New From Here
by Kelly Yang
When the coronavirus hits Hong Kong, ten-year-old Knox Wei-Evans’s mom makes the last-minute decision to move him and his siblings back to California, where they think they will be safe. Suddenly, Knox has two days to prepare for an international move—and for leaving his dad, who has to stay for work. At his new school in California, Knox struggles with being the new kid. His classmates think that because he’s from Asia, he must have brought over the virus. At home, Mom just got fired and is panicking over the loss of health insurance, and Dad doesn’t even know when he’ll see them again, since the flights have been cancelled. And everyone struggles with Knox’s blurting-things-out problem. As racism skyrockets during COVID-19, Knox tries to stand up to hate, while finding his place in his new country. Can you belong if you’re feared; can you protect if you’re new? And how do you keep a family together when you’re oceans apart? (Goodreads)
The Detectives Guide to New York City
by Nicki Greenburg
Pepper Stark could not be more thrilled to return to New York City with her father, the Captain. Not only will she be back in the place where her late mother once lived but also she’ll reunite with her friends Norah and Sol. But Pepper’s excitement for her trip fades when the Captain invites along his new friend Emmaline and her son, Elliott. Still, Pepper is determined to make the most of her time with her friends in the Big Apple, revelling in the energy of the city that never sleeps. But when dinner at the swanky restaurant where Sol is working ends in the suspicious illness of notorious food critic Anthony ‘the Shark’ Sharkey, Pepper finds herself entangled in yet another crime. With only a week before she has to return home, Pepper, Sol, Norah and a reluctantly recruited Elliott are facing an even bigger challenge than the Saffron Diamond mystery, and the stakes have never been so high. If they don’t find the culprit, Sol’s chef career could be over … or worse. And New York City might become the place where all of their dreams turn to dust. (Publisher)
When I See Blue
by Lily Bailey
12-year-old Ben has a bully in his brain who tells him what to do. It makes dealing with a new school, new town and parents who are falling apart seem impossible. This heartfelt story about a boy with OCD celebrates how friendship can make you brave and find the strength to overcome anything. (Publisher)
Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun
by Tola Okogwu
Onyeka has a lot of hair—the kind that makes strangers stop in the street and her peers whisper behind her back. At least she has Cheyenne, her best friend, who couldn’t care less what other people think. Still, Onyeka has always felt insecure about her vibrant curls…until the day Cheyenne almost drowns and Onyeka’s hair takes on a life of its own, inexplicably pulling Cheyenne from the water. At home, Onyeka’s mother tells her the shocking truth: Onyeka’s psycho-kinetic powers make her a Solari, one of a secret group of people with super powers unique to Nigeria. Her mother quickly whisks her off to the Academy of the Sun, a school in Nigeria where Solari are trained. But Onyeka and her new friends at the academy soon have to put their powers to the test as they find themselves embroiled in a momentous battle between truth and lies… (Goodreads)
The Thief who Sang Storms
by Sophie Anderson
The Island of Morovia is shaped like a broken heart. The humans live on one side of the island, and the alkonosts – the bird-people – live on the other. But it wasn’t always this way… Linnet wishes she could sing magic, like her father, Nightingale – and bring the two sides of her island together again. For her land has been divided by a terrible tragedy, and Linnet has been banished with her father to the deepest swamps, leaving behind her best friends, Hero and Silver. So when her father is captured, Linnet must be brave and embark on a treacherous journey. Through alligator pools and sinking sands, she finds new friends. Yet without her singing magic, Linnet discovers something even more powerful. Something that could save her father, and heal the broken heart of her island once more… (Goodreads)
Solomon Macaroni and the Cousin Catastrophe
by Ashleigh Barton
You’ve never met a vampire like Solomon Macaroni before – he’s friendly, polite and makes a mean tofu bolognese. Understandably, when his parents go on a one-hundred-year cruise without him, Solomon is not impressed. Especially because it means having to stay in creepy Transylvania with his six cousins, who are the rudest and naughtiest vampires in existence. (Well, apart from Lucy. He likes her.) Not even his uncle, Count Dracula, the oldest vampire in the world, can stop their pranks. But when his cousins venture into the spooky Wildwood on a dangerous mission, Solomon reluctantly agrees to help Lucy rescue them. In the forest, Solomon must draw on all he knows – about old magic, wet wipes and the importance of a well-timed entrance – to save his catastrophic cousins and possibly the world. A fang-tastic tale about loving your family, even when they drive you batty. (Goodreads)
The Midnighters
by Hana Tooke
Ema Vašková has always felt different. In a family of famous scientists, there’s not much room for superstition or omens – but they seem to follow Ema wherever she goes. It doesn’t help that she appears to predict events before they happen, and has a peculiar fear of shadows. . . When Ema is sent to stay with her eccentric uncle in Prague, she fears she’ll lose the chance to ever fit in. But then she meets Silvie – a girl who finally sees Ema for the extraordinary person that she is. Soon the girls are meeting for secret midnight adventures, and facing Ema’s fears together. But then disaster strikes. Silvie goes missing – and it’s up to Ema to find her. Now she must gather the courage to hunt the city, find her friend, and uncover the secrets of the one clue Silvie left as to where she might be – inside the mysterious Midnight Guild . . . (Goodreads)
The Silver Sea
by Belinda Murrell
Team Trouble!
by Eddie Woo & Dave Hartley
Eddie Woo Super Sleuth is ready for action and mystery. With a mind for maths and a nose for adventure, he is about to skateboard into danger. When Eddie receives a cryptic message from Mr Appleby, a Woo family friend and resident of Sunny Side Aged Care, he is soon on a mission to thwart the evil plans of smugglers. It’s up to Eddie to crack the clues and improve his skateboarding so that he can enter the annual school Triple Threat Quest with his best friends Rusty and DT. (Publisher)
Crash Course (Wolf Girl #7)
by Anh Do
As the train Wolf Girl is driving hurtles towards the locked gates of an enemy city, the last thing Gwen expects to see out the window is her long lost sister! Soon the pack are on an epic chase, encountering deadly enemies and plenty of prehistoric surprises. But just when things seem most dire, help arrives in an unexpected form! (Back cover)