AustLit

'Jamie Richards has spent most of her life in Pakistan and returning to Australia seems like another planet compared to the country she has left behind. Here in Australia, boys try to kiss her, men wear shorts and everyone says 'cool' all the time. How will she ever know the right things to say or do or wear? After all, this is meant to be her own culture. This is a story of living beyond borders, and discovering the gift of adapting to new cultures, especially one’s own.' (Publication summary)

'Australian teenager, Jaime Richards, returns to her dear Pakistan in the second book of the Beyond Borders series.

'The old world charm is still there – the villages, the bazaars and the mysterious rugs – but Jaime no longer feels safe and confident in this new Pakistan.

'Taken at gunpoint into Afghanistan, Jaime and her friends are caught up in a shadowy secret world of intrigue and terrorism. Will they escape the Mujahadeen fighting their holy war? Or will the wars within themselves consume them?

'For Jaime, this trip is to prove painful enough to change her life forever, yet rest the ghosts of her past.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'It’s been six months since Jaime Richards’ best friend died. Everyone still gives the incident a wide berth with a polite ‘How are you now?’ But she’s not all right. So for the school holidays, Jaime decides to head Far North to Blake Townsend’s station home. He’s has always been the one to listen, but she soon realises that Blake isn’t always the guy she knew at school. Not only does she find out he has a sister, Kerra, whom he’s never mentioned, but Jaime discovers what a devastating effect a mysterious secret has on the Townsend family. Kerra has believed a lie all her life and through storytelling, Jaime hopes to unearth the secret before it’s too late. Sometimes we just need to know we are loved. A heartfelt tale of belonging, love and the healing power of story.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)