AustLit

'A suspenseful mystery about a missing boy and a group of teenagers, one of whom knows something but isn't telling, from the award-winning author of Small Spaces.

'HENRY WEAVER IS MISSING
Three months ago, thirteen-year-old Henry disappeared from The Shallows during a violent storm, leaving behind his muddied mountain bike at the train station.

'MASON WEAVER IS TRAPPED
While Mason doesn't know who he is or what he's capable of, he knows the one thing binding him to this suffocating small town is his younger brother, Henry.

'CHLOE BAXTER WANTS ANSWERS
Why would Henry run away without telling her? One of Chloe's friends knows something and she's determined to find out the truth.

'As Chloe wades into dangerous waters and Mason's past emerges, a chilling question ripples to the surface: how far would you go to keep a secret?' (Publication summary)

'An unforgettable and sweeping family saga from Markus Zusak, the storyteller who gave us the extraordinary bestseller The Book Thief.

'Bridge of Clay is about a boy who is caught in the current - of destroying everything he has, to become all he needs to be. He's a boy in search of greatness, as a cure for memory and tragedy. He builds a bridge to save his family, but also to save himself. It's an attempt to transcend humanness, to make a single, glorious moment:

'A miracle and nothing less.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Cameron Wolfe's life gets very complicated when he falls for his brother's girlfriend in this winning, wise novel from the dynamic author of FIGHTING RUBEN WOLFE. Cameron Wolfe is the quiet one in his family, not a soccer star like his brother Steve or a charming fighter with a new girl every week like his brother Rube. Cam would give anything to be near one of those girls, to love her and treat her right. He especially likes Rube's latest, Octavia, with her brilliant ideas and bright green eyes. But what woman like that would want a loser like him? Maybe Octavia would, Cam discovers. Maybe he'd even have something to say. And those maybes change everything: winning, loving, losing, the Wolfe brothers, and Cameron himself.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Push ed.).

'It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger and her younger brother are being taken by their mother to live with a foster family outside Munich. Liesel's father was taken away on the breath of a single, unfamiliar word - Kommunist - and Liesel sees the fear of a similar fate in her mother's eyes. On the journey, Death visits the young boy, and notices Liesel. It will be the first of many near encounters. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.'

[Source: Libraries Australia. Sighted 30/10/08]

'When Nathanial and his mother move to the quiet, safe streets of Cheshunt, he immediately senses something wrong. Violent gangs patrol the streets, feral dogs roam at night, and the oppressive stench from the abattoir lingers over the school.

'Soon Nathanial learns that his presence is no accident. As he uncovers the dark secrets of Cheshunt's past, and event spiral desperately out of control, he and his new friends must confront phantoms from their past in the battle to stop the Gathering and its terrifying creator.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Penguin website).

'Meet Venny -- a tall, good looking sixteen year old Australian boy who hates schoolwork and just wants a good life and a flashy car. Meet Saffron -- a bright, artistic orphan, living a sophisticated life of luxury with her great-aunt Beatrice in New York. Laugh and cry with these unlikely but likeable pen friends. Fast cars, exotic locations, dreams, confessions, tragedy and an engaging love story. Neighbours and Hollyoaks meet real life.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'My name's Cameron Wolfe. I have a little bit of sense. I don't have much sense. My older brother Ruben gets me into plenty of trouble. I get Rube into as much trouble as he gets me into. I have a family, yes, that doesn't really function without tomato sauce. That's me.

'Cameron and Ruben Wolfe are brothers. They spend most of their time throwing one-handed boxing matches (they only have the one pair of gloves) and plotting to rob the local dentists. But what Cameron really wants is to meet a girl - a real girl, not like the ones in the lingerie magazines. But who could ever love an underdog like Cameron Wolfe?'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Dimensions ed.).