What is Novel Insight?
Are you a teacher with hundreds of students that you'd love to inspire to read?
Have you ever wanted to know more about the books your kids are reading?
Do you wish you could give more informed book recommendations?
Novel Insight is a book review site for books with content information that informs educators, individuals, authors, booksellers and more about the content of a story. We provide valuable insight into thousands of books from picture books to new adults. Each year, we review 600-700 books, and our extensive review database already contains 6,000+ reviews.
Our unique reviews are catered to library professionals, schools, individuals and anyone looking for more information about a book before making a purchasing decision. We focus on fiction books and feature an extensive list of Australian and New Zealand titles and authors (a significant proportion of our review list).
With this wealth of information, our subscribers can make informed decisions about their reading choices and stay up to date on the latest literary releases.
About us
Novel Insight started late October 2023 with yearly subscription options for families, individuals, schools and bookstores. We also offer limited information in a free subscription to help everyone have access to some information.
Novel Insight is managed by children's book publisher Wombat Books, but we review books from all Australian and New Zealand publishers. We specifically target our reviews as information for schools and families. By providing content insights, it makes it easier to choose which books you want to read or pass on. Members can request books to be reviewed at any time.
Novel Insight also partners with a local bookstore to sell and ship book orders to you! School members receive 10% off the RRP of books.
Our Team
Rochelle Stephens is the founder and director of Novel Insight. Our team includes several editing staff, a designer, and a team of reviewers. If you are interested in joining our review team, find out more here.
Our Review Philosophy
Reviews can be incredibly helpful when deciding which book to read or give to a younger reader. However, they can also be biased and subjective to a reviewer's personal taste.
So what makes Novel Insight reviews different?
At Novel Insight, we want to give you the power to make your own decisions about whether a book is suitable for you. Because of this, each review contains a comprehensive overview of the book. This includes essential details such as the title, author and publication information. But to help you gauge the appropriateness of a book for yourself or others, we also provide:
- Summary of Content: We include long and short reviews with a summary of the plot, main themes, and characters to provide you with the closest possible experience to reading the books yourself (please note our long reviews often contain spoilers!).
- Genre, Topic and Themes: We include genre, topic and themes in our book reviews to help you gauge whether a book fits into your reading preferences.
- Critical Perspective: We aim for our reviews to offer critical insights into the content and concepts involved in each book, such as violence, sexual references, and/or supernatural elements.
- Language Ratings: We provide an overall language rating for each book and lists of the words used where possible.
- Representations: We list notable representations of diversity such as cultural backgrounds, disabilities, illnesses, class background, LGBTQIA+ characters, and more.
Our content insights are presented as factual statements so you can form your own opinions and grow your collection with books you choose. We hope our reviews can help you avoid investing time in books that might not suit. With these valuable insights, you will always be able to find the type of books you are looking for and have complete confidence when you put a book into a child's hands.
If we ever miss a content note that you think we should add, feel free to contact us here.
How to Join
Are you interested in subscribing to Novel Insight?
There are 3 membership types: Free Memberships, Individual Memberships and School Memberships.
See the table below to learn what is included in each membership level.
Sign up for a FREE Membership
Novel Insight is for everyone. Grab a Free Membership today.
While the full reviews database is only available to paying subscribers, free members will receive 8 mailouts throughout the year. These newsletters contain a short review and shortened content insight for 15 new releases in each mailout.
All you have to do is click the sign up button below, enter your email and that's it!
You will receive the current free mailout and all future free mailouts until you opt-out. There is no time limit on a free membership and you can upgrade at anytime to gain access to our helpful database of reviews (with over 6,000 reviews and counting!).
Please note, we use a service called Acumbamail for these mailouts. To avoid the mailout going to your junk folder, please make sure you verify your email and whitelist the email address of the first mailout you receive.
Sign up for a INDIVIDUAL Membership
I'm a Parent, Guardian, or Individual. Grab an Individual Membership today.
Do you want to know what your kids are reading? Do you want to find book reviews for yourself that let you know important content insights?
As a parent, it's natural to be curious about the books your kids are reading and want to make informed choices about the stories they consume. Understanding the content and themes of the books can help you guide your children toward literature that aligns with your and their interests, values, and educational needs. By delving deeper into the books they enjoy, you can foster meaningful discussions, encourage critical thinking, and even discover new reading opportunities for yourself. Our review database is the perfect place for you to find which books meet these requirements. With thousands of unbiased reviews at your fingertips, you'll be able to determine for yourself the best books for your kids.
Our reviews are different from other review places. Instead of focusing on our opinions, we focus on what the book includes. We list content information to help you as a buyer make an informed choice about what books you want in your collection, for your children or for yourself. Read more about our review philosophy here.
Are you a teacher? Email us at admin@novelinsight.com.au to check if your school has a subscription. You can get your own log in access to the full service through your school at no extra cost.
Sign up for a SCHOOL Membership
I'm a Teacher or School Worker. Grab a School Membership today.
Inspiring students to read is a crucial part of your role in a school. Finding the right books for each age group can sometimes be a daunting task. But worry not, because we have the perfect solution for you!
Our comprehensive list of books is specifically curated to cater to different age groups, ensuring that you can easily find the perfect reads for your students. Whether it's engaging picture books for the little ones or thought-provoking novels for teenagers, our review database has it all. Get ready to ignite a love for reading in your students and watch them embark on incredible literary journeys.
We offer a school wide access to our review database with content insight into what's in the book. This includes language ratings, insight into supernatural themes, sexual references, violence, and more! Read more about our review philosophy here.
One membership gives all the teachers at your school access to our online review database and four newsletters per term.
We can also help with book purchasing. If you are interested in ordering books based on our monthly reviews, you can opt in through:
- Our regular order forms based on recent reviews.
- A Flexible Prepaid Membership.
Alternatively, you can make orders through your favourite local bookstore or standing order company but use our reviews to sort your books. You can also request reviews for books your receive in your standing orders and we will turn them around quickly for you.
If your refer another school to this membership, let us know and both your school and theirs will receive $50 (AUD) to spend on books.
Bookstores
Whether it's finding the perfect children's book for a young reader or suggesting a gripping mystery novel for a crime fiction enthusiast, our platform can enhance your ability to connect readers with books they will truly enjoy. So why not take advantage of this opportunity to become the go-to source for expert book recommendations? Your clients will appreciate your expertise and dedication, and you'll be able to foster a community of passionate readers who trust your suggestions. Subscribe to our review database today and elevate your book recommendation game to new heights!
If you are a Bookstore seeking membership, please enquire via email at reviews@novelinsight.com.au.
Non-Australian Schools
In Australia, our School Memberships are available for $149 (AUD). For international schools, the price is $135 (AUD) as you do not have to pay Australian taxes (GST). When you purchase products through our website, the tax will not apply in the checkout. While a lot of our books that we review are Australian and New Zealand books, we also review the popular content from around the world. We would love to provide you with our helpful review service.