{"product_id":"eighty-nine-questions-for-after-9780733654596","title":"Eighty-Nine Questions for After","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA wise and beautifully written middle-grade novel about finding answers to the big questions in life, from popular children's author Ashleigh Barton\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA wise and beautifully written middle-grade novel about finding answers to the big questions in life from popular children's author Ashleigh Barton.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEster Star is a germophobe and hypochondriac and she's convinced she's going to die. To prepare for her imminent and inevitable demise, Ester keeps a list of all the questions she hopes to have answered in the afterlife - things she knows she'll never have the answers to during her lifetime. \u003ci\u003eWhat really happened to the dinosaurs? Just how big is the universe?\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eAre ghosts real? \u003c\/i\u003eShe's up to eighty-nine questions and counting.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen Ester's usual after-school sitters announce they are moving away, her mum comes up with an alternative arrangement that turns her world upside down. Every day after school, Ester is to spend her afternoons with Mum at work. At a hospice. Terrified of all the things she might catch at a hospice, Ester is anxious every second she's there.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut soon she meets Joan, an elderly lady who used to be in the circus. Joan tells Ester she doesn't believe in the afterlife, but she does have one question she'll regret never having answered while she's alive. Why did her sister disappear all those years ago, after they had been so close growing up in the circus together?\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith the help of Peter, another kid who spends his afternoons at the hospice, and her new next-door neighbour, a tech whizz named Mackenzie, Ester sets out to have Joan's question answered.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWill Ester realise there's more to life than worrying about dying?\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9780733654596\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 28 Jul 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Penguin Random House Australia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: Sydney, Australia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 19.8(H)x12.9(L)300\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 300\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eAshleigh Barton is a children's author and copywriter. Before writing full time, she pursued her love of books (children's books especially) by working in some of Australia's biggest publishing houses, running marketing and publicity campaigns for globally renowned authors and illustrators. Ashleigh is the author of eight successful and highly acclaimed picture books and two junior fiction series, and has been recognised on the CBCA Notables and\/or Shortlist in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Her picture book \u003ci\u003eDinosaur in My Pocket\u003c\/i\u003e was a 2025 CBCA Notable Book. In 2025 Ashleigh published her acclaimed middle grade fiction book \u003ci\u003eHow to Sail to Somewhere\u003c\/i\u003e and her picture book \u003ci\u003eHedgehog or Echidna?\u003c\/i\u003e. Ashleigh lives in Sydney with her husband, three children and their dog.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e","brand":"Ashleigh Barton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49041641013465,"sku":"9780733654596","price":16.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9780733654596.jpg?v=1785937050","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/eighty-nine-questions-for-after-9780733654596","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}