In the winter she curls up around a good book and dreams away the cold.
Ben Aaronovitch
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dRAMA
by Kate Foster
Do you hear that? You’re Cliff now, and your life is going to get better, I promise. When eleven-year-old Matt finds Cliff, a hurt, neglected dog abandoned in the bush, he knows the brave little pup needs saving. He wants to help. But can he? Lately, Matt has had way more bad days than good days. The pieces of his life just don’t seem to fit together any more and he doesn’t understand why. He’s finding it impossible to concentrate at school and has lost interest in the activities he used to love. Plus, he’s tired all the time. Matt’s too afraid to share what’s really going on in his own head with anyone. His friends and family will never understand . . . maybe it’s not only Cliff who needs saving. (Publisher)
by Gordon Korman
Chase doesn’t remember falling off the roof. He doesn’t remember hitting his head. He doesn’t, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name.
He knows he’s Chase. But who is Chase?Pretty soon, it’s not only a question of who Chase is–it’s a question of who he was . . . and who he’s going to be. (Goodreads)
by E. Lockhart
The prequel to We Were Liars takes readers back to the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come.
A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts.
A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.
A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy.
A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.
Welcome back to the Sinclair family.
They were always liars. (Goodreads)
by Carly Nugent
Persephone is angry. Angry that her life revolves around finger-prick tests, carbohydrate counts and insulin injections. Angry at Alexander Manson. Angry with her mum for lots of things, for nothing and for everything.
But most of all, she’s angry with herself. For deserving it all. Because of what she did, or didn’t do. Because one year ago she did something and her dad died.
But then Persephone finds a body on a bush path, a young woman she doesn’t know but feels a strong connection to. And as she tries to find out what happened to Sylvia, Persephone begins to understand her own place in the complex interconnectedness of the universe. (Goodreads)
by Danielle Binks
Ellie Marsden was born into the legendary Lovinger acting dynasty. Granddaughter of the infamous Lottie Lovinger, as a child Ellie shared the silver screen with Lottie in her one-and-only role playing the child monster in a cult horror movie. The experience left Ellie deeply traumatised and estranged from people she loved. Now seventeen, Ellie has returned home to Hobart for the first time in years. Lottie is dying and Ellie wants to make peace with her before it’s too late. When a chance encounter with a young film buff leads her to a feminist horror film collective, Ellie meets Riya, a girl who she might be able to show her real self to, and at last comes to understand her family’s legacy. (Publisher)
by Rebecca Lim
Wen Zhou is the only child of Chinese immigrants whose move to the lucky country has proven to be not so lucky. Wen and her friend, Henry Xiao — whose mum and dad are also struggling immigrants — both dream of escape from their unhappy circumstances, and form a plan to sit an entrance exam to a selective high school far from home. But when tragedy strikes, it will take all of Wen’s resilience and resourcefulness to get herself and Henry through the storm that follows. (Goodreads)
ROMANCE
by Tashie Bhuiyan
Karina Ahmed has a plan. Keep her head down, get through high school without a fuss, and follow her parents’ rules even if it means sacrificing her dreams. When her parents go abroad to Bangladesh for four weeks, Karina expects some peace and quiet. Instead, one simple lie unravels everything. Tutoring the school’s resident bad boy was already crossing a line. Pretending to date him? Out of the question. Though Karina agrees, she can’t help but start counting down the days until her parents come back. T-minus twenty-eight days until everything returns to normal–but what if Karina no longer wants it to? (Publisher)
by Jane Austen
Beautiful, rich, self-assured and witty, Emma Woodhouse delights in matchmaking those around her, with no apparent care for her own romantic life. Taking young Harriet Smith under her wing, Emma sets her sights on finding a suitable match for her friend. Chided for her mistakes by old friend Mr Knightley, it is only when Harriet starts to pursue her own love interests that Emma realises the true hidden depths of her own heart.(Goodreads)
by Becky Albertalli
Contrary to popular belief, best friends Kate Garfield and Anderson Walker are not codependent. Carpooling to and from theatre rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient. Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgment. Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway.
But when Kate and Andy’s latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off-script. Matt Olsson is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson.
Turns out, communal crushes aren’t so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson’s friendship. (Goodreads)
GLOBAL
by Zana Fraillon
Subhi is a refugee. Born in an Australian permanent detention centre after his mother fled the violence of a distant homeland, life behind the fences is all he has ever known. But as he grows, his imagination gets bigger too, until it is bursting at the limits of his world. The night sea brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and the birds tell their stories.
The most vivid story of all, however, is the one that arrives one night in the form of Jimmie, a scruffy, impatient girl who appears from the other side of the wires, and brings a notebook written by the mother she lost. Unable to read it, she relies on Subhi to unravel her own family’s love songs and tragedies.
Subhi and Jimmie might both find a way to freedom, as their tales unfold. But not until each of them has been braver than ever before. (Goodreads)
by Sara Haghdoosti
Tara wears hijab even though her parents hate it, and in a swipe right world she’s looking for the ‘will go to the ends of the earth for you’ type of love. Or, she would be, if she hadn’t sworn off boys to focus on getting into med. Besides, what’s wrong with just crushing on the assassins, mages and thieves in the fantasy books she reads?
When a bomb threat on her first day of university throws her together with totally annoying party king and oh-so-entitled politician’s son Alex, things get complicated. Tara needs to decide if she’s happy reading about heroes, or if she’s ready to step up and be one herself. (Goodreads)
by Joan Le
Linh and Bao like each other. A lot. The only problem? Their families own rival pho restaurants and hate each other’s guts, so they have to keep their relationship a secret. But they can only steal kisses in dark alleys and the art room at school for so long. Can their love transcend an age-old feud and heal the rift between these two families? Or have these high school sweethearts bitten off more than they can chew? (Publisher)
FANTASY
by T. Kingfisher
Fourteen-year-old Mona isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can’t control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt’s bakery making gingerbread men dance.
But Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona’s worries… (Goodreads)
by Olivie Blake
A The world’s best young magicians accept the opportunity of a lifetime. Six are chosen. Only five will walk away. The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. And those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation – and here are the chosen few. (Publisher)
by Kate Murray
Seventeen-year-old Priscilla Daalman’s entire family are Hollow Warriors – legendary monster hunters charged with killing evil beasts from beyond our universe. She’s desperate to live up to that legacy, but she’s convinced neither she, nor her superpower – the ability to sense Hollow energy – is up to the task.
But when Priscilla attempts a desperate ritual to enhance her abilities, she accidentally triggers a frightening new power: the power to summon monsters from the Hollow itself. Now, Priscilla must protect her loved ones – her heartbroken ex-girlfriend, her mysterious new boyfriend, even her fierce warrior family – from supernatural monsters, and also from herself. Because if her power gets out, all hell will break loose … and Priscilla will risk losing everything. (Goodreads)
by Margaret Owen
For the last year, the wicked maid Vanja Schmidt has lived a lie. Once the loyal servant of the Princess Gisele, Vanja stole a string of enchanted pearls that transformed her into the glamorous princess, leaving the true Gisele a penniless nobody. Now Vanja leads a lonely but profitable double life, charming the nobility with the pearls’ facade while ransacking their coffers as a wanted jewel thief. All she needs is enough to fund an escape from the god-mothers, Death and Fortune, who took her in as a child — and have come to collect her debt. (Publisher)
by Akshaya Raman
Vira is desperate to get out of her mother’s shadow and establish her legacy as a revered queen of Ashoka. But with the country’s only quarry running out of magic – a precious resource that has kept Ashoka safe from conflict – she can barely protect her citizens from the looming threat of war. And if her enemies discover this, they’ll stop at nothing to seize the last of the magic. (Goodreads)
by A. L. Tait
A maid with a plan.
A squire with a secret.
A missing jewel.
A kingdom in turmoil.
Maven and Reeve have three days to solve the mystery of the Fire Star. If they don’t, they’ll lose everything.
This could be a complete disaster . . . or the beginning of a great friendship.
39 Clues meets Ranger’s Apprentice in bestselling fantasy author A. L. Tait’s new medieval adventure series about two unlikely friends – and a mystery to solve that could change their lives. (Goodreads)
MYSTERY & CRIME
by Jason Reynolds
After Will’s brother is shot in a gang crime, he knows the next steps. Don’t cry. Don’t snitch. Get revenge. So he gets in the lift with Shawn’s gun, determined to follow The Rules. Only when the lift door opens, Buck walks in, Will’s friend who died years ago. And Dani, who was shot years before that. As more people from his past arrive, Will has to ask himself if he really knows what he’s doing.
This haunting, lyrical, powerful verse novel will blow you away. (Goodreads)
by Fleur Ferris
When Ben is dumped with his country relatives for the holidays, he starts counting down the days until it’s over, hating every second. But Ben’s stay takes a sharp turn when he comes across his great-great grandfather’s journal–the final entry being from one hundred years ago, right after he was shot. With his cousin, Josh, Ben starts unravelling mysteries, lies and shocking crimes. Can the two boys beat the odds to resolve a century of bad blood between two families? A dangerous treasure hunt could hold the answers–or it could be a journey from which there is no return. (Publisher)
by Kathleen Glasgow & Liz Lawson
Last summer, Alice Ogilve’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. Where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove, because she’s not talking. Enter Iris Adams, Alice’s tutor. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn’t so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory. (Goodreads)
SCIENCE FICTION
by H. M. Waugh
Raised in rival colonies on Mars, each long ago abandoned by Earth, Dee and Holt have been brought up to hate even the idea of each other. But when a mysterious object crash-lands on a far-flung plain, they are both sent to investigate and their fates intertwine. Together they must battle epic storms and deadly bioclouds while unpicking the web of lies they have been told about their planet. Will their bond be strong enough to withstand the arrival of a mysterious invader that threatens to end life on Mars forever? (Publisher)
by David Arnold
When a deadly Fly Flu sweeps the globe, it leaves a shell of the world that once was. Among the survivors are eighteen-year-old Nico and her dog, on a voyage devised by Nico’s father to find a mythical portal; a young artist named Kit, raised in an old abandoned cinema; and the enigmatic Deliverer, who lives Life after Life in an attempt to put the world back together. As swarms of infected Flies roam the earth, these few survivors navigate the woods of post-apocalyptic New England, meeting others along the way, each on their own quest to find life and love in a world gone dark. The Electric Kingdom is a sweeping exploration of art, storytelling, eternal life, and above all, a testament to the notion that even in an exterminated world, one person might find beauty in another. (Goodreads)
by Joan He
Cee woke up on the shores of an abandoned island three years ago with no idea how she got there. Now eighteen, she lives in a shack with an ageing android, and a single memory – she has a sister, and she has to escape to find her. From the safety of the eco-city floating above Earth, now decimated by natural disasters, sixteen-year-old Kasey mourns Cee whom she’s sure is dead. She too wants to escape – the eco-city is meant to be a sanctuary for people who want to save the planet, but its inhabitants are willing to do anything for refuge, even lie. Is Kasey ready to use technology to help Earth, even though it failed her sister? Cee and Kasey think that what they know about each other and their world is true. (Publisher)
GRAPHIC NOVELS
by Tui T. Sutherland
The seven dragon tribes have been at war for generations, locked in an endless battle over an ancient, lost treasure. A secret movement called the Talons of Peace is determined to bring an end to the fighting, with the help of a prophecy — a foretelling that calls for great sacrifice. (Publisher)
by Tim Probert
Deep in the heart of Irpa stands the Salty Pig’s Tonics and Tinctures, home of the wise Pig Wizard and his adopted grandaughter, Bea. As keepers of the Endless Flame, they live a quiet and peaceful life, crafting medicines and potions for the people of their once prosperous world. All that changes when Bea meets Cad, a member of the Galdurian, a race thought to be long-extinct. (Publisher)
by Alicia Keys
From New York Times bestselling author and 15-time GRAMMY® Award-winning artist Alicia Keys comes a new authentic, honest, coming-of-age young adult graphic novel, illustrated by Brittney Williams, about finding the strength within when your whole world changes in an instant. (Goodreads)
NON-FICTION
