If you’ve been browsing #booktok in search of the best books to give as presents, but are still undecided, look no further.
At Red Kangaroo Books, we specialise in books by Australian authors.
We’re revealing the books by Australian authors that we love giving as gifts.
From Sally Hepworth to Trent Dalton, these Australian author’s novels are all worthy of being wrapped and gifted to your loved ones this year.
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
GENRE: FICTION
Themes:
- Crime
- Mystery
- Contemporary
Overview:
It’s not just secrets buried at Wild Meadows. For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. Rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother on an idyllic farming estate, they were given an elusive second chance of a happy family life. But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. And when a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects? A thrilling page-turner by New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth of sisterhood, secrets, love and murder.
Review:
‘Sally Hepworth’s Darling Girls is the kind of story that grabs you hard and doesn’t let go. Easily one of the best books I’ve read all year. An absolute page-turner from first word to last, and a story told with wit and compassion. It’s got HUGE HIT written all over it, and I’m going to be pressing it into the hands of everyone I know. A superb and haunting mystery. ‘ Jane Harper (British–Australian author known for her crime novels The Dry, Force of Nature and The Lost Man, all set in rural Australia.)
Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
GENRE: FICTION
Bighearted, gritty, magical and moving, Lola in the Mirror is the irresistible new novel from international bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe and All Our Shimmering Skies, Trent Dalton.
Themes:
- Mystery
- Magical
- Suspense
Overview:
A big, moving, blackly funny, violent, heartbreaking and beautiful novel of love, fate, life and death and all the things we see when we look in the mirror. All of the past, all of the present, and all of our possible futures.
Love and Virtue by Diana Reid
GENRE: FICTION
AWARD: Australian bestseller and winner of the ABIA Book of the Year Award,
Themes:
- Coming of age
- Pyschological Fiction
- Feminism
Overview:
Written with a strikingly contemporary voice that is both wickedly clever and incisive, issues of consent, class and institutional privilege, and feminism become provocations for enduring philosophical questions we face today.
Eventually Everything Connects: Eight Essays on Uncertainty by Sarah Firth
GENRE: GRAPHIC NOVEL
Themes:
- Science
- Philosophy
- Pop culture
Overview:
“Eventually Everything Connects” is Sarah Firth’s debut graphic novel, a collection of interconnected visual essays created over eight years. Sarah invites you into her wild mind as she explores ways to see with fresh eyes, to face the inevitability of change,and to find freedom in sensuality. With raw honesty and vulnerability, Firth reminds us that theprofane and the sacred, the tender and the cruel, the rigorous and the silly, all coexist in dynamic tension.
Review:
'Absolutely delightful . . . deserves returning to over and over. Sarah Firth is a marvel.' Michelle Law
Shop “Eventually Everything Connects” here
So Close to Home by Mick Cummins
GENRE: Fiction
Winner of the 2023 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript
Themes:
- Homelessness
- Love
- Drug addiction
Overview:
Eighteen-year-old Aaron is charismatic, resourceful and addicted to heroin. His mum has kicked him out of home in a last-ditch move to help him get straight, and he wanders the streets of South Melbourne, living on his wits and sleeping rough - all the while chasing drugs, dreams and love.
Looking for something else?
There's no better gift than a captivating book. Whether you're seeking the perfect read for a loved one or looking to treat yourself, the gift of a good book is a timeless and thoughtful choice.
