“So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships into the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message. You are not alone.”

Roald Dahl

Squishy Minnie Bookstore

Squishy Minnie is a children and young-people’s independent bookstore celebrating creativity, community & the wonders of reading! We’re located in the beautiful country town of Kyneton, only 60 minutes north of Melbourne.

This bookshop is the childhood dream of Kristen, who as a 12 year old decided that eventually, when she got old, she would open a bookstore. She’s not quite old yet (although her 12 year self may argue with that), but the time seemed ripe to give this bookshop business a go. It seemed appropriate, as a kind of tribute to 12 year old Kristen that the bookshop has a focus on children and young adult books.

The goal of Squishy Minnie is to be a part of the community and to offer something unique to the Macedon Ranges, a way to complement what is already here (many wonderful book shops and libraries!). Kristen has always loved books – the stories, the characters and the wonderful paper they’re made out of – she wants to share that love with each and every young person (and adult!) that comes in through Squishy Minnie Bookstore’s doors.

Featured Books

Popular Blog Posts

On-The-Jellicoe-Road
03/08/2018

Book Review – On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Melina Marchetta’s coming-of-age novel is a refreshingly mature young adult adventure that captures the feeling on the crux of growing up and watching all that was familiar with the world shift into something new. On the Jellicoe Road transports the reader to a world caught between the dreams of childhood and the horrors of reality, …

Stone-Girl
03/08/2018

Book Review – Stone Girl by Eleni Hale

Eleni Hale’s Stone Girl is an incredibly powerful and honest story about the Australian foster care system. Drawing on elements of Hale’s own childhood, the novel is a confronting look into the troubling conditions faced by the children most in need of care. When twelve-year-old Sophie is moved to a foster home after the death …

small-spaces
13/06/2018

Book Review – Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein

Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein is a fast-paced psychological thriller with a distinct Australian flavour. One for those with a morbid curiosity, this novel is rife with dark themes and mind games, leaving you itching to uncover all of its secrets. Tash Carmody is confronted with her past when the ghosts of her childhood reappear …

P is for Pearl
22/02/2018

Book Review – P is for Pearl by Eliza Henry Jones

Eliza Henry Jones’ P is for Pearl is a sweet piece of summer escapism. Set in a quiet beach town in Tasmania, complete with romance and hints of mystery, it’s an easy way to pass the time over the summer holidays, sitting out in the sun with a drink in hand. The reader is dropped [...]
White-Night
22/02/2018

Book Review – White Night by Ellie Marney

Ellie Marney’s new novel takes the grass-roots feeling of a tight-knit country town, and throws in an explosive mixture of cult ideologies, peer pressure and moral dilemmas. Set in a small town in rural Victoria, White Night tells the story of a status quo shaken by one secretive community, and a boy and a girl [...]
Untidy-Towns
22/02/2018

Book Review – Untidy Towns by Kate O’Donnell

Kate O’Donnell’s debut novel, Untidy Towns, sets up an escapist fantasy, and then fills it with the reality of running away from your troubles. Who hasn’t dreamed of abandoning school and clinging to the safety of home? When Adelaide walks out of her suffocating boarding school, she thinks she’s free to live her life however [...]
In-The-Dark-Spaces
22/02/2018

Book Review – In the Dark Spaces by Cally Black

Cally Black’s In The Dark Spaces is an immersive sci-fi thriller that features some incredible aliens and insightful thoughts on human nature. While it’s full of action and danger, the heart of the story revolves around family, morality, communication, and love in all its forms. Exposition is scarce, but this works in the book’s favour. [...]
The-Secret-Science-of-Magic
14/11/2017

Book Review – The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil

Melissa Keil’s The Secret Science of Magic is a unique and compelling twist on the typical romance novel. Shift away from the typical “quirky” star-crossed lover archetypes, Keil has created the kind of relatable and complex character that exist in real life, but rarely ever play a starring role in the media. Sophia is so …

9781742612744
31/08/2017

Take Three Girls – by Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell & Fiona Wood

Take Three Girls is the collaborative effort of YA writers Cath Crowley, Fiona Wood and Simone Howell. It follows the lives of three boarding school girls as they find themselves under attack from a cyber bullying presence and form an unlikely friendship. `The novel covers all the intricacies of female friendships in a way that [...]
Ida
19/06/2017

Book Review – Ida by Allison Evans

An exploration of both time-travel and identity, Allison Evans’ Ida is a beautifully diverse and emotional story that I feel I’ve been waiting to read long before I knew it existed. Time travel is usually a hit-or-miss for me, but the reader learns about Ida’s powers more or less at the same pace as she [...]

Member of

Squishy Minnie Bookstore acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, the Dja Dja Warrung people, on which our bookstore is located. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders, both past and present and future.

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