AustLit

'There are monsters in the world.

'When Violeta Graceling arrives at haunted Lakesedge estate, she expects to find a monster. She knows the terrifying rumors about Rowan Sylvanan, who drowned his entire family when he was a boy. But neither the estate nor the monster are what they seem.

'There are monsters in the woods.

'As Leta falls for Rowan, she discovers he is bound to the Lord Under, the sinister death god lurking in the black waters of the lake. A creature to whom Leta is inexplicably drawn…

'There’s a monster in the shadows, and now it knows my name.

'Now, to save Rowan—and herself—Leta must confront the darkness in her past, including unraveling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In this moving and hilarious illustrated novel from the critically-acclaimed author of Pie in the Sky, a twelve-year-old boy goes on a (forbidden) solo journey halfway around the world to prove his independence to his overprotective family.

'Henry Khoo's family treats him like a baby. He’s not allowed to go anywhere without his sister/chaperone/bodyguard. His (former) best friend knows to expect his family’s mafia-style interrogation when Henry’s actually allowed to hang out at her house. And he definitely CAN’T take a journey halfway around the world all by himself!

'But that’s exactly his plan. After his family’s annual trip to visit his father in Singapore is cancelled, Henry decides he doesn’t want to be cooped up at home with his overprotective family and BFF turned NRFF (Not Really Friend Forever). Plus, he’s hiding a your-life-is-over-if-you’re-caught secret: he’s the creator of an anonymous gossip cartoon, and he's on the verge of getting caught. Determined to prove his independence and avoid punishment for his crimes, Henry embarks on the greatest adventure everrr. . . hoping it won’t turn into the greatest disaster ever.

'Remy Lai takes readers on an adventure filled with humor, heart, and hijinks that’s a sure bet for fans of Jerry Craft, Terri Libenson, and Shannon Hale!'  (Publication summary)

'When Jingwen moves to Australia, he feels like he’s landed on Mars. Making friends is impossible, since he doesn’t speak English, and he's stuck looking after his little brother Yanghao. But Jingwen knows how to make everything better. If he can just make all of the cakes on the menu of the bakery his father had planned to open—and complete the dream he didn’t have time to finish—then everything will be okay. Sure, he’ll have to break his mother’s most important rule about not using the oven when she’s at work, keep his little brother from spilling his secret, and brush up on his baking skills, but some things are worth the risk. In her debut novel, Remy Lai captures with humour and heart, what it means to want desperately to belong and just how powerful one wish can be.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Dealing with a terrible loss at home and faced with unknown danger in the world of story, Tuesday McGillycuddy has to muster all her resources to survive her most challenging adventure yet.

'Winter has fallen in the world of story, and at Brown Street, Tuesday's typewriter lies silent. Far away in the Peppermint Forest, Vivienne Small fears that she will never again feel the touch of the sun.

'But when the mysterious Loddon appears in Vivienne's treehouse, he brings with him terrible danger. Without warning, Tuesday is swept up into the world of story as she has never seen it before. In this forbidding and unfamiliar place - and without her beloved dog Baxterr at her side - Tuesday becomes Loddon's captive. But who exactly is this strange boy? And will she find a way to defeat him?

'Blueberry Pancakes Forever will capture the hearts of everyone who is entranced by the power of story.' (Publication summary)

''I cannot hold the worlds apart much longer. Have you found our answer? G.'

'Vivienne Small's world is under threat. A Winged Dog has fallen from the sky bearing an ominous note and vercaka have invaded the City of Clocks.

'Meanwhile in the real world, famous writers are turning up far from home, injured and confused, and Tuesday McGillycuddy and Serendipity Smith - the most famous writer of all - could be next!

'Suddenly whisked away to the world of story, Tuesday must learn the identity of the mysterious G, and find out why he is losing control of the worlds. But how can Tuesday, Vivienne and Baxterr solve the mystery and end the mayhem without losing themselves?

'An utterly charming, action-packed sequel to the marvellous and magical Finding Serendipity.' (Publication summary)

'What do you do when everybody says you're someone you're not?

'Alex wants change. Massive change. More radical than you could imagine.

'Her mother is not happy, in fact she's imploding. Her dad walked out.

'Alex has turned vegetarian, ditched one school, enrolled in another, thrown out her clothes. And created a new identity. An identity that changes her world.

'And Alex—the other Alex—has a lot to say about it.

'Alex As Well is a confronting and heartfelt story of adolescent experience—of questioning identity, discovering sexuality, navigating friendships and finding a place to belong. Alex is a strong, vulnerable, confident, shy and determined character, one you will never forget.

'With the same tenderness and insight as YA stars such as John Green and David Levithan, Alyssa Brugman has crafted a knockout story about identity, sexuality and family that speaks effortlessly to a universal teen experience.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Edward can’t fall asleep, and like most children, he has a million questions burning to be answered even though it’s way past his bedtime. In this funny picture book about the all-familiar bedtime negotiations between child and parent, Edward and his mother talk about everything from yellow dogs to corn on the cob. Most children (and parents) will recognize themselves in this gentle ode to bedtime.' (Macmillan)

'When Fan was little she dreamed of magical countries in the far away blue hills. As she grew up she dreamed of love, and the boys came after her one by one by one.

'Clementine thought her cousin Fan's house in the country had a special smell: of sun and dust and kerosene and the wild honey they ate for breakfast on their toast. But then there were the feelings: the anger that smelled like iron and the disappointment that smelled like mud. Fan was strong and beautiful and Clementine thought she'd always be like that.

'But Fan was seeking something, and neither she nor Clementine knew exactly what... With sharp poetic prose, insight and compassion, Judith Clarke tells a moving and beautiful story as she traces the lives of two young women, separated by circumstance, but linked forever by blood and friendship.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Mokie and Bik live on a boat called Bullfrog. Now that their father has come home from the illy-ally-o, the twins are ready to take Bullfrog out to sea. First, though, they need to shipshape!

'Soon Mokie and Bik are saving a runaway boat, making friends with a scaredy-seal, and keeping track of a Waggles with A Lot to Learn. Life with the twins is always a rollicky frolicking adventure!' (Publication summary)

'Meet a pair of twins that will monkey their way into your heart!

'Mokie is bigger but Bik is faster. They are twins, and they have a nanny Ruby that looks after them while their mom is Arting and their dad is on his ship at sea.

Whether they’re helping Erik the Viking splosh his decks or learning to swim fast as fisk, these two are always overboard or underfoot!

'Rambunctious and charming, Mokie and Bik are a pair you won’t soon forget. Wendy Orr’s buoyant language and Jonathan Bean’s gorgeous, detailed pen-and-ink illustrations blend together in a book that is destined to become a classic.' (Publication summary)

A bold, fresh biography of the world's first modern painter As presented with "blood and bone and sinew" (Times Literary Supplement) by Peter Robb, Caravaggio's wild and tempestuous life was a provocation to a culture in a state of siege. The of the sixteenth century was marked by the Inquisition and Counter-Reformation, a background of ideological cold war against which, despite all odds and at great cost to their creators, brilliant feats of art and science were achieved. No artist captured the dark, violent spirit of the time better than Caravaggio, variously known as Marisi, Moriggia, Merigi, and sometimes, simply M. As art critic Robert Hughes has said, "There was art before him and art after him, and they were not the same."Caravaggio threw out Renaissance dogma to paint with dazzling originality and fierce vitality, qualities that are echoed in Robb's prose. As with Caravaggio's art, M arrests and susps time to reveal what the author calls "the theater of the partly seen." Caravaggio's wild persona leaps through these pages like quicksilver; in Robb's skilled hands, he is an immensely attractive character with an astonishing connection to the glories and brutalities of life. (Library of Congress/Publisher link)