AustLit

'Outside, he sniffed the smells that hung in the quiet stillness - the bitter-sweet peppercorns and the tangy saltbush ... Even the dust had a scent of far-off places, as if it had drifted miles. It made you think of warm, red earth being blown along by the wind.

'In this timeless story, a boy struggles to come to terms with the loneliness of the Australian outback and the ruthlessness of living and working on a remote property. With Brolga the cattle dog and her pup Rags as his only companions, the boy begins a journey of self-discovery. It is a journey that will take him outside the confines of the Yamboorah cattle station, and into the vast, unrelenting sandhills beyond.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (UQP reprint).

'Outside, he sniffed the smells that hung in the quiet stillness - the bitter-sweet peppercorns and the tangy saltbush ... Even the dust had a scent of far-off places, as if it had drifted miles. It made you think of warm, red earth being blown along by the wind.

'In this timeless story, a boy struggles to come to terms with the loneliness of the Australian outback and the ruthlessness of living and working on a remote property. With Brolga the cattle dog and her pup Rags as his only companions, the boy begins a journey of self-discovery. It is a journey that will take him outside the confines of the Yamboorah cattle station, and into the vast, unrelenting sandhills beyond.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (UQP reprint).

'Brought up in boarding schools, Ryle has learned to be independent, but when her mysterious father dies, her whole world changes. Part of her inheritance is a half-share in a dilapidated farm which she shares with a scruffy grandfather she meets for the first time.'

(Publication summary)

'The Plum-Rain Scroll is a tale of peril and heroic deeds set in Idzumo, the old Japan of legend and living folklore. Marishoten, the evil Black Iris Lord, seeks to overthrow the Mikado and usurp the Chrysanthemum throne. But first he must find the Plum-Rain Scroll, which holds the three secrets to help him achieve his victory. From the humble Tachibana-ya, the Orange Tree Inn, two unlikely companions set forth to seek the Scroll before Marishoten can achieve his evil design: Taro, the Odd Job boy, and Prince Hachi (Lord Eight Thousand Spears). Their quest takes them far into the countryside, where they are joined by seven even more unlikely companions. When this courageous group finally arrive in Miyako, their adventures reach a stunning climax as they come face to face with their enemy..' (Source: UQP)

'Sometimes when Lexie fingered a string of shells she had been given as a little girl, she felt strange memories stir. It was as if something very precious was buried away in her own mind. Great-great Aunt Rita's old shell necklace carries a power that Lexie can't possibly know. Then, when it leads her to a new friend, she and Merrina enter the secret gully where Merrina's people live.But the gully holds a terrible secret, as old as the necklace itself. Will Lexie be strong enough, as she relives the nightmare her Aunt Rita endured?This deeply moving classic by one of our great children's writers is part fantasy, part history, and one hundred percent masterpiece.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (UQP reprint).

Simon Brent is orphaned. Still shocked, he is taken to live with his only relatives, brother and sister Charlie and Edie Waters, who live on a farm. There, Simon meets the Aboriginal spirits who also live on the land. Together Simon, Charlie, Edie, and the spirits save the land from the ancient Nargun. The story is memorable in the portrayal of the Nargun and the spirits, as well as the characters of Charlie and Edie, and the depiction of Simon's change from a shocked and emotionally frozen individual to a normal boy.

'Fourteen-year-old Riko manages to get her delicate older sister Sif and herself to their remote Pacific island home, where an American scientist who falls in love with Sif and discovers her connection with an underwater race creates complications in Riko's life.'

Source: Trove.