Relax, rejuvenate and reconnect with some great holiday reading.
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Biographies and Non-Fiction
Here’s the Story is warm, witty, often surprising and relentlessly fascinating: an extraordinarily intimate memoir by one of the most remarkable public figures of our time.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Ronni Kahn is a South-African-born Australian social entrepreneur and founder of the food rescue charity OzHarvest. She is an advocate, lobbyist and activist renowned for disrupting the food waste landscape in Australia.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Drawing on the questions he hears time and again, from millennials to baby boomers and all the generations between, So You Think You Know What’s Good For You? is a one-stop handbook that will settle fruitless anxieties and allow people to focus on what matters to them.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Every day we make choices—about what to buy or eat, about financial investments or our children’s health and education, even about the causes we champion or the planet itself. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. Nudge is about how we make these choices and how we can make better ones. (Publisher)
Lisa Millar has spent her whole life showing up, getting things done and making things happen. As a child growing up in country Queensland, she dreamed of a big life. Working as a foreign correspondent gave her that, but it also meant confronting the worst humanity can bring. Three decades as a journalist witnessing tragedy has a cost. And an ever-escalating fear of flying threatened to rob her of her ability to work at all. (Publisher)
I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I’ve recorded and can’t wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child. (Goodreads)
A beautiful, intimate and inspiring investigation into how we can find and nurture within ourselves that essential quality of internal happiness – the ‘light within’ that Julia Baird calls ‘phosphorescence’ – which will sustain us even through the darkest times. (Goodreads)
Narrated by a 13,000-year-old extinct American mastodon, Mammoth is the (mostly) true story of how the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a pterodactyl, a prehistoric penguin, the severed hand of an Egyptian mummy and the narrator himself came to be on sale at a 2007 natural history auction in Manhattan. (Booktopia)
James Nestor meets cutting-edge scientists at Harvard and experiments on himself in labs at Stanford to see the impact of bad breathing. He revives the lost, and recently scientifically proven, wisdom of swim coaches, mystics, cardiologists, Olympians and choral conductors, the world’s foremost ‘pulmonauts’ to show how breathing in specific patterns can trigger our bodies to absorb more oxygen.
Drama
‘A colourful, engaging story of escape and road-trip adventure … also compellingly cinematic and features an endearing narrator-heroine with plenty of meaty real-world troubles.’ – Sydney Morning HeraldAmy Ephron Marie Desplechin
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty comes a novel that looks at marriage, siblings, and how the people we love the most can hurt us the deepest
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Winner of the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award Erica Marsden’s son, an artist, has been imprisoned for homicidal negligence. In a state of grief, Erica cuts off all ties to family and friends, and retreats to a quiet hamlet on the south-east coast near the prison where he is serving his sentence.
The runaway Australian bestseller about love and loss in wartime Germany, inspired by a true story.
‘Captures the intensity of a brutal and unforgiving war, successfully weaving love, loss, desperation and, finally, hope into a gripping journey of self-discovery.’ The Courier Mail
Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? (Goodreads)
Inspired by a personal moment of profound love and generosity, bestselling author – and one of Australia’s finest journalists – Trent Dalton spent two months in 2021 pounding city pavements, speaking to Australians from all walks of life and asking them one simple and direct question: ‘Can you please tell me a love story?’ For two straight weeks he sat at a desk with a sky-blue 1960s Olivetti typewriter, on the bustling corner of Adelaide and Albert streets, Brisbane, with a sign saying, ‘Sentimental writer collecting love stories. Do you have one to share?’
‘There are books you encounter as an adult that you wish you could press into the hands of your younger self. Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is one of those books – a novel that turns Australia’s long-mythologised settler history into a raw and resilient heartsong.’ – Guardian
A sweeping story of three generations of women, crossing from London to Ireland and back again, and the enduring effort to retrieve the secrets of the past (Goodreads)
Freaky Friday meets Pretty Little Liars – if the Liars were an all-girl punk band from the 1980s – in this highly original soul-swap story from the critically acclaimed author of My Life as a Hashtag.
‘An absolute delight. Funny, clever, compelling, and utterly original.’ NINA KENWOOD, It Sounded Better in My Head
A novel about three women at turning points in their lives, and the one night that changes everything.
The debut novel from the inimitable Madeleine Ryan, A Room Called Earth is a humorous and heartwarming adventure inside the mind of a bright and dynamic woman. This hyper-saturated celebration of love and acceptance, from a neurodiverse writer, is a testament to moving through life without fear, and to opening ourselves up to a new way of relating to one another.
Fantasy
A fantasy series about a kingdom divided by corruption, the prince desperately holding it together, and the girl who will risk everything to bring it crashing down. (Publisher)
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. (Publisher)
The Amarna Age #2 Mourning Thrax’s death, Ankhesenamun tries to find peace again. But as she resumes her normal life, her world is upended by another death — this time, that of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Mystery & Crime
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. (Booktopia)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Master of international intrigue Daniel Silva follows up his acclaimed #1 New York Times bestsellers The Order, The New Girl, and The Other Woman with this riveting, action-packed tale of espionage and suspense featuring art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon. (Goodereads)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
At once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. (Publisher)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Jack West Jr #4
Jack, it seems, has been chosen – along with a dozen other elite soldiers – to compete in a series of deadly challenges designed to fulfill an ancient ritual.
With the fate of the Earth at stake, he will have to traverse diabolical mazes, fight cruel assassins and face unimaginable horrors that will test him like he has never been tested before. (Publisher)
In this page-turning psychological thriller from an author who Stephen King called “an absolute master,” a young female police officer faces danger on all fronts—from a clever victim of abuse, her colleagues on the force, and even her own mobster father. (Goodreads)
Imposters #3
Mirror’s Edge is another brilliant blockbuster from one of the greatest speculative writers YA fiction has ever seen, set within the world of Uglies . . . and about to converge with Uglies in a spectacular way. (Goodreads)
Historical Fiction
This funny, picaresque, clever retelling of Chaucer’s ‘Wife of Bath’ from The Canterbury Tales is a cutting assessment of what happens when male power is left to run unchecked, as well as a recasting of a literary classic that gives a maligned character her own voice, and allows her to tell her own (mostly) true story. (Publisher)
A New York Times Notable Book (2020) Best Book of 2020: Guardian, Financial Times, Literary Hub, and NPR
Drawing on Maggie O’Farrell’s long-term fascination with the little-known story behind Shakespeare’s most enigmatic play, HAMNET is a luminous portrait of a marriage, at its heart the loss of a beloved child.
With The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man’s vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion and courage.
First Nation Resources
Click on the image to take you to our Library Topic Guide on First Nations culture resources. This guide includes links to books, films, interview and websites.
eBooks
Apps
Download via the app on your Phone
Login & password(only need once)
More information
EPlatform
Same login and password used for your school device
During Term four the students from year 5 and 6 were very excited to have a Virtual Author visit from Nova Weetman.
The students were lucky enough to gather in our school theatre and connect with Nova through skype on our huge screen in Claver theatre.
Nova chatted with the students about her books, which are very popular in our library, The Sick Room, The Secrets we Keep and The Secrets we Share.
The students in both year levels were instructed on creating characters. They were all given a character sheet to work through with Nova. They learnt to create a new and interesting character. The students then made their own character profile and were encouraged to write their own short story.
Nova demonstrated how she creates a character using a simple chart with fears and wants. Then she filled in the chart with personality likes, friends, family, setting etc.
Nova also simplified the process of writing so the students could easily create a story with their new character.
Thank you Nova! Definitely one of our favourite author visits.
‘Mercy Blain is a character you find yourself cheering on. Kim Lock mixes the transformative journey of Alice Hart with the quirkiness of Eleanor Oliphant in this story about embracing life, even when it threatens to overwhelm you’ – Tricia Stringer, bestselling author of The Family Inheritance
‘Mercy Blain is an unforgettable character who will capture your heart from the first pages and hold it through until the end. Her madcap journey towards forgiveness – of herself and others – is moving and funny and all other good things that will make you want to keep reading and make you sad when your time with Mercy comes to an end.’ – Sophie Green, bestselling author of The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle Following one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan. So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Winner of the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award Erica Marsden’s son, an artist, has been imprisoned for homicidal negligence. In a state of grief, Erica cuts off all ties to family and friends, and retreats to a quiet hamlet on the south-east coast near the prison where he is serving his sentence.
The Labyrinth is a hypnotic story of guilt and denial, of the fraught relationship between parents and children, that is also a meditation on how art can both be ruthlessly destructive and restore sanity. It shows Amanda Lohrey to be at the peak of her powers. (Publisher)The runaway Australian bestseller about love and loss in wartime Germany, inspired by a true story.
‘Captures the intensity of a brutal and unforgiving war, successfully weaving love, loss, desperation and, finally, hope into a gripping journey of self-discovery.’ The Courier MailIn 1596, William Shakespeare’s 11 year old son Hamnet died in Stratford-upon-Avon. Four or so years later, Shakespeare wrote the play considered by many to be his greatest work, giving its tragic hero a variation of his dead son’s name. Almost four centuries later Maggie O’Farrell was studying Hamlet at school and learned of the boy Hamnet, whose life has been little more than a footnote in his father’s biography. The seed of curiosity planted has grown into her finest novel yet, a reimagining of Hamnet’s death and the effect it had on his family. The breakout literary sensation of 2021, THE PERFORMANCE is a tightly woven examination of women’s inner lives that is enthralling, profound and deeply human. A SYDNEY MORNING HERALD ’MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2021′
A heartbreaking novel of an extraordinary lifelong friendship. Everyone has a Tully Dawson: the friend who defines your life.
In the summer of 1986, in a small Scottish town, James and Tully ignite a brilliant friendship based on music, films and the rebel spirit. With school over and the locked world of their fathers before them, they rush towards the climax of their youth: a magical weekend in Manchester, the epicentre of everything that inspires them in working-class Britain. There, against the greatest soundtrack ever recorded, a vow is made: to go at life differently.
Thirty years on, half a life away, the phone rings. Tully has news.
Mayflies is a memorial to youth’s euphorias and to everyday tragedy. A tender goodbye to an old union, it discovers the joy and the costs of love. Captivating and gorgeously written, I Couldn’t Love Your More is an unforgettable novel about love, motherhood, secrets and betrayal – and how only the truth can set us free.Ebook THE BOOK BEHIND THE AMAZON PRIME/BBC SERIES STARRING DAVID TENNANT, MICHAEL SHEEN, JON HAMM AND BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH ‘Ridiculously inventive and gloriously funny’ Guardian. What if, for once, the predictions are right, and the Apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea? It’s a predicament that Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon, now find themselves in.Set on timeless Wiradyuri country, where the life-giving waters of the rivers can make or break dreams, and based on devastating true events, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) is an epic story of love, loss and belonging.
We need more of these stories; more novels that reflect Australia’s colonial past through the eyes of First Nations women. (Chris Gordon, Readings)A warm hearted novel about music, grief, relationships, gardens, love, laughter and family. Award-winning Brisbane journalist and author Frances Whiting brings her renowned warmth and empathy to this witty and gentle novel about bringing out the best in each other. (Pan Macmillan Australia)The unforgettable story of a mother and son fleeing a drug-cartel to cross the US-Mexico border.
‘I couldn’t put it down. I’ll never stop thinking about it’ – Ann Patchett
‘One hell of a novel about a good woman on the run with her beautiful boy’ – Stephen King
Fear keeps them running. Hope keeps them alive.
The 42nd Anniversary edition!
One Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. It’s the final straw for Arthur Dent, who has already had his house bulldozed that morning. But for Arthur, this is only the beginning – in the seconds before global obliteration, Arthur is plucked from the planet by his friend Ford Prefect – and together the pair venture out across the galaxy on the craziest road trip of all time.Marlowe and Harper share a bond deeper than most sisters, shaped by the loss of their mother in childhood. For Harper, living with what she calls the Up syndrome and gifted with an endless capacity for wonder, Marlowe and she are connected by an invisible thread, like the hum that connects all things. For Marlowe, they are bound by her fierce determination to keep Harper, born with a congenital heart disorder, alive. (Publisher)Centuries ago, when magic still existed in England, the greatest magician of all was the Raven King, a human child brought up by fairies. Now at the beginning of the nineteenth century, he is barely more than a legend, and England, with its mad King and its dashing poets, no longer believes in practical magic. Then the reclusive Mr Norrell of Hurtfew Abbey appears and news spreads of the return of magic to England. Persuaded that he must help the government in the war against Napoleon, Mr Norrell goes to London where he meets brilliant young magician, Jonathan Strange. Together they dazzle the country with their feats. Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. (Goodreads) Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? (Goodreads) Those in need of peace will find it between the covers of this elegant picture book for adults and children (The New York Times)
‘Feeling a little blue? Meet the new Winnie the Pooh.’ The Daily Mail
‘A wonderful work of art and a wonderful window into the human heart’ Richard Curtis
Fantasy
A bard with an ability he doesn’t understand. A wise woman with power she never wanted. Each has a quest and they’ll need each other to succeed.
Diarmuid is not a typical bard. His tales aren’t about hope and heroism, but instead reflect the darkness he feels inside. When he inadvertently brings his imaginary muse to life, everything she knows comes from Diarmuid’s melancholic tales. Desiring her own life, she leaves Diarmuid and sets out to live in the only way she knows how.
Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.
When a bard tells a tale about a soldier’s death, he doesn’t intend to kill his brother. But he didn’t believe those who warned him he had the ability to bring his tales to life.
Grainne recognizes the power in the bard’s tale. Desperate to protect his target — her new husband, Caedmon — she makes a pact with one of the fey. Caedmon is whisked away to the realm of the fey and Grainne fears she will never see him again.
Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?
Arlen’s twin sister was stolen by the fey moments after her birth. When he is sent to be an advisor to the king, his plan to search for his missing sister must be put on hold — until he realises that she might be the key to bringing peace to the kingdom.
Agata doesn’t know she’s part mortal. Raised by the queen of the fey, she despises mortals just as much as Titania does.
Mystery and Crime
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?Philomena McCarthy has defied the odds and become a promising young officer with the Metropolitan Police despite being the daughter of a notorious London gangster. Called to the scene of a domestic assault one day, she rescues a bloodied young woman, Tempe Brown, the mistress of a decorated detective. The incident is hushed up, but Phil has unwittingly made a dangerous enemy with powerful friends.
From Sunday Times bestseller Anthony Horowitz comes Magpie Murders, his deliciously dark take on the vintage crime novel, brought bang- up-to-date with a fiendish modern twist. (Booktopia)At once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. (book cover)
Brilliantly clever, relentlessly suspenseful, full of twists that will keep readers guessing with each revelation and clue, Moonflower Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction from one of its greatest masterminds, Anthony Horowitz. (Goodreads) Master of international intrigue Daniel Silva follows up his acclaimed #1 New York Times bestsellers The Order, The New Girl, and The Other Woman with this riveting, action-packed tale of espionage and suspense featuring art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon. The fatal poisoning of a Russian billionaire sends Gabriel Allon on a dangerous journey across Europe and into the orbit of a musical virtuoso who may hold the key to the truth about his friend’s death.
New in Non-Fiction and Biographies
In the telling of his own tale, children’s author and screenwriter Paul Jennings demonstrates how seemingly small events can combine into a compelling drama. As if assembling the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, he puts together fragments, memories and anecdotes to reveal the portrait of a complex and weathered soul.
Untwisted is revealing, moving and very funny. (Allen & Unwin)
Tenacious, perceptive and sharp, Wallace commanded a range of police crime squads, bringing order to the wild west of 1990s Cabramatta and busting criminal bikie gangs with Strike Force Raptor, until her retirement in late 2019. Her inner strength and empathy meant that she was a constant go-to for some of the state’s toughest cases, and her poise and compassion earned her a special place in the lives and hearts of her colleagues – and the grudging respect of her criminal foes.
In Wallace’s official biography, veteran crime writer Mark Morri brings to life the jaw-dropping true story of a police trailblazer and woman of force. The true story of Deborah Wallace, the cop known as the gangbuster.My Tidda, My Sister shares the experiences of many Indigenous women and girls, brought together by author and host of the Tiddas 4 Tiddas podcast, Marlee Silva. The voices of First Nations’ women that Marlee weaves through the book provide a rebuttal to the idea that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’. For non-Indigenous women, it demonstrates the diversity of what success can look like and offers an insight into the lives of their Indigenous sisters and peers.On awe wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark. A beautiful, intimate and inspiring investigation into how we can find and nurture within ourselves that essential quality of internal happiness – the ‘light within’ that Julia Baird calls ‘phosphorescence’ – which will sustain us even through the darkest times. (Goodreads)
158 BAI
Narrated by a 13,000-year-old extinct American mastodon, Mammoth is the (mostly) true story of how the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a pterodactyl, a prehistoric penguin, the severed hand of an Egyptian mummy and the narrator himself came to be on sale at a 2007 natural history auction in Manhattan. (Booktopia) As the owner of a successful events company, throwing away huge volumes of leftover food at the end of the day came with the territory. But when Ronni Kahn hit midlife, she found herself no longer able to turn a blind eye to her food waste problem. Hand delivering the untouched food to homeless shelters around Sydney became her renegade solution. Little did she know that fixing her small problem at work would lead her to unlock a hidden purpose at the very core of her inner life.James Nestor meets cutting-edge scientists at Harvard and experiments on himself in labs at Stanford to see the impact of bad breathing. He revives the lost, and recently scientifically proven, wisdom of swim coaches, mystics, cardiologists, Olympians and choral conductors, the world’s foremost ‘pulmonauts’ to show how breathing in specific patterns can trigger our bodies to absorb more oxygen.
For over thirty years, Dr Norman Swan has been delivering straight, honest, common-sense health information to ordinary Australians as both a physician and much-loved broadcaster. And when Australia needed clear, scientifically backed COVID-19 facts and advice, it was Norman Swan who stepped up every day to provide the answers we required. A one-stop handbook that will settle fruitless anxieties and allow people to focus on what matters to them. Replace medical myths, half-truths and misconceptions with the information you need to make better decisions about how to eat and how to live to put your mind at ease and ensure your and your family’s health is the best it can be. (Publisher) In this young adult adaptation of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson delves deep into the broken U.S. justice system, detailing from his personal experience his many challenges and efforts as a lawyer and social advocate, especially on behalf of America’s most rejected and marginalized people. Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed on 9 November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country. Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the ‘happiest man on earth’. (publisher) 940.53 JAK
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural and historic resources
Click on the image to take you to our Library Topic Guide on Aboriginal and torres Strait Islander Culture Resources. Includes links to books, film, interviews and websights.
eBooks
Apps
Download via the app on your Phone
Login & password(only need once)
More information
EPlatform
Same login and password used for your school device
It looks like it is going to be a chilly winter this year, and that is always a good time to stay rugged up and warm with a good book.
Below are a few of the new books that are available in the Library for you to borrow during the Winter break.
Click onto the book to find out more information.
Night Ride into Danger by Jackie French From one of Australia’s best-loved storytellers comes an exciting mystery adventure story set in 1874 about the Cobb & Co. It’s a dark and dangerous journey for the Cobb and Co night mail coach, but when his coach-driver father is injured, young Jem Donovan must take the reins. Surely a boy like Jem can’t handle a team of four horses and guide the coach on a rough bush track through fog and untold dangers?As Fast As I Can by Penny Tangey From CBCA-shortlisted author Penny Tangey comes this funny, heartfelt novel about ten-year-old Vivian and her quest to one day become an Olympic middle-distance runner. Dealing with themes around chronic illness, persistence and acceptance. One girl. One dream. A few hurdles. Ten-year-old Vivian is determined to win a medal at the Olympic Games one day. Problem is, she hasn’t found a sport she’s any good at yet. But everyone says if you work hard enough you can achieve anything, right? So when Vivian discovers she has a talent for cross country running, finally, her Olympic dream might actually come true.Breathless by Jennifer Niven Before: With graduation on the horizon, budding writer Claudine Henry is making plans: college in the fall, become a famous author, and maybe–finally–have sex. She doesn’t even need to be in love. Then her dad drops a bombshell: he’s leaving Claude’s mother. Suddenly, Claude’s entire world feels like a lie, and her future anything but under control.Karen’s Roller Skates (Baby-Sitters Little Sister Graphic Novels #2) by Katy Farina (Illustrations), Ann M. Martin It’s going to be a great weekend! Karen has new roller skates and is a very good skater. She’s looking forward to trying some new tricks. But, oh no! Karen falls down and has to go to the hospital. Her wrist is broken!Find Layla by Meg Elison A neglected girl’s chaotic coming-of-age becomes a trending new hashtag in a novel about growing up and getting away by an award-winning author. Underprivileged and keenly self-aware, SoCal fourteen-year-old Layla Bailey isn’t used to being noticed. Except by mean girls who tweet about her ragged appearance. All she wants to do is indulge in her love of science, protect her vulnerable younger brother, and steer clear of her unstable mother.The Gaps by Leanne Hall What does it mean to be the one left behind? When sixteen-year-old Yin Mitchell is abducted, the news reverberates through the whole Year Ten class at Balmoral Ladies College. As the hours tick by, the girls know the chance of Yin being found alive is becoming smaller and smaller. Police suspect the abduction is the work of a serial offender, with none in the community safe from suspicion. Everyone is affected by Yin’s disappearance—even scholarship student Chloe, who usually stays out of Balmoral drama, is drawn into the maelstrom.Lila (Gilead #3) by Marilynne Robinson Marilynne Robinson, one of the greatest novelists of our time, returns to the town of Gilead in an unforgettable story of a girlhood lived on the fringes of society in fear, awe, and wonder. Lila, homeless and alone after years of roaming the countryside, steps inside a small-town Iowa church – the only available shelter from the rain – and ignites a romance and a debate that will reshape her life. She becomes the wife of a minister, John Ames, and begins a new existence while trying to make sense of the life that preceded her newfound security.Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Little Women by Rey Terciero, Bre Indigo (Illustrations), Louisa May Alcott Little Women with a twist: four sisters from a blended family experience the challenges and triumphs of life in NYC in this beautiful full-color graphic novel perfect for fans of Roller Girl and Smile.The Performance by Claire Thomas The false cold of the theatre makes it hard to imagine the heavy wind outside in the real world, the ash air pressing onto the city from the nearby hills where bushfires are taking hold. The house lights lower. The auditorium feels hopeful in the darkness.
Across the Risen Sea by Bren MacDibble Neoma and Jag and their small community are ‘living gentle lives’ on high ground surrounded by the risen sea. When strangers from the Valley of the Sun arrive unannounced, the two friends find themselves drawn into a web of secrecy and lies that endangers their whole way of life. Soon daring, loyal, Neoma must set off on a solo mission across the risen sea, determined to rescue her best friend and find the truth that will save their village.Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss ‘There are books you encounter as an adult that you wish you could press into the hands of your younger self. Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is one of those books – a novel that turns Australia’s long-mythologised settler history into a raw and resilient heartsong.’ – GuardianCan’t Say it Went to Plan by Gabrielle Tozer From the award-winning author of The Intern, Faking It and Remind Me How This Ends. School’s out. Forget study, exams and mapping out the future. For the next seven days, the only homework is partying with friends, making new ones and living in the moment. There are no parents or curfews – and no ruleKristy’s Big Day (Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels #6) by Gale Galligan (Illustrator), Ann M. Martin Kristy’s mom is getting married, and Kristy is going to be a bridesmaid! The only problem? Fourteen kids are coming to town for the wedding. Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacey, Dawn, and Mallory think they can handle it, but that’s before they spend a week changing diapers, stopping arguments, solving mix-ups, and planning activities. It’s the biggest job the BSC has ever had, but they’ll work together to make sure Kristy’s big day is a success! Toffle Towers 1: Fully Booked by Tim Harris, James Foley Toffle Towers hotel has been run by a Toffle for over one hundred years – and it’s about to be inherited by the next generation. Chegwin Toffle is only ten years old. But he isn’t going to let that stop him from turning this run-down hotel into a success. Chegwin is determined to transform Toffle Towers from a boring hotel for grown-ups into an incredibly exciting destination for children (and their families).Gilead (Gilead #1) by Marilynne Robinson The 2005 Pulitzer Prize winning novel A New York Times Top-Ten Book of 2004 Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction Nearly 25 years after Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations, from the Civil War to the 20th century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America’s heart. In the words of Kirkus, it is a novel “as big as a nation, as quiet as thought, and moving as prayer.Jack (Gilead #4) by Marilynne Robinson Jack tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the beloved, erratic, and grieved-over prodigal son of a Presbyterian minister in Gilead, Iowa. In segregated St. Louis sometime after World War II, Jack falls in love with Della Miles, an African American high school teacher who is also the daughter of a preacher―discerning, generous, and independent. Their fraught, beautiful romance is one of Robinson’s greatest achievements.How to Grow a Family Tree by Eliza Henry-Jones From the author of P is for Pearl comes a heart-warming book about family, friendship and what home can mean. Stella may only be seventeen, but having read every self-help book she can find means she knows a thing or two about helping people. She sure wasn’t expecting to be the one in need of help, though.Michaela Mason’s Big List of 23 Worries (Michaela Mason’s Worries #1) by Alexa Moses I’ve been making lists ever since I could write. It relaxes me. By writing my worries down, I feel as if I’m removing them from my mind and leaving them on the paper. My secret worry list is the big boss of lists. Right now, there are 23 worries on it.
When We Are Invisible (The Sky So Heavy, #2) by Claire Zorn Instinct has kept us alive so far. It’s like a compass and I tune in to the needle often: trust/don’t trust, run/stay … I can’t read the needle right now. The warmth of the room is clouding my judgment. In the midst of a nuclear winter, Lucy, Fin and Max flee the chaos of Sydney with blood on their clothes, a gun and handwritten directions to safety. When they reach Wattlewood, it seems like their struggle to survive might be over. There is food, warmth and adults in charge. So why can’t Lucy shake the feeling they’re still in danger?Bindi
by Kirli Saunders, Dub Leffler (Illustrator) WINNER Daisy Utemorrah Award 2019 WINNER WAPBA Meet 11-year-old Bindi. She’s not really into maths but LOVES art class and playing hockey. Her absolute FAVOURITE thing is adventuring outside with friends or her horse, Nell. A new year starts like normal—school, family, hockey, dancing. But this year hasn’t gone to plan! There’s a big art assignment, a drought, a broken wrist AND the biggest bushfires her town has ever seen!Dawn and the Impossible Three (Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels #5) by Gale Galligan Ann M. Martin Dawn Schafer is the newest member of The Baby-sitters Club. While she’s still adjusting to life in Stoneybrook after moving from sunny California, she’s eager to accept her first big job. But taking care of the three Barrett kids would be too much for any baby-sitter. The house is always a mess, the kids are out of control, and Mrs. Barrett never does any of the things she promises.The Edge of Thirteen by Nova Weetman Clem Timmins can’t wait to see her best friends after being apart all summer holidays. But when they get back together, things have changed. Bridge is boy-crazy and acting like a different person. Ellie is wearing a bra and having a real-life romance. Clem feels left behind. When she makes friends with Tom, suddenly everyone’s gossiping about whether they’re going to be a couple. Clem’s got no interest in having a boyfriend. Or does she?Toffle Towers 2: The Great River Race by Tim Harris, James Foley Chegwin’s adventures at Toffle Towers continue when, one by one, his hotel staff are ‘reverse mugged’ by two mysterious men. Chaos ensues and it’s Chegwin’s job to get to the bottom of these attacks before Toffle Towers loses all its hard-earned guests. Meanwhile, the town of Alandale is preparing for the annual Great River Race. Once Chegwin discovers his saboteur is no other than Brontessa Braxton, owner of the rival hotel in town, Chegwin find himself preparing to go head to head with her in the Great River Race to save his beloved staff and Toffle Towers. Home (Gilead #2) by Marilynne Robinson Home parallels the story told in Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead. It is a moving and healing book about families, family secrets, and the passing of the generations, about love and death and faith. Hundreds of thousands were enthralled by the luminous voice of John Ames in Gilead, Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. Home is an entirely independent, deeply affecting novel that takes place concurrently in the same locale, this time in the household of Reverend Robert Boughton, Ames’s closest friend.A Glasshouse of Stars by Shirley Marr Meixing Lim and her family have arrived at the New House in the New Land, inherited from First Uncle who died tragically and unexpectedly while picking oranges in the backyard. Everything is vast and unknown to Meixing and not in a good way, including the house she has dubbed Big Scary. She is embarrassed by the second-hand shoes given to her by the kind neighbours, has trouble understanding the language at school, and with fitting in and making new friends. Her solace is a glasshouse in the garden that inexplicably holds the sun and the moon and all the secrets of her memory and imagination.Metal Fish, Falling Snow by Cath Moore Dylan and her adored French mother dream of one day sailing across the ocean to France. Paris, Dylan imagines, is a place where her black skin won’t stand out, a place she might feel she belongs.
Fantasy
The Girl in the Tower (The Winternight Trilogy #2) by Katherine Arden The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden’s enchanting first novel, introduced readers to an irresistible heroine. Vasilisa has grown up at the edge of a Russian wilderness, where snowdrifts reach the eaves of her family’s wooden house and there is truth in the fairy tales told around the fire. Vasilisa’s gift for seeing what others do not won her the attention of Morozko—Frost, the winter demon from the stories—and together they saved her people from destruction. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix A girl’s quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of teen fantasy, Garth Nix.Oddity by Eli Brown , Karin Rytter (illustrator) The daughter of a murdered physician vows to protect the magical Oddity he left behind—if only she knew what it was—in an alternate nineteenth century where the United States is at war with France. It’s the early 1800s, and Clover travels the impoverished borderlands of the Unified States with her father, a physician. See to the body before you, he teaches her, but Clover can’t help becoming distracted by bigger things, including the coming war between the US and France, ignited by a failed Louisiana Purchase, and the terrifying vermin, cobbled together from dead animals and spare parts, who patrol the woods.Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.Way of the Argosi (Spellslinger #0.5) by Sebastien de Castell Stealing, swindling, and gambling with her own life just to survive, Ferius will risk anything to avenge herself on the zealous young mage who haunts her every waking hour. But then she meets the incomparable Durral Brown, a wandering philosopher gifted in the arts of violence who instead overcomes his opponents with shrewdness and compassion.
A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers #2) by Brigid Kemmerer Find the heir, win the crown. Win the crown, save the kingdom. Harper has freed Prince Rhen from the curse that almost destroyed his kingdom. But all is not well; rumours are rife that there is a rival heir with a stronger claim to the throne and that ‘Princess’ Harper of Disi is nothing but a fraud.The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy #2) by S.A. Chakraborty Return to Daevabad in the spellbinding sequel to THE CITY OF BRASS. Nahri’s life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there.The Prison Healer (The Prison Healer #1) by Lynette Noni Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer. When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.A Tale of Magic… (A Tale of Magic #1) by Chris Colfer When Brystal Evergreen stumbles across a secret section of the library, she discovers a book that introduces her to a world beyond her imagination and learns the impossible: She is a fairy capable of magic! But in the oppressive Southern Kingdom, women are forbidden from reading and magic is outlawed, so Brystal is swiftly convicted of her crimes and sent to the miserable Bootstrap Correctional Facility.The Winter of the Witch (The Winternight Trilogy #3) by Katherine Arden Following their adventures in The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, Vasya and Morozko return in this stunning conclusion to the bestselling Winternight Trilogy, battling enemies mortal and magical to save both Russias, the seen and the unseen.
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (The Folk of the Air #3.5) by Holly Black An irresistible return to the captivating world of Elfhame. Once upon a time, there was a boy with a wicked tongue. Before he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone . Revealing a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame’s enigmatic high king, Cardan, his tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan’s perspective.Mister Impossible (Dreamer Trilogy #2) by Maggie Stiefvater From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Raven Boys, a mesmerizing story of dreams and desires, death and destiny. The stakes have never been higher as it seems like either the end of the world or the end of dreamers approaches. Do the dreamers need the ley lines to save the world . . . or will their actions end up dooming the world? As Ronan, Hennessy, and Bryde try to make dreamers more powerful, the Moderators are closing in, sure that this power will bring about disaster. Realm Breaker (Realm Breaker #1) by Victoria Aveyard A strange darkness grows in Allward. Even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it, tucked away in her small town at the edge of the sea. She soon discovers the truth: She is the last of an ancient lineage—and the last hope to save the world from destruction. But she won’t be alone. Even as darkness falls, she is joined by a band of unlikely companions.A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers #3) by Brigid Kemmerer Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone—even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace.
Historical
The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld Surging out of the sea, the Bass Rock has for centuries watched over the lives that pass under its shadow on the Scottish mainland. And across the centuries the fates of three women are linked: to this place, to each other. In the early 1700s, Sarah, accused of being a witch, flees for her life.The Girl from Munich (The Girl from Munich #1) by Tania Blanchard Germany, 1943. The choices she makes will change her life forever. Growing up in Hitler’s Germany, Charlotte von Klein has big dreams for the future. Her mind is full of plans for a sumptuous wedding to her childhood sweetheart Heinrich while working for the Luftwaffe, proudly giving her all for the Fatherland.
Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1) by Evie Dunmore England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women’s suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain’s politics at the Queen’s command.The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr September 1939. When Jimmy is evacuated to a small village in Wales, it couldn’t be more different from London. Green, quiet and full of strangers, he instantly feels out of place. But then he finds a skull hidden in a tree, and suddenly the valley is more frightening than the war. Who can Jimmy trust? His brother is too little; his best friend has changed.
The Enigma Game (Code Name Verity #2) by Elizabeth Wein Windyedge Airfield, Scotland. World War II. Louisa Adair, newly orphaned and shunned for her mixed-race heritage, has come here to the edge of the world to look after an old lady with a dark past. Jamie Beaufort-Stuart is a flight lieutenant whose squadron is posted to the airfield over winter. Ellen McEwan is a young woman held hostage by the German pilot who lands at Windyedge one wild stormy night carrying a terrible secret.
Mystery
The Girl with the Gold Bikini
(An Olivia Grace Mystery, #1) by Lisa Walker Eighteen-year-old Olivia Grace has deferred her law degree and ducked out of her friends’ gap-year tour of Asia. Instead, she’s fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a private investigator, following in the footsteps of Nancy Drew and Veronica Mars – who taught her everything she knows, including a solid line in quick-quipping repartee, the importance of a handbag full of disguises, and a way of mixing business with inconvenient chemistry.
Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #2) by Holly Jackson The highly anticipated sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder! More dark secrets are exposed in this addictive, true-crime fueled mystery. Pip is not a detective anymore. With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.
The Lost Soul Atlas by Zana Fraillon A powerful story of hope and friendship, from the author of The Bone Sparrow. A boy awakens in the Afterlife, with a pocketful of vague memories, a key, a raven, and a mysterious Atlas to guide him as he sets out to piece together the mystery of his final moments…Ella at Eden: New Girl (Ella at Eden #1) by Laura Sieveking Ella has started at her new high school, and Eden College is everything she hoped it would be. She is getting to know her new friends and enjoying everything Eden has to o er. Until things start to get complicated. She accidently insults Saskia, the school diva, there could be a ghost in the dorm and items have started to mysteriously disappear. Can Ella catch the Eden thief?
Non Fiction
Troy (Stephen Fry’s Great Mythology #3) by Stephen Fry The story of Troy speaks to all of us – the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against the city of Troy, to which they will lay siege for ten whole years. It is a terrible war with casualties on all sides as well as strained relations between allies, whose consequences become tragedies.
Ten-ager: What your daughter needs you to know about the transition from child to teen by Madonna King From the best-selling author of BEING 14 and FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS comes a book that shares what your daughter needs you to know about her shift from child to teenager – how she feels what she thinks, what worries her and what you can do to help. An important book that shows that 10 is the new start of a girl’s teenage years. It raises the issues our girls might not be talking about publicly, and guides their parents on how experts believe we should deal with it. (target.com)
Aussie Stem Star: Gisela Kaplan Bird and primate scientist By: Emily Gale Aussie STEM Stars is an inspiring children’s series that celebrates Australia’s experts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Gisela Kaplan’s story begins in post-World War II Germany. Despite incredible challenges as a child, she retained a profound curiosity, care and compassion for all living things. Her captivating, ground-breaking scientific research on Australian magpies, tawny frogmouths and other iconic bird species, as well as primates, make Prof. Kaplan a world-leading expert in animal behaviour, especially of Australian birds.
Curl up with a cuppa, you best friend and a book this winter holidays. We have some good suggestions for you try.
Contact library@ahs.qld.edu.au if you would like any books delivered to your pigeonhole.
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DRAMA
The runaway Australian bestseller about love and loss in wartime Germany, inspired by a true story.
‘Captures the intensity of a brutal and unforgiving war, successfully weaving love, loss, desperation and, finally, hope into a gripping journey of self-discovery.’ The Courier Mail
Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. (Goodreads)
In 1596, William Shakespeare’s 11 year old son Hamnet died in Stratford-upon-Avon. Four or so years later, Shakespeare wrote the play considered by many to be his greatest work, giving its tragic hero a variation of his dead son’s name. Almost four centuries later Maggie O’Farrell was studying Hamlet at school and learned of the boy Hamnet, whose life has been little more than a footnote in his father’s biography. The seed of curiosity planted has grown into her finest novel yet, a reimagining of Hamnet’s death and the effect it had on his family.
Late on a hot summer night in the tail end of 1965, Charlie Bucktin, a precocious and bookish boy of thirteen, is startled by an urgent knock on the window of his sleep-out. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in the regional mining town of Corrigan. Rebellious, mixed-race and solitary, Jasper is a distant figure of danger and intrigue for Charlie. So when Jasper begs for his help, Charlie eagerly steals into the night by his side, terribly afraid but desperate to impress. (Goodreads)
The story of Troy speaks to all of us – the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against the city of Troy, to which they will lay siege for ten whole years. It is a terrible war with casualties on all sides as well as strained relations between allies, whose consequences become tragedies. In Troy you will find heroism and hatred, love and loss, revenge and regret, desire and despair. It is these human passions, written bloodily in the sands of a distant shore, that still speak to us today. (Penguin)
A.J. Fikry owns a failing bookshop. His wife has just died, in tragic circumstances. His rare and valuable first edition has been stolen. His life is a wreck. Amelia is a book rep, with a big heart, and a lonely life. Maya is the baby who ends up on A.J.’s bookshop floor with a note. What happens in the bookshop that changes the lives of these seemingly normal but extraordinary characters? (Publisher)
The unforgettable story of a mother and son fleeing a drug-cartel to cross the US-Mexico border.
‘I couldn’t put it down. I’ll never stop thinking about it’ – Ann Patchett
‘One hell of a novel about a good woman on the run with her beautiful boy’ – Stephen King
Fear keeps them running. Hope keeps them alive.
Those in need of peace will find it between the covers of this elegant picture book for adults and children (The New York Times)
‘Feeling a little blue? Meet the new Winnie the Pooh.’ The Daily Mail
‘A wonderful work of art and a wonderful window into the human heart’ Richard Curtis
A story of brotherhood, true love and the most unlikely of friendships, Boy Swallows Universe will be the most heartbreaking, joyous and exhilarating novel you will read all year. A story of brotherhood, true love and the most unlikely of friendships, Boy Swallows Universe will be the most heartbreaking, joyous and exhilarating novel you will read all year. (Goodreads)
Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend. Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.
‘A complex, big-hearted, multi-generational Australian epic’ (Good Weekend)
The Dunbar boys bring each other up in a house run by their own rules. A family of ramshackle tragedy – their mother is dead, their father has fled – they love and fight, and learn to reckon with the adult world.
It is Clay, the quiet one, who will build a bridge; for his family, for his past, for his sins. He builds a bridge to transcend humanness. To survive.
The sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz In 1942 Cilka Klein is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival. (Goodreads)
The four award-winning books—GILEAD, HOME, LILA, and JACK—are set in the fictional town of Gilead, Iowa, and explore powerful themes of faith, family legacies, love, and human connections.
Set on timeless Wiradyuri country, where the life-giving waters of the rivers can make or break dreams, and based on devastating true events, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) is an epic story of love, loss and belonging.
We need more of these stories; more novels that reflect Australia’s colonial past through the eyes of First Nations women. (Chris Gordon, Readings)
In 1611 Emilia Bassano wrote a volume of radical, feminist and subversive poetry. It was one of the first published collections of poetry written by a woman in England. The little we know of Emilia Bassano is restricted to the possibility that she may have been the ‘Dark Lady’ of Shakespeare’s Sonnets – and the rest of HerStory has been erased by History. Morgan has taken what we know of Bassano, and her poetry, to create this lively, witty play.
A warm hearted novel about music, grief, relationships, gardens, love, laughter and family. Award-winning Brisbane journalist and author Frances Whiting brings her renowned warmth and empathy to this witty and gentle novel about bringing out the best in each other. (Pan Macmillan Australia)
From the author of Jasper Jones. Late in the night, fourteen-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below. At the other end of the same bridge, an old man, Vic, smokes his last cigarette. The two see each other across the void. A fateful connection is made, and an unlikely friendship blooms. Slowly, we learn what led Sam and Vic to the bridge that night. Bonded by their suffering, each privately commits to the impossible task of saving the other.
Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? (Goodreads)
The breakout literary sensation of 2021, THE PERFORMANCE is a tightly woven examination of women’s inner lives that is enthralling, profound and deeply human. A SYDNEY MORNING HERALD ’MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2021′
Winner of the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award Knowing that he will soon die, Albert ‘Poppy’ Gondiwindi takes pen to paper. His life has been spent on the banks of the Murrumby River at Prosperous House, on Massacre Plains. Albert is determined to pass on the language of his people and everything that was ever remembered. He finds the words on the wind. Profoundly moving and exquisitely written, Tara June Winch’s The Yield is the story of a people and a culture dispossessed. But it is as much a celebration of what was and what endures, and a powerful reclaiming of Indigenous language, storytelling and identity. (Booktopia)
The bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton, returns with All Our Shimmering Skies - a glorious novel destined to become another Australian classic. (Booktopia)
Set when the women’s suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It’s a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape the world and our experience of it. (Goodreads)
The Amarna Age book No. 2
Blending history and fantasy, The Amarna Age series is set in 18th Dynasty Egypt where the old gods have been worshipped for thousands of years and magic is a matter of belief. For readers of dark fantasy who enjoy an historical setting. (Goodreads)
This story, full of beauty and hope, is based on years of interviews author Heather Morris conducted with real-life Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz- Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov. It is heart-wrenching, illuminating, and unforgettable. (Goodreads)
MYSTERY AND CRIME
The hero of The Poet and The Scarecrow is back in the new thriller from Michael Connelly. Jack McEvoy, the journalist who never backs down, tracks a serial killer who has been operating completely under the radar – until now.
At once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. (book cover)
The Kingdom is a simmering and complex thriller full of unexpected twists, devastating family legacies and an ever-growing body count. (publisher)
From the Author of The Dry and The Lost Man – Kieran Elliott’s life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home. (Book cover)
Harry Bosch and LAPD Detective Renee Ballard come together again on the murder case that obsessed Bosch’s mentor, the man who trained him – new from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly (Goodreads)
A convicted killer. A gifted thief. A vicious crime boss. A disillusioned cop. Together they’re a missing girl’s only hope. Blair Harbour, once a wealthy, respected surgeon in Los Angeles, is now an ex-con down on her luck. She’s determined to keep her nose clean to win back custody of her son. But when her former cellmate, Sneak Lawlor, begs for help to find her missing daughter, Blair is compelled to put her new-found freedom on the line. Joined by LA’s most feared underworld figure, Ada Maverick, the crew of criminals bring outlaw tactics to the search for Dayly. (publisher)
The Dry is the 2016 debut novel by British born author Jane Harper. The book has won numerous international awards and has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. A film adaptation was released on 1 January 2021 with great success, placing it as one of the highest grossing Australian film opening weekends ever.
Two brothers meet at the border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of outback Queensland. They are at the stockman’s grave, a landmark so old, no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last chance for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he lose hope and walk to his death? Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects. (Book cover)
NEW IN NON-FICTION AND BIOGRAPHIES
My Tidda, My Sister shares the experiences of many Indigenous women and girls, brought together by author and host of the Tiddas 4 Tiddas podcast, Marlee Silva. The voices of First Nations’ women that Marlee weaves through the book provide a rebuttal to the idea that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’. For non-Indigenous women, it demonstrates the diversity of what success can look like and offers an insight into the lives of their Indigenous sisters and peers.
In this luminous memoir, Mary McAleese traces that astonishing arc: from the tight streets of north Belfast, to a professorship in Dublin while still in her twenties, behind-the-scenes work on the peace process, and two triumphant terms as President of Ireland. (Book Depository)
941.508 MCA
In a world that tells women they’re either not enough or too much this book is an accessible leap into feminism, for people at all stages of their journey who are seeking to reshape and transform the way they view themselves. (Publisher)
305.42 GIV
Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed on 9 November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country. Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the ‘happiest man on earth’. (publisher)
940.53 JAK
On awe wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark. A beautiful, intimate and inspiring investigation into how we can find and nurture within ourselves that essential quality of internal happiness – the ‘light within’ that Julia Baird calls ‘phosphorescence’ – which will sustain us even through the darkest times. (Goodreads)
158 BAI
Queensland was one of the last places in the world to suffer from the ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic of 1918-1920. This anthology of short stories by various writers about the ‘Spanish Flu’ epidemic in Queensland is based on real people in real places.
Twenty-three Australian grandmothers reflect on their diverse experiences. Maggie Beer is grateful that she is a better grandmother than she was a mother; Alison Lester confesses she has become so busy as a grandmother that she barely has time to ride her horse; Ramona Koval worries what sort of world her grandchildren will inherit; Ali Cobby Eckermann reveals the pain of being a Stolen-Generations grandmother. Love is the emotion that connects them all, but there are so many ways of being a grandmother that the range of feeling in this anthology may surprise you. 306.8745
Bruce Pascoe has collected a swathe of literary awards for Dark Emu and now he has brought together the research and compelling first person accounts in a book for younger readers. Using the accounts of early European explorers, colonists and farmers, Bruce Pascoe compellingly argues for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer label for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians.
Celebrated motivational speaker and YouTube sensation Lizzie Velasquez shows us how we can learn to accept all parts of ourselves and others to create a culture of kindness and a more compassionate world.
177.7 VEL
300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens had bigger skulls. Cooked food meant our heads shrunk; alongside a growing brain, our airways got narrower. Urbanisation then led us to breathe less deeply and less healthily. And so today more than 90% of us breathe incorrectly. James Nestor meets cutting-edge scientists at Harvard and experiments on himself in labs at Stanford to see the impact of bad breathing. He revives the lost, and recently scientifically proven, wisdom of swim coaches, mystics, cardiologists, Olympians and choral conductors, the world’s foremost ‘pulmonauts’ to show how breathing in specific patterns can trigger our bodies to absorb more oxygen, and he explains the benefits for everyone that result, from staying healthy and warding off anxiety to improving focus and losing weight.
In Truth-Telling, influential historian Henry Reynolds pulls the rug from legal and historical assumptions, with his usual sharp eye and rigour, in a book that’s about the present as much as the past. His work shows exactly why our national war memorial must acknowledge the frontier wars, why we must change the date of our national day, and why treaties are important. Most of all, it makes urgently clear that the Uluru Statement is no rhetorical flourish but carries the weight of history and law and gives us a map for the future.
305.899 REY
In her memoir, now available in paperback and as a Young Readers edition, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Also available as an audio book read by Michelle Obama
Why some children struggle and how all can thrive.
From one of the world’s foremost researchers and pioneers of paediatric health—a book that fully explores a revolutionary discovery about childhood development, parenting, and the key to helping all children find happiness and success.
His work has revealed there are two different kinds of children: the “dandelion” child (hardy, resilient, healthy), able to survive and flourish under most circumstances, and the “orchid” child (sensitive, susceptible, fragile) who, given the right support, can thrive as much, if not more, than other children. (Goodreads)
155.4 BOY
Spelling It Out aims to ease anxiety and crush the myth that good spelling comes naturally. Good spelling comes from good teaching. Based on Misty Adoniou’s extensive research into spelling learning and instruction, this book encourages children and adults to nurture a curiosity about words, discover their history and, in so doing, understand the logic behind the way they are spelled. (Booktopia)
428.1 ADO
Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for precolonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating and storing – behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Almost all the evidence comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources. (Goodreads)
When Jeremy Bentham proposed that government should run “for the greatest benefit of the greatest number,” he posed two problems: what is happiness and how can we measure it? With the rise of positive psychology, freakonimics, behavioural economics, endless TED talks, the happiness manifesto, the Happiness Index, the tyranny of customer service, the emergence of the quantified self movement, we have become a culture obsessed with measuring our supposed satisfaction.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural and historic resources
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From the Author of The Dry and The Lost Man – Kieran Elliott’s life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home. Kieran’s parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn. When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away.
A young man named Levi McAllister decides to build a coffin for his twenty-three-year-old sister, Charlotte, who promptly runs for her life. A water rat swims upriver in quest of the cloud god. A fisherman named Karl hunts for tuna in partnership with a seal. And a father takes form from fire. The answers to these riddles are to be found in this tale of grief and love and the bonds of family, tracing a journey across the southern island that takes us full circle.
Late on a hot summer night in the tail end of 1965, Charlie Bucktin, a precocious and bookish boy of thirteen, is startled by an urgent knock on the window of his sleep-out. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in the regional mining town of Corrigan. Rebellious, mixed-race and solitary, Jasper is a distant figure of danger and intrigue for Charlie. So when Jasper begs for his help, Charlie eagerly steals into the night by his side, terribly afraid but desperate to impress.
From the author of Jasper Jones. Late in the night, fourteen-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below. At the other end of the same bridge, an old man, Vic, smokes his last cigarette. The two see each other across the void. A fateful connection is made, and an unlikely friendship blooms. Slowly, we learn what led Sam and Vic to the bridge that night. Bonded by their suffering, each privately commits to the impossible task of saving the other.
The unforgettable story of a mother and son fleeing a drug-cartel to cross the US-Mexico border. ‘I couldn’t put it down. I’ll never stop thinking about it’ – Ann Patchett ‘One hell of a novel about a good woman on the run with her beautiful boy’ – Stephen King Fear keeps them running. Hope keeps them alive.
Those in need of peace will find it between the covers of this elegant picture book for adults and children (The New York Times) ‘Feeling a little blue? Meet the new Winnie the Pooh.’ The Daily Mail ‘A wonderful work of art and a wonderful window into the human heart’ Richard Curtis
Boy swallows universe by Trent Dalton A story of brotherhood, true love and the most unlikely of friendships, Boy Swallows Universe will be the most heartbreaking, joyous and exhilarating novel you will read all year. (Goodreads)
Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend. Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.
‘A complex, big-hearted, multi-generational Australian epic’ (Good Weekend) The Dunbar boys bring each other up in a house run by their own rules. A family of ramshackle tragedy – their mother is dead, their father has fled – they love and fight, and learn to reckon with the adult world. It is Clay, the quiet one, who will build a bridge; for his family, for his past, for his sins. He builds a bridge to transcend humanness. To survive.
The sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz In 1942 Cilka Klein is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival. (Goodreads)
Harry Bosch and LAPD Detective Renee Ballard come together again on the murder case that obsessed Bosch’s mentor, the man who trained him – new from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly (Goodreads)
A convicted killer. A gifted thief. A vicious crime boss. A disillusioned cop. Together they’re a missing girl’s only hope. Blair Harbour, once a wealthy, respected surgeon in Los Angeles, is now an ex-con down on her luck. She’s determined to keep her nose clean to win back custody of her son. But when her former cellmate, Sneak Lawlor, begs for help to find her missing daughter, Blair is compelled to put her new-found freedom on the line. Joined by LA’s most feared underworld figure, Ada Maverick, the crew of criminals bring outlaw tactics to the search for Dayly. (publisher)
When his daughter Samantha calls in the dead of night, John Rebus knows it’s not good news. Her husband has been missing for two days. Rebus fears the worst – and knows from his lifetime in the police that his daughter will be the prime suspect. He wasn’t the best father – the job always came first – but now his daughter needs him more than ever. But is he going as a father or a detective? As he leaves at dawn to drive to the windswept coast – and a small town with big secrets – he wonders whether this might be the first time in his life where the truth is the one thing he doesn’t want to find…
Profoundly moving and exquisitely written, Tara June Winch’s The Yield is the story of a people and a culture dispossessed. But it is as much a celebration of what was and what endures, and a powerful reclaiming of Indigenous language, storytelling and identity. (Booktopia) Winner of the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award Knowing that he will soon die, Albert ‘Poppy’ Gondiwindi takes pen to paper. His life has been spent on the banks of the Murrumby River at Prosperous House, on Massacre Plains. Albert is determined to pass on the language of his people and everything that was ever remembered. He finds the words on the wind.
The bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton, returns with All Our Shimmering Skies – a glorious novel destined to become another Australian classic. (Booktopia)
Set when the women’s suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It’s a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape the world and our experience of it. (Goodreads)
The Amarna Age book No. 2 Blending history and fantasy, The Amarna Age series is set in 18th Dynasty Egypt where the old gods have been worshipped for thousands of years and magic is a matter of belief. For readers of dark fantasy who enjoy an historical setting. (Goodreads)
This story, full of beauty and hope, is based on years of interviews author Heather Morris conducted with real-life Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz- Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov. It is heart-wrenching, illuminating, and unforgettable. (Goodreads)
The hero of The Poet and The Scarecrow is back in the new thriller from Michael Connelly. Jack McEvoy, the journalist who never backs down, tracks a serial killer who has been operating completely under the radar – until now.
At once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. (book cover)
Two brothers meet at the border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of outback Queensland. They are at the stockman’s grave, a landmark so old, no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last chance for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he lose hope and walk to his death? Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects. (Book cover)
In this luminous memoir, Mary McAleese traces that astonishing arc: from the tight streets of north Belfast, to a professorship in Dublin while still in her twenties, behind-the-scenes work on the peace process, and two triumphant terms as President of Ireland. (Book Depository) 941.508 MCA
In a world that tells women they’re either not enough or too much this book is an accessible leap into feminism, for people at all stages of their journey who are seeking to reshape and transform the way they view themselves. (Publisher) 305.42 GIV
Why some children struggle and how all can thrive. From one of the world’s foremost researchers and pioneers of paediatric health—a book that fully explores a revolutionary discovery about childhood development, parenting, and the key to helping all children find happiness and success. His work has revealed there are two different kinds of children: the “dandelion” child (hardy, resilient, healthy), able to survive and flourish under most circumstances, and the “orchid” child (sensitive, susceptible, fragile) who, given the right support, can thrive as much, if not more, than other children. (Goodreads) 155.4 BOY
Spelling it out by Misty Adoniou
Spelling It Out aims to ease anxiety and crush the myth that good spelling comes naturally. Good spelling comes from good teaching. Based on Misty Adoniou’s extensive research into spelling learning and instruction, this book encourages children and adults to nurture a curiosity about words, discover their history and, in so doing, understand the logic behind the way they are spelled. (Booktopia) 428.1 ADO
A series of intimate conversations with some of today’s most iconic and inspirational women : Dr Gill Hicks- Survivor of 2005 London bombings and Founder of M.A.D For Peace, Maggie Beer- Culinary Icon, Layne Beachley – 7 times Surfing World Champion, Karen J Scott – Survivor 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, Moira Kelly – International Humanitarian and Mum to conjoined twins Trishna and Krishna, Michelle Bridges- Celebrity Fitness Trainer. Author, Beatrice Imbert discovers the real women behind the name and the fame and shares some of the defining moments that have propelled these women to success but also shows us that we can all strive for an extraordinary life.
Twenty-three Australian grandmothers reflect on their diverse experiences. Maggie Beer is grateful that she is a better grandmother than she was a mother; Alison Lester confesses she has become so busy as a grandmother that she barely has time to ride her horse; Ramona Koval worries what sort of world her grandchildren will inherit; Ali Cobby Eckermann reveals the pain of being a Stolen-Generations grandmother. Love is the emotion that connects them all, but there are so many ways of being a grandmother that the range of feeling in this anthology may surprise you.
When Jeremy Bentham proposed that government should run “for the greatest benefit of the greatest number,” he posed two problems: what is happiness and how can we measure it? With the rise of positive psychology, freakonimics, behavioural economics, endless TED talks, the happiness manifesto, the Happiness Index, the tyranny of customer service, the emergence of the quantified self movement, we have become a culture obsessed with measuring our supposed satisfaction.
In Truth-Telling, influential historian Henry Reynolds pulls the rug from legal and historical assumptions, with his usual sharp eye and rigour, in a book that’s about the present as much as the past. His work shows exactly why our national war memorial must acknowledge the frontier wars, why we must change the date of our national day, and why treaties are important. Most of all, it makes urgently clear that the Uluru Statement is no rhetorical flourish but carries the weight of history and law and gives us a map for the future. 305.899 REY
Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed on 9 November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country. Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the ‘happiest man on earth’. (publisher) 940.53 JAK
On awe wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark. A beautiful, intimate and inspiring investigation into how we can find and nurture within ourselves that essential quality of internal happiness – the ‘light within’ that Julia Baird calls ‘phosphorescence’ – which will sustain us even through the darkest times. (Goodreads) 158 BAI
Queensland was one of the last places in the world to suffer from the ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic of 1918-1920. This anthology of short stories by various writers about the ‘Spanish Flu’ epidemic in Queensland is based on real people in real places.
An expansive collection of love letters to books, libraries, and reading, from a wonderfully eclectic array of thinkers and creators. In these pages, some of today’s most wonderful culture-makers―writers, artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, and philosophers―reflect on the joys of reading, how books broaden and deepen human experience, and the ways in which the written word has formed their own character. On the page facing each letter, an illustration by a celebrated illustrator or graphic artist presents that artist’s visual response. (Amazon) 028.5 VEL
Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for precolonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating and storing – behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Almost all the evidence comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources. (Goodreads)
Celebrated motivational speaker and YouTube sensation Lizzie Velasquez shows us how we can learn to accept all parts of ourselves and others to create a culture of kindness and a more compassionate world. 177.7 VEL
Chance is a black-and-white thinker until she realises that sometimes there are shades of grey.
Chance is in Year 7 and thinks she has it all – a loving mother, dog Tiges, best friend and almost-sister next door. But when a reality TV team makes over her house, she discovers newspaper cuttings from the past that cause her to question the world as she knows it and everyone in it. www. goodreads.comThe boy at the back of the class by Onjali Q. Raúf
Told with humor and heart, ‘THE BOY AT THE BACK OF THE CLASS’ offers a child’s perspective on the refugee crisis, highlighting the importance of friendship and kindness in a world that doesn’t always make sense.
A funny and heart-warming queer Indigenous YA novel, set in a rural Australian community, about seventeen-year-old Jackson finding the courage to explore who he is, even if it scares him.
‘I don’t paint so much anymore,’ I say, looking to my feet.
‘Oh. Well, I got a boy who needs to do some art. You can help him out,’ Aunty Pam says, like I have no say in the matter, like she didn’t hear what I just said about not painting so much anymore. ‘Jackson, this is Tomas. He’s living with me for a little while.’ www. goodreads.comA burning by Megha Majumdar
For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri, an electrifying debut novel about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise—to the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies—and find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India. www. goodreads.com Call me by your name by Andre Aciman
Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. What grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks’ duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime. www. goodreads.comThe constant princess by Philippa Gregory
Splendid and sumptuous historical novel from the internationally bestselling author, Philippa Gregory, telling of the early life of Katherine of Aragon. We think of Katherine of Aragon as the barren wife of a notorious king; but behind this legacy lies a fascinating story.Crush the King by Jennifer Estep
A fierce gladiator queen must face off against her enemies in an epic battle in this next thrilling installment of New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards series—an action-packed adventure full of magic, murderous machinations, courtly intrigue, and pulse-pounding romance.An orchestra of minorities by Chigozie Obioma
A contemporary twist on the Odyssey, An Orchestra of Minorities is narrated by the chi, or spirit of a young poultry farmer named Chinonso. His life is set off course when he sees a woman who is about to jump off a bridge. Horrified by her recklessness, he hurls two of his prized chickens off the bridge. The woman, Ndali, is stopped in her tracks.The silent corner by Dean Koontz
Meet Jane Hawk—a remarkable new heroine certain to become an icon of suspense, propelled by the singular narrative genius of #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz.
“I very much need to be dead.”
These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for—but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what.Spin the dawn by Elizabeth Lim
Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.
Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.The tyrant’s tomb (book four) by Rick Riordan In his penultimate adventure, a devastated but determined Apollo travels to Camp Jupiter, where he must learn what it is to be a hero, or die trying.
It’s not easy being Apollo, especially when you’ve been turned into a human and banished from Olympus. On his path to restoring five ancient oracles and reclaiming his godly powers, Apollo (aka Lester Papadopoulos) has faced both triumphs and tragedies. Now his journey takes him to Camp Jupiter in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the Roman demigods are preparing for a desperate last stand against the evil Triumvirate of Roman emperors. White Eagles by Elizabeth Wein
Summer 1939. With Europe on the brink of war, eighteen-year-old Kristina Tomiak has been called up to join the White Eagles, Poland’s valiant air force. When the Nazis reach the town where she is based, Kristina makes a daring escape, but she doesn’t realise that she’s carrying a stowaway in her plane. Will Kristina be able to navigate the most challenging flight of her life and reach safety amid the turmoil of war? Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 13+ The history of mischief by Rebecca Higgie
When Jessie and her older sister Kay find a book called The History of Mischief, hidden beneath the floorboards in their grandmother’s house, they uncover a secret world. The History chronicles how, since antiquity, mischief-makers have clandestinely shaped the past – from an Athenian slave to a Polish salt miner and from an advisor to the Ethiopian Queen to a girl escaping the Siege of Paris. Jessie becomes enthralled by the book and by her own mission to determine its accuracy.Frostheart: Escape from Aurora by Jamie Littler
Ash and the rest of the Frostheart’s brave crew have finally arrived at the majestic stronghold of Aurora – and Ash’s mind is blown. It’s an extraordinary place – unlike anything he’s ever seen – and he can’t wait to solve the next clue that will lead him to his parents. But it’s quickly clear that even Aurora isn’t safe for Song Weavers. A fanatical Pathfinder captain has turned the city against Ash and his kind – and it’s not long before the Frostheart has to make another break for freedom.A good girl’s guide to murder by Holly Jackson
The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.
But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden.Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson
This is the story of two totally different girls—quiet, shy, artistic Emmie and popular, outgoing, athletic Katie—and how their lives unexpectedly intersect one day when an embarrassing note falls into the wrong hands.Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.
Zombie finally made it through 7th grade…And he even made it through one really crazy summer!
But will Zombie be able to survive through the first weeks of being an 8th grader in Mob Scare School? www. goodreads.comBullies and buddies by Zack Zombie
12 year old Zombie is back for another hilarious and exciting adventure.
This time Zombie is up against some of the meanest and scary mob bullies at school. Will he be able to stop the mob bullies from terrorizing him and his friends, and make it back in one piece? www. goodreads.comThe bone shard daughter by Andrea Stewart In an empire controlled by bone shard magic, Lin, the former heir to the emperor will fight to reclaim her magic and her place on the throne.
The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands. www. goodreads.comThe bone weaver’s orchard by Sarah Read
He’s run away home. That’s what they say every time one of Charley Winslow’s friends vanishes from The Old Cross School for Boys.
It’s just a tall tale. That’s what they tell Charley when he sees the ragged grey figure stalking the abbey halls at night. www. goodreads.comCome from away by Genevieve Graham
In the fall of 1939, Grace Baker’s three brothers, sharp and proud in their uniforms, board Canadian ships headed for a faraway war. Grace stays behind, tending to the homefront and the general store that helps keep her small Nova Scotian community running. The war, everyone says, will be over before it starts. But three years later, the fighting rages on and rumours swirl about “wolf packs” of German U-Boats lurking in the deep waters along the shores of East Jeddore, a stone’s throw from Grace’s window. www. goodreads.comA court of thorns and roses by Sarah J. Maas
Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …A deadly education by Naomi Novik
A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.
There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.Rebel Gods by Will Kostakis
Newbie gods Connor, Sally and Locky want to change the world, no biggie. When their first attempted miracle doesn’t quite go to plan, they find themselves at odds with their families, the media and each other. To make matters worse, they’re drawn into a centuries old conflict between the gods of Love and Fear that just might destroy the world they’re striving to make better.The Sentinel by Lee Child
As always, Reacher has no particular place to go, and all the time in the world to get there. One morning he ends up in a town near Pleasantville, Tennessee.
Following Ivy Sparrow’s discoveries in The Crooked Sixpence, the adventures continue in the second instalment of The Uncommoners trilogy, The Smoking Hourglass. As soon as Ivy and her brother Seb set foot back in the mysterious underground city of Lundinor, they know that something has changed . . . Where before there were cobbled streets, now the squares and lanes between the city’s enchanted shops are lush with spring blooms – but something dark is stirring just below the surface, and uncommon traders are uneasy. Ivy and Seb have stumbled into a plot that could condemn every uncommoner to a disastrous fate .Stormcaster by Cinda Williams Chima
The third book in the thrilling four-book Shattered Realms series from New York Times bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima
The empress in the east—the unspeakably cruel ruler whose power grew in Flamecaster and Shadowcaster—tightens her grip in this chilling third installment in the series.Unravel the dusk by Elizabeth Lim
Maia Tamarin’s journey to sew the dresses of the sun, the moon and the stars has taken a grievous toll. She returns to a kingdom on the brink of war. The boy she loves is gone, and she is forced to don the dress of the sun and assume the place of the emperor’s bride-to-be to keep the peace.
But the war raging around Maia is nothing compared to the battle within. Ever since she was touched by the demon Bandur, she has been changing . . . glancing in the mirror to see her own eyes glowing red, losing control of her magic, her body, her mind.You should see me in a crown by Leah Johnson
Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.The invisible life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab
A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.The Uncommoners: The frozen telescope by Jennifer Bell
After the thrilling events which concluded The Smoking Hourglass, Ivy, Seb and Valian think they’ve vanquished their enemies, and those of Lundinor, forever. It turns out their adventure was only just beginning . . .
Ivy and Seb can’t wait to join Valian for their first ever overseas uncommon adventure – they’re meeting in Nubrook, the completely astonishing and totally different to Ludinor trading market hidden underneath New York. Hey, Sherlock! by Simon Mason
Amy Roecastle is beautiful. Selfish. And missing. Vanished without a trace in the middle of the night, she’s taken her ferocious dog – and something else, too. Something deadly. Amy’s best friend is lying to Inspector Singh, who has no leads and no idea. Cue Garvie Smith. Teenage slacker. Undeniable crime-solving genius.A murder most unladylike: A spoonful of murder by Robin Stevens
The sixth mystery from the bestselling, award-winning author of Murder Most Unladylike.
When Hazel Wong’s beloved grandfather passes away, Daisy Wells is all too happy to accompany her friend (and Detective Society Vice President) to Hazel’s family estate in beautiful, bustling Hong Kong.Monument 14: Sky on fire by Emmy Laybourne
Trapped in a superstore by a series of escalating disasters, including a monster hailstorm and terrifying chemical weapons spill, brothers Dean and Alex learned how to survive and worked together with twelve other kids to build a refuge from the chaos. But then strangers appeared, destroying their fragile peace, and bringing both fresh disaster and a glimmer of hope.
A Murder Most Unladylike Mystery Series 8 Books Collection Set by Robin Stevens:
Murder Most Unladylike: At Deepdean School for Girls, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong have set up their own detective agency. But they are struggling to find any real crimes to investigate.
Arsenic For Tea: Daisy’s glamorous mother is throwing a tea party for Daisy’s birthday, and the whole family is invited, from eccentric Aunt Saskia to dashing Uncle Felix.
First Class Murder: Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are taking a holiday on the world-famous Orient Express – and it’s clear that each of their fellow first-class passengers has something to hide.
Jolly Foul Play: As they return to Deepdean for a new school term, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are faced with some big changes.
Mistletoe and Murder: It’s Christmas, and the snow is falling in Cambridge, where the detective duo Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are spending the festive period.
A Spoonful of Murder: When Hazel Wong’s beloved grandfather passes away, Daisy Wells is all too happy to accompany her friend.
Death in the Spotlight: Fresh from their adventure in Hong Kong, Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells are off to the Rue Theatre in London to face an entirely new challenge: acting.
Cream Buns and Crime: Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are famous for the murder cases they have solved – but there are many other mysteries in the pages of Hazel’s casebook. (robin-stevens.co.uk)The Once Series by Morris Gleitzman
My name is Felix Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house I had a plan for both of us Pretend to be someone else Be safe forever
Then the Nazis came (schoolessentials.com.au)The Tomorrow series is a series of seven young adult invasion novels written by Australian writer John Marsden, detailing the invasion and occupation of Australia by a foreign power. The novels are related from the first-person perspective by Ellie Linton, a teenage girl, who is part of a small band of teenagers waging a guerrilla war on the enemy soldiers in the region around their fictional home town of Wirrawee. The name of the series is derived from the title of the first book, Tomorrow, When the War Began. (wikipedia.org)A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of thirteen novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. Although they are classified “children’s novels”, the books often have a dark and mysterious feeling to them. The books follow the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After their parents’ death in a fire, the children are placed in the custody of a murderous relative, Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance and, later, orchestrates numerous disasters with the help of his accomplices as the children attempt to flee. As the plot progresses, the Baudelaires gradually confront further mysteries surrounding their family and deep conspiracies involving a secret society known as V.F.D., with connections to Olaf, their parents, and many other relatives. The series is narrated by Lemony Snicket, who dedicates each of his works to his deceased love interest, Beatrice, and often attempts to dissuade the reader from reading the Baudelaires’ story. (wikipedia.org) The Baby -sitters Club Series by Ann M Martin The Baby-Sitters Club is about a group of friends who live in the fictional, suburban town of Stoneybrook, Connecticut.These friends run a local babysitting service called “The Baby-Sitters Club”. The original four members were Kristy Thomas (founder and president), Mary Anne Spier (secretary), Claudia Kishi (vice-president), and Stacey McGill (treasurer), but the number of members varies throughout the series. (wikipedia.org/)
Tom Weekly is the main character in my kids’ book series, My Life & Other Stuff I Made Up, illustrated by funnyman Gus Gordon. Tom Weekly has been with us since 2010. Now, five books, 50+ stories, and 125,000 words into our journey, I wonder if I really know him. I mean, can you ever truly know a weird dude like Tom? (https://www.tristanbancks.com/)
Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah 1. Chinese Cinderella (1999) 2. The Secret Dragon Society (2004) 3. The Mystery of the Song Dynasty (2009) 4. Along the River (2010)
Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz It’s best to start at the beginning of the series to get the back story. Stormbreaker, book 1 in the series, introduces us to 14-year-old Alex Rider, a normal teenager thrust into working for MI6 in the wake of his uncle’s suspicious death. Before he knows it, he is operating in a murky world of secret gadgets, weapons, terrorists and most of all danger. We love the Alex Rider books for their fast-paced action and nail-biting mysteries and Toppsta readers do too. Check out their five-star reviews for these exciting adventure stories, recommended for readers aged 9+. (https://toppsta.com/books/series/12040/alex-rider)Anne of Green Gables Series by L M Montgomery Centered on Anne for the majority of the series, this eight-book collection is prized and loved by many. Located in a lovely spot in Prince Edward Island, Canada, the first two books are based in Avonlea, a quaint town that is based on the real-life town of Cavendish. Anne of Green Gables Anne of Avonlea Anne of the Island Anne of Windy Poplars Anne’s House of Dreams Anne of Ingleside Rainbow Valley Rilla of Ingleside (https://anneofgreengables.fandom.com/wiki/Anne_of_Green_Gables_series)The Worlds Worst Children Series by David Walliams Are you ready to meet the World’s Worst Children? From Dribbling Drew – a boy whose drool gets him into terrible trouble – to Sofia Sofa – a TV super-fan so stuck to the sofa that she’s turning into one! – the uproariously funny cast of characters will delight David Walliams’ readers. A wickedly funny and wonderfully surreal collection of ten stories about ten delightfully dreadful children, THE WORLD’S WORST CHILDREN is David Walliams’ unique take on the classic cautionary tale. (https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/)
The Trials of Morrigan Crow Series by jessica Townsend This series centers around Morrigan Crow, a cursed child living in the Wintersea Republic. When it comes time for her to die on Eventide day, she is “whisked away” to the city of Nevermoor by Jupiter North, a hotel owner and part of the Wundrous Society, a prestigious group of units, each member with a “knack,” a small superpower that allows them to be better than average. (wikipedia.org)
Our Australian Girl Series by Various Authors With 32 individual titles now in the series, the ‘Our Australian Girl’ books bring Australian history to life. Whether it is 1840s central Victoria or aboard a ship bound for the Antipodes, the series engages readers in the stories behind these events. Not only do the books illuminate some of these historic events but they weave through important themes about immigration and family life. (https://childrensbooksdaily.com/)The Girl, the dog and the writer Series by Katrina Nannestad and Cheryl Orsini HE’S A VAGUE NOVELIST. SHE’S A SHY AND UNUSUAL CHILD. TOGETHER, THEY’RE TRAVELLING THE WORLD, ONE BOOK AT A TIME. Freja, Tobias and Finnegan are back for an all-new adventure through the countryside of Provence. PRAISE FOR BOOK ONE: ‘this beautifully paced story is sure to be treasured by adventure lovers’. The mysteries are addictive and divine, and the story centres around adventurous, independent Freja taking the lead and kicking butt … The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Rome is the start of something wonderful. And you are going to want book two as soon as you finish book one, because not all the questions are answered in this magical first instalment’ (www.wheelers.co.nz)
Tutor Series by Lucy Worsley Lucy Worsley is Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that runs the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and other sites, which attract more than four million visitors a year. Lucy also presents history programmes for the BBC on topics including royal palaces and the court, such as Britain’s Tudor Treasure with David Starkey. Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a five book series. The main story that started in The Lightning Thief is wrapped up in The Last Olympian. I believe it’s important for a series to have a strong ending, and I always knew that Percy’s story would be five books. (https://rickriordan.com/)
Pippa’s Island Series by Belinda Murrell A new series about about friendships, family and seaside adventures on a gorgeous tropical island. Pippa’s Island, is about a girl called Pippa, who moves with her family from London, to a small tropical island on the other side of the world. She has to leave her home, her school and all her friends behind her, which is really tough. Her arrival causes ripples at Kira Island Primary School – but Pippa soon starts to make friends with eco-warrior Meg, boho-chick Charlie, and fashionista and cupcake baker Cici. The gang of best friends, form a secret club, who meet after school in a round tower on top of a boat-house. (https://belindamurrell.com.au/)
Emmie & Friends is a popular middle grade series by Terri Libenson. The series (so far) includes: Invisible Emmie Positively Izzy Just Jaime Becoming Brianna YOU-Niquely You (https://terrilibenson.com/emmie-friends-series/)
The Smile Series by Raina Telgemeier Smile The true story of how Raina severely injured her two front teeth when she was in the sixth grade, and the dental drama that followed! Sisters Raina can’t wait to be a big sister. Amara is cute, but she’s also cranky and mostly prefers to play by herself. Their relationship doesn’t improve much over the years… can they figure out how to get along? Guts Raina has tummy trouble, and it seems to coincide with her worries about food, school, family, and changing friendships. A thoughtful, charming, and funny true story about growing up and gathering the courage to face — and eventually conquer — fear. (www.booktopia.com.au)
Just 20 Minutes a day reading during the holidays will prevent the summer slide. So come in and borrow a few books from the library to get you started.
Happy Holidays!
The bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton returns with All Our Shimmering Skies – a glorious novel destined to become another Australian classic. Darwin, 1942, and as Japanese bombs rain down, motherless Molly Hook, the gravedigger’s daughter, turns once again to the sky for guidance.The official story chosen for ALIA NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORYTIME 2021, TO BE CELEBRATED ALL ACROSS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND!
“Una dreams of a life in Space. Life on Earth is just so so-so. But how will she get there? And will she complete her mission to discover life in Space? And did she remember to feed Neil the goldfish?”1873 England Orphaned Hattie goes to live with her great uncle and aunt in their crumbling castle in the English Fens. There, Great Aunt Iphigenia hosts flamboyant mummy-unwrapping parties to save her home from ruin – until the mummy supply runs out. On a dangerous search for more, a thousand miles up the Nile, Hattie is haunted by these ancient souls and tries to free them with unexpected consequences. A potent blend of fantasy and history, this rambunctious story has it all!For heroes like Leo dan Brock and Stour Nightfall, only happy with swords drawn, peace is an ordeal to end as soon as possible. But grievances must be nursed, power seized and allies gathered first, while Rikke must master the power of the Long Eye . . . before it kills herThe brilliant follow-up to David Walliams’ bestseller The World’s Worst Children! Ten more stories about a brand new gang of hilariously horrible kids from everyone’s favourite children’s author, illustrated in glorious full colour by Tony Ross.
What do you do when you have a fight with your best friend? When you are in a tough situation and have no one to talk to? How do you ask for help when you feel helpless?
Ellie and Alyssa are now in high school. Ellie’s little sister Lucy is growing up and discovering her own voice. Ellie is now popular but is being bullied on social media. Alyssa is finding herself through her connection to her family’s history. These once best friends have gone their separate ways..his is the story of one family, one dreamy summer – the summer when everything changes. In a holiday house by the sea, our watchful narrator sees everything, including many things they shouldn’t, as their brother and sisters, parents and older cousins fill hot days with wine and games and planning a wedding. Enter two brothers – irresistible, charming, languidly sexy Kit and surly, silent Hugo. Suddenly there’s a serpent in this paradise – and the consequences will be devastatingAlex and Callum just want to be together. But Callum is a Dirge, able only to communicate with Alex through the beautiful amulets they both wear. He is powerless to help her when things start to go wrong – her window is broken, her money stolen and she is physically attacked.Are you ready to meet the World’s Worst Children? Five beastly boys and five gruesome girls!
• Like Sofia Sofa – a TV super-fan so stuck to the sofa that she’s turning into one!
• Or Dribbling Drew – a boy whose drool gets him into trouble on a school trip!
• And not forgetting Blubbering Bertha – a girl who bawls and tells terrible tales!
Also featuring a special appearance from fan-favourite Raj!
Sima and her family are pressed to the rough, cold ground among fifty others. They lie next to the tall fence designed to keep them in. The wires are cut one by one.
When they make their escape, a guard raises the alarm. Shouting, smoke bombs, people tackled to the ground. In the chaos Sima loses her parents.
The final novel in the number-one bestselling, award-winning Murder Most Unladylike series.
Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are in Egypt, where they are taking a cruise along the Nile. They are hoping to see some ancient temples and a mummy or two; what they get, instead, is murder.
Also travelling on the SS Hatshepsut is a mysterious society called the Breath of Life: a group of genteel English ladies and gentlemen, who believe themselves to be reincarnations of the ancient pharaohs…The captivating and heart-pounding third book in the instant New York Times bestselling Nevermoor series, as heroine Morrigan battles a new evil. Morrigan Crow and her friends have survived their first year as proud scholars of the elite Wundrous Society, helped bring down the nefarious Ghastly Market, and proven themselves loyal to Unit 919. Now Morrigan faces a new, exciting challenge: to master the mysterious Wretched Arts of the Accomplished Wundersmith, and control the power that threatens to consume her..Alex knows there’s a way that she and Callum can be together. Catherine holds the key to unlocking the secret, but she’s disappeared. Olivia has answers, too, but they’re hidden deep inside her troubled mind and won’t be found. It seems impossible but Alex can’t give up. The question is, how much will she risk to be with the one she loves? Could it be everything?Young wolf Boris Greycoat is packed and ready for Scotland. But is Scotland ready for holidaying wolves? From spooky dungeons to angry millionaires, the Greycoats’ first adventure is full of surprising discoveries.In the middle of the night, Sam is woken by angry voices from the apartment above.
He goes to the window to see what’s happening – only to hear a struggle, and see a body fall from the sixth-floor balcony. Pushed, Sam thinks.
Sam goes to wake his father Harry, a crime reporter, but Harry is gone. And when Sam goes downstairs, the body is gone, too. But someone has seen Sam, and knows what he’s witnessed.
Year Twelve is not off to a good start for Amelia. Art is her world, but her art teacher hates everything she does; her best friend has stopped talking to her; her mother and father may as well be living in separate houses; and her father is slowly forgetting everything. Even Amelia.…I am Miss Nobody.
Rosalind hates her new secondary school. She’s the weird girl who doesn’t talk. The Mute-ant. And it’s easy to pick on someone who can’t fight back. So Rosalind starts a blog – Miss Nobody; a place to speak up, a place where she has a voice. But there’s a problem…
Is Miss Nobody becoming a bully herself?After getting in trouble with the law, six wayward teens are given an ultimatum: serve time in juvenile detention for their crimes, or walk the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route across Spain over the summer holidays with a pair of court appointed counselor/guides. When it becomes clear the long walk isn’t really all that much of an option, they set out on a journey that will either make or break who they are and who they are to becomeA brand-new Stella Street adventure from Elizabeth Honey!
When Henni’s stubborn old neighbour Willa insists on returning to her childhood home in the Netherlands for a wedding, Henni leaps at the chance to be her travelling companion. ‘Lucky duck! Fantastic opportunity!’ That’s what everyone in Stella Street said. ‘Oh boy, chance of a lifetime.’When Enchanted Jones wakes with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night, no one—the police and Korey’s fans included—has more questions than she does. All she really knows is that this isn’t how things are supposed to be. Korey was Enchanted’s ticket to stardom.When the Insomniacs move twelve time zones away for Mrs. Insomniac’s new job, the family has an impossible time adapting to the change. They try everything to fall asleep at night–take hot baths, count to one thousand, sip mugs of milk–but nothing helps. Venturing out into the dark, they learn there is a whole world still awake and a beauty in their new and unconventional schedule.A captivating story about dark truths and heinous crimes as well as unexpected friendships, with detailed black-and-white illustrations throughout. Perfect for fans of mystery and detective stories.New York Times bestselling author duo Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner have crafted a gripping tale of magic and logic, fate and choice, and a deadly love. Perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and Brandon Sanderson.When Madeleine is shipped off to stay with her eccentric grandmother for the holidays, she expects the usual: politics, early-morning yoga, extreme health food, and lots of hard work. Instead, Madeleine tumbles back in time to 1900, where the wealthy Williamson family takes her into their home, Lyrebird Muse.
A series of unfortunate events series I’m sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.
In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.
Tuscany, 1096 AD. Luca, young heir to the title of Conte de Falconi, sees demons. Since no one else can see them, Luca must keep quiet about what he sees.
Luca also has dreams—dreams that sometimes predict the future. Luca sees his father murdered in one such dream and vows to stop it coming true. Even if he has to go against his father’s wishes and follow him on the great pilgrimage to capture the Holy Lands.Caden Bosch is on a ship that’s headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.
Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behaviour.
Caden Bosch is designated the ship’s artist in residence to document the journey with imagesGus’s life is about one thing– swimming. He is determined to make it to the Olympics, and he knows that the only coach in town who can get him there is Coach Marks. So it seems like a simple plan: convince Coach Marks to train him. Everything from there on in is just hard work and Gus has never been afraid of hard work.Hansel and Gretel were siblings and great friends who love adventures–and sweets–just as much as any kid you know. So, when they stumbled upon a scrumptious-looking house in the woods, they listened to their tummies rather than their smart minds. The witch who made the house knew that little children love sweets–but she’d forgotten that lost children can be very clever and very brave. Read along as this classic Grimm fairytale and story about teamwork comes to life in a most adorable fashion.Jonny knows better than anyone that life is full of cruel ironies. He’s spent every day in a hospital hooked up to machines to keep his heart ticking. Then when a donor match is found for Jonny’s heart, that turns out to be the cruellest irony of all. Because for Jonny’s life to finally start, someone else’s had to end.Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza–but who knows what they’ll find seven months after the invasion?Comic book geek Wesley Hudson excels at two things: slacking off at his job and pining after his best friend, Nico. Advice from his friends, ‘90s alt-rock songs, and online dating articles aren’t helping much with his secret crush. And his dream job at Once Upon a Page, the local used bookstore, is threatened when a coffeeshop franchise wants to buy the property. To top it off, his annoying brother needs wedding planning advice. When all three problems converge, Wes comes face-to-face with the one thing he’s been avoiding—adulthood.
Violet Choudry may be part of the popular clique at school, but as one of a handful of brown girls in a small Illinois town, all she really wants to do is blend in. Unfortunately for her, she’s got a knack for seeing spirits. When the queen bee of the school ends up dead following a leaked sex tape, Violet’s friends from the spirit world decide it’s the perfect time for Violet to test her skills and finally accept the legacy of spiritual fighters from whom she’s descended. Her mission? Find the killer. Or else she’s next..She said we didn’t know what the world out there had become. We had been alone there so long on that tiny island, in that tiny church. But in the night, I couldn’t bear it. My chest beat like wings.
Identical twin sisters Summer and Winter live alone on a remote island, sheltered from a destroyed world. They survive on rations stockpiled by their father and spend their days deep in their mother’s collection of classic literature—until a mysterious stranger upends their carefully constructed reality..Dare to enter the Forest of Good and Evil, where strength is weakness and weakness is strength. Don’t miss book two of New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter’s magical, romantic and fascinating fairy-tale series, in which the fairy tales we know and love are prophecies of the future…In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn’t get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin.For Dash and Lily, it’s beginning to look a lot like…distance! Just in time for the series release of Dash & Lily on Netflix comes a new helping of love–this time across the pond as best-selling authors Rachel Cohn and David Levithan send Dash and Lily to England.Kayla is still holding on to Lainie’s secrets.
After all, Lainie is Kayla’s best friend. And despite Lainie’s painful obsession with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, and the ways he has tried to come between them, friends don’t spill each other’s secrets. They don’t betray each other’s trust.Half-angel Trinity and her bonded gargoyle protector, Zayne, have been working with demons to stop the apocalypse while avoiding falling in love. The Harbinger is coming…but who or what is it? All of humankind may fall if Trinity and Zayne can’t win the race against time as dark forces gather.