Reading highlights 2023 / Stella

My reading in any given year will include novels, short stories, and children's books, as well as essays and specific non-fiction, so the pool to select highlights from is wide-ranging. Two standouts in my children's reading were the excellent YA novel Between the Flags by Rachel Fenton and the charming The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo. It's always hard to whittle down the novels, as there are many worthy contenders, but these three all stood out. Starting from the most recently read, Prophet Song — intense and furious; followed by two brilliant Aotearoa authors, Thomasin Sleigh's The Words for Her — intelligent and gripping, and the beguiling Bird Life by Anna Smaill — a novel of quiet unease like a bird furiously flapping its wings against a glass pane, but you're inside and you can't hear it. And finally, I am always on the lookout for interesting craft theory writing, so was pleased to find (and be able to source) EP3 - Post Craft — specific!