Verdict: A unique, deeply moving story of friendship becoming love: Belinda wakes from six years in a coma with locked-in syndrome, able to move only her eyes, and Carly, a perceptive volunteer, is the one who notices that someone is still inside. Readers praise the sensitivity, research and uplifting message; several felt the second half … Read more
Verdict: An award-winning slow burn with music at its heart: jazz pianist Liz Randall, six months after her wife’s death, needs help preparing for the Monterey Jazz Festival and finds it in her reclusive neighbour Jac Winters, a blind jazz expert with a guide dog and a past she is hiding from. Readers praise the … Read more
Verdict: A sweet, low-tension small-town romance: Sage Montgomery, blinded four years ago in the crash that killed her parents, is fighting to save her family’s Oregon horse ranch from unpaid taxes when Julie Aspen, a Wall Street high-flyer caught up in a fraud scandal, flees back to the hometown she hates. Readers call it heartwarming … Read more
Verdict: A careful, emotional medical slow burn: ER doctor Ashlee Logan has spent two years on the road with her Great Dane, running from a night in Boston, and former Navy doctor Dale Parker is rebuilding her life after losing her leg on a desert roadside. Readers praise Nolan’s sensitive handling of trauma and disability; … Read more
Verdict: A fast, funny European caper with a friends-to-lovers heart: Callie Compton ran from her sweet, church-going grandmother, secretly the UK’s top crime boss, at eighteen, and six years later her deaf childhood best friend and crush, Daisy, tracks her down in Sweden. Readers love the humour, the twists and the ending; a few could … Read more
Verdict: A profound, heartbreaking love story: in a small 1980s town, Henrietta Cochran, an artist who has lived with the effects of polio since 1945, takes on outspoken young history professor Meryn “Ryn” Fleming as her live-in companion, and both of their lives change. Readers call it one of Werlinger’s best and a book that … Read more
Verdict: A sweet, feel-good YA time-loop romance: Phoebe Mendel has lived August 6th for nearly a month, desperate to reach the doctor who might take her IBS seriously, when a very mundane car crash sends her childhood crush Jess into the loop with her. Readers celebrate its disability, fat and queer Jewish representation; some wanted … Read more
Verdict: A soft, hopeful sci-fi love story in comic form: in a near future where nanotech “mods” let people change their looks at will, Sunati falls for Austen, admiring her bravery in living unmodded, then learns Austen has Egan’s Syndrome and cannot use mods at all. Readers adore the art, the diversity and a remarkably … Read more
Verdict: A cosy, beautifully drawn autumn graphic novel: teen witch Nova Huang, who is hard of hearing, follows reports of a white wolf into the woods and finds her childhood crush Tam Lang, a nonbinary werewolf, fighting a horse demon. Readers adore Wendy Xu’s art, the witchy atmosphere and the representation; the most common criticism … Read more
Verdict: A chaotic, cosy Christmas rom-com: after a year from hell, Haf kisses a kind stranger, Christopher, under the mistletoe, agrees to play his girlfriend at his family’s country home for the holidays, and falls for his sister Kit instead. Readers love the humour, the body- and disability-positive cast and the platonic fake-dating friendship; some … Read more