AustLit

'In this third book in The Kingdom of The Lost series, little Zluty and Bily continue their journey, growing in bravery, courage and knowledge as they go.' (Introduction)

'Peter Carnavas's first novel is a gentle, whimsical and deeply affecting story about how children perceive and cope with, sadness and anxiety in themselves and others. Reminding me of Glenda Millard's Silk novels, The Elephant is destined to be a favourite of children and adults alike.' (Introduction)

'Shaozhen is a fine addition to the Through My Eyes ... series. Set in the northern province of Henan during the terrible drought of 2014, it tells the story of a young boy whose family's way of life is crumbling before his eyes. Wai Chim's story is a real eye-opener. It brings to life the predicament of farming families in rural China, where drought threatens livelihoods and political systems make solutions hard to come by. (Introduction)

'Zelda Stitch is in her first year of teaching. she's not the best teacher in the world, but she's a lot better at teaching than being a witch. Then she discovers her Vice Principle is also a witch and someone in her class has the beginning of magic powers. What is she to do?' (introduction)

'Lottie is reading in bed one night when a strange girls appears on her front doorstep. The girl does not eat, and she does not speak - communicating with a series of buzzing and clicking noises. The police cannot help, no-one has any idea where she has come from. Lottie and uncle Bobby take her in. Despite all attempts to live normally, it's not long before things become even stranger. It appears that Blossom is not human at all.' (Introduction)

'We first met street-wise Pip on the junior novel Run, Pip, Run. She was trying to survive alone after the death of old Sully, with whom she lived.' (Introduction)

'Connor has just started high school, and he thought being a nerd, he would find it easy. But he soon discovers there are better nerds at his school. There are Super nerds, Hyper nerds and even Super Hyper nerds. How on earth can he get through without the support of his old friends who are moving on without him?' (Introduction) 

'Me and Lazella don't wanna head back to Earth. What's the point of spending a lifetime travelling to be old somewhere we never been before? who knows if the sky would look as blue through a pair of hundred year old eyes anyway. This is Tamara musing near the beginning of quite a long and complicated Space story. Tamara is an orphan brought up by her Aunt Lazella and smuggled aboard a freighter carrying phosphorous and helium from distant mining operations.' (Introduction)

'This is an eclectic and fascinating series of Australian short stories linked by a common philosophy: We can endure almost anything in our lives as long as there remains that stubborn seed of hope.' (Introduction)

In Macbeth and Son (2006), Jackie French contrasts Macbeth and his contemporaries as Shakes depicts them. with their characters and actions documented in recognised historical sources. When Luke, the protagonist in a present-day story, explores Shakespeare's play for schoolwork, he soon identifies with Macbeth's stepson and thinks deeply about truth, lies and Shakespeare's motives for presenting an historically inaccurate version.' (Introduction)

'Sparrow opens through an uncompromising window into a harsh world - a party of eight people and their adult supervisors on a broken-down boat travelling back to Derby in the north of Western Australia after a weeks boot camp. Radcliffe, volatile  at the best of times, but totally unpredictable off his 'meds', puts a ho;e in the fuel line and the fuel tank (and the boat) blows blows up. Our main character, known then only as 'the boy' dives overboard and turns his back on the mess of the boat and the mess of his prison life.' (Introduction)

'Munro Maddux is still hurting from the sudden death of his little sister Evie a year ago. It has left its mark on him in a number of ways. he has anger issues, suffers from flashbacks and chest pains, and there is a constant ache is his right hand. But the most invasive is the voice he calls the 'Coyote': it's in his head and comments sarcastically on every aspect of his life. looking for an escape from everything that reminds him that Evie is no longer there, Munro signs up for an student exchange program and finds himself travelling from Canada to Australia.' (Introduction)

'The build-up referred to in the title of this novel is that time between 'the dry' in the Northern Territory and the start of 'the wet', roughly September to December. The story is set in Darwin, where the author grew up and the book cover reflects the arterial rivers and creeks, a lightening strike, the isolation of the area and the defiance and stoicism of so many of the top-enders as well as the characters in the story. Parallel to the build-up in the weather, the story is set in the build-up to the Year 12 exams, also a time of great tension and volatility. (Introduction)

'Esther Solar's family has been cursed by Death to suffer one great fear each which will eventually kill them. Her mother and father and her twin brothers Eugene are locked into their own fears, trapped inside their own heads and the family is disintegrating. Esther has managed to escape the curse so far by avoiding anything that might develop into a phobia. When her former classmate Jonah Smallwood comes back into her life, Esther starts to reassess her understanding of her fears and her family.' (Introduction)

'Julianne De Marchi has a superpower. She can't yet control it and she doesn't know where it came from, nut an electrical current surges restlessly beneath her skin and tends to burst out when she is anxious or emotional.' (Introduction)