENTURY OFANZACS is a pictorial history of Australia's involvement in more than a hundred years of war, conflictand peacekeeping, starting with colonial wars in New Zealand and South Africa in the 1800's, right up toour modern peacekeeping roles in Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.With introductions that provide an overview of each conflict in which Australia and New Zealand haveserved, A CENTURY OF ANZACS includes hundreds of rare and evocative images of courage, sacrificeand duty. The book is a tribute to the men and women who served their country in the past, and thepresent day soldiers and personnel who continue the ANZAC tradition on the international stage.

  All hail the body diversity of the sisterhood!!
This is a warts n all look at how one woman has consistently, over many years, braved and defied so many society standards about how women “should” be portrayed in the fashion and media industries and come out on top.
I normally go for the fun, quirky style book review, however on this occasion, I must admit I’m finding it a tough challenge. Its an issue that affects us all, and although we have come along way in a few decades, the juggernaut that is social media is the next behemoth to conquer. Chelsea is there along for the ride, promoting all that is great about body diversity and we should give her a massive thanks and high five that she has found her true calling, rallying for what we women have always been, a normal and healthy size 14+.
This is my nod and acknowledgement to an Aussie woman for International Womens Day who inspires us all to be happy with who we are, inside and out.
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Official blurb - Part memoir and part positive body image manifesto, this is an insider's perspective on the industry and how the images the world gets to see are only part of the story. The modelling and advertising industries persistently tell women they're fat, ugly and abnormal if they conform to anything other than a western ideal of beauty. In 2002 Chelsea Bonner founded BELLA, a modelling agency focused on healthy body size and dedicated to changing our dangerously narrow perception of 'beautiful'.

Chelsea was born into the Australian entertainment industry, daughter of one of the country's most famous media couples, and grew up with the painful reality of her family life hidden behind a facade of gloss. She was expected to follow effortlessly in her parents' beautiful shadows, but her natural body shape led to teenage rebellion. Instead, Chelsea decided on a career as a modelling agent and, shocked at what she witnessed, became determined to change the industry from within. She has fought on through illness, broken relationships, the collapse of businesses and exclusion by powerful industry forces.

I read this wonderful funny story while lounging under the shade of an umbrella, glass of bubbles and Miss Bella at my feet​. I love my Aussie summers and this book couldn't of been more well timed.
My heart went out to Harvey Beam (albeit not for long) heading back to his regional outback Australian home town. I felt like I could literally see and feel the shimmering heat of the tarmac as his plane landed.
​Harvey, the entitled white middle aged male, grumpy, remote and the 'why me' mentality shining through. Its a story of mid life crisis, the chaos of families, dying relatives and charting the course of changing dynamics within the family. The hurt, the pain and the bitter sweet moments of random pellets of joy. 
Thoroughly entertaining and feel good. I loved it!!

Official blurb - Confirming his suspicions that you can successfully run away from your problems and a dysfunctional family, talk-show host Harvey Beam got out of his regional hometown as soon as he could. Beam creates a stellar radio career in the city, and builds a life that bears no resemblance to the one he left behind. But as things start to unravel at work and at home, Beam is called back to Shorton by the imminent death of his father. There he finds everything is still waiting for him just as he left it. Maybe, though, Harvey Beam is not the same angry young man who ran away. And maybe the arrival of a single, wonderful stranger will mean that instead of going back, Harvey can finally move on.