17 top starring book reviews of 2023

Which books garnered five shining review stars on ArtsHub in 2023?
book reviews. Image is five yellow stars on a wall, with a hand pointing to the one on the far right.

ArtsHub reflects back on the year to see which Australian books reviewed by our stable of writers received five stars. Here are 17 that took out top billing. From feminism to chronic disease, climate change, mental health, Indigenous identity and mature love, the themes explored in these books are eclectic and wide-ranging.

Wifedom by Anna Funder (Penguin)

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Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian. Her debut, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in 2020 and was released by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). Her second collection, Decadence, was published in July 2022, also by UWAP. Her third book, Essence, will be published in 2025. Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy