February had two of my favourite books of the year, Shankari Chandran’s incredible Chai Time At Cinnamon Gardens – which won the Miles Franklin Award in 2024 – and Juliet Marillier’s magical A Song of Flight: Warrior Bards Book 3…

07 of 90 – On Hope by Daisy Jeffrey
On Hope by Daisy Jeffrey is more an essay than a book – the On… series is described as “little books about big ideas” – but it’s a lovely read, at turns sad, alarming, yet ultimately hopeful. Daisy was one of the high school student organisers of the school climate strikes, and it’s wonderful seeing inside the campaign, what inspired her, the incredible students she worked with from Australia and around the world, and the new ways they are able to communicate with each other and with the world. When I was a high school activist we didn’t have mobile phones or social media, and there’s no way I would have been able to stand up in front of thousands of people with a microphone like Daisy so eloquently and powerfully does – I was in awe of her strength at Sydney’s School Strike 4 Climate. Daisy, Jean Hinchliffe, Amelia Telford, Greta Thunberg and so many more young people are working to change the world, and it’s awesome to see. Daisy is studying at ANU now, and I can’t wait to see what this inspiring changemaker will do next.

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08 of 90 – Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson is a strange book, but I kind of loved it. It’s sort of a novel – except it’s pretty much autobiographical, and the main character is called Jeanette, and her mum is Mrs Winterson, and it’s written in first person, and the audiobook is narrated by the author. But there are faery tales woven into it, which were a bit jarring at first, but I grew to love them too. And there are some really beautiful reflections on life, and writing, and fictionalising your existence in order to understand it and also to change it, as well as on the way myth and legend can be woven into our lives. 
It’s really funny in parts, laugh-out-loud funny, then completely heartbreaking, and infuriating – the Church sure has a lot to answer for. And although it’s set in the 60s, and was published in 1985, it’s timely too, given our prime minister subscribes to the same damaging Pentecostal faith Jeanette grew up in (and a story came out today about a Pentecostal conversion therapy centre he gave taxpayer funds to – where terrible abuse is coming to light. Horrifying…).
The heart of this beautifully written book is about finding out who you are – and finding a way to be that person despite the condemnation and persecution you suffer, the cruelty from and rejection by those you love, and their ultimate hypocrisy. It explores what constitutes a transgression against someone you love, and what it means to forgive someone who has transgressed against you, and what love is, and should be. My heart broke for Jeanette, the writer and the character, and everyone who’s been through such a harrowing time in the supposed name of religion. Fortunately Jeanette was strong enough to endure the punishments, the torment (and the exorcisms) she suffered at the hands of her frighteningly religious and very deluded mother and priest, and has been able to help others through her books, but so many others do not survive, and that breaks my heart.

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09 of 90 – A Song of Flight by Juliet Marillier
Squeeeee! I waited so long to be able to read this book – it was my bribe to get my massive project finished, so it sat on my bedside table for months, equal parts urging me on and tormenting me – but I finally got to read it, and it was as beautiful and magical and comforting and wondrous as I knew it would be. Juliet Marillier is my favourite author, and A Song of Flight is so truly beautiful, like all of her books. This is the third instalment in the Warrior Bards Trilogy, and it’s so magical. So filled with mystery and action and intrigue… and challenges and suspense and adventure… and flawed people and character growth… and fear and cruelty – and those who find the courage to stand against it… and the Otherworld, the uncanny, and the magic of nature… and love and loss, and warriors finding their strength as well as their softness and vulnerability, and bards seeking the song of their heart… and the power of music and stories to change us and heal us and save us.
Juliet is a druid, a bard and a wise woman herself, and such a beautiful writer, weaving enchantment with her words, drawing you in to the mystery and making you feel so deeply for the people she brings to life and the worlds she creates. There’s heaps of action too – battles and curses and darkness – and a touching dedication to a real-life warrior woman. Like the first two books (and all of Juliet’s novels), it’s a brilliantly structured, deftly woven story, told from alternating and very different povs, and every time one chapter ended I was desperate to get back to their story – until I started the next one and wanted to stay with them. A Song of Flight is a beautiful, satisfying and perfect conclusion to the series, sad yet hopeful, with just enough pain to make the joy and the light even sweeter. I miss Liobhan and Dau and Brocc already, and can’t wait for Juliet’s next book…

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10 of 90 – Wild & Witchy by Allira Potter
Current read: Wild & Witchy by Allira Potter, and I’m looking forward to the book launch tonight at Better Read Than Dead in Newtown…

Manifesting queen, star of The Bridge and co-host of Mamamia’s Fill My Cup podcast Allira Potter has devised a ‘guidebook’ for life that will allow readers to bring in their most abundant life ever.
Imagine your dream life. Who are you with? What are you doing? How do you feel?
If you’re ready to call in everything you ever wanted, from a new lover to your perfect job, manifesting queen Allira Potter knows the secret to creating an abundant AF life…

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11 of 90 – Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs
The Australian Fairy Tale Society’s February faery tale was Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs, and we had a fascinating chat about it at the Sydney faery tale ring, then at the Magic Mirror, via zoom. Some of us liked the stories more than others… I really liked them, especially Little Ragged Blossom, and perhaps because I love her statue in Sydney Harbour beneath May’s house Nutcote, I have a soft spot for the third story, Little Obelia, too. It’s so strange that last year was the hundred year anniversary of the Little Obelia book! And it’s extraordinary just how impactful May’s artwork was, and remains – to bring to life the beautiful landscape, plants, trees and creatures of Australia.
Nutcote is the historic harbourside home of May Gibbs (1877-1969), Australia’s foremost children’s author and illustrator and best known today for her iconic story, The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot & Cuddlepie. Nutcote is located in Sydney’s Neutral Bay, and visitors can enjoy the house museum, shop and cafe surrounded by delightful gardens.

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12 of 90 – Chai Time At Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
Chai Time At Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran is a beautiful, moving, heartbreaking, powerful book, one that will touch your heart, and break it a little, but also wrap you in the comfort of hope, and the warmth of friendship and love and family, both those you’re born into, and those you find and create. It’s about the power of storytelling, the sharing of burdens by bearing witness to another’s life, the horror and loss of war, and the devastating impact of racism not just in the Sri Lanka many of the characters have ancestral links to, but in Australia too. It’s also about those who stand against it and speak out, who find the courage to make a difference and to protect the vulnerable.
Set in a western Sydney nursing home, it is peopled with wonderfully diverse characters, from wise and witty matriarch Maya, who runs Cinnamon Gardens with love and warmth, and the foods and rituals of the residents’ childhoods, to her strong yet vulnerable daughter Anji, Anji’s husband Nathan and her best friend Nikki, traumatised, secretive, 10-language-speaking refugee Ruben, and the sweet, funny, occasionally cranky residents and all their memories both sweet and sour.
The writing is gorgeously lush and evocative, occasionally too heartbreakingly real, when the recollections of civil war in Sri Lanka emerge in the nightmares of those who survived, and those left to mourn. And it’s gripping and masterfully plotted, with flashbacks that deepen the story, and so many different threads that are so slowly yet satisfyingly, and occasionally shockingly, woven together. There are two mysteries that keep you hooked and longing to know what happened, and a shred of empathy even for the one whose moment of jealousy sets off a horrifying chain of events – though not, of course, for those who take inspiration from it, the very worst of humanity, who are all too emboldened and real in Australia, and the world, today.
There is humour too, and love and honour, and people who are kind, loyal, brave and good, as well as a sprinkling of the language, culture, traditions and food of the author’s own Tamil ancestry, a fascinating extra layer to the story and the people in it. In the book Maya has a secret life as an author, and Shankari, by day a social justice lawyer who advocates for systemic reform on First Nations issues, justice reinvestment and Australia’s human rights record, shares her belief in the importance of stories and storytelling to teach, reflect, memorialise and heal.
I was won over by the title, and fell under its spell from the very first page. (I loved the audiobook, but bought the book so I could re-read it – many friends and family also received a copy as a gift, lol.) Powerful, moving, haunting and tender, I can’t recommend Chai Time At Cinnamon Gardens highly enough.
I scribbled down two quotes, “Violence should not be met with the silence of the oppressed,” and “The stories we tell are the temples we leave behind…” This beautiful, gripping book is a temple.