You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Our home town. Sometimes it feels like the centre of the universe, sometimes it's the bum-end of nowhere. We are her sons and daughters. These are our triumphs and our heartaches, our fears and hopes for a better life. Getting lost, falling in love, pushing boundaries, exploring the world - powerfully honest stories to make you think and feel, from the award-winning author of The Dead I Know and Changing Gear. 'Off The Map is a stunning smorgasbord of short stories - each one a treat to be savoured. These are stories that stroll through the Australian landscape with measured, confident steps that never miss a beat. Walking with Gardner is a delight - you're in for a wild, funny and profoundly moving journey.' - Barry Jonsberg, author of My Life as an Alphabet
One, two, three, breath. When a juvenile detention exercise off the coast of the Kimberley goes wrong, sixteen-year-old Sparrow must swim to shore. There are sharks and crocs around him but the monsters he fears most live in the dark spaces in his mind. He's swimming away from his prison life and towards a desolate, rocky coastland and the hollow promise of freedom. He'll eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. With no voice, no family and the odds stacked against him, Sparrow has nothing left to lose. But to survive he'll need something more potent than desperation, something more dangerous than a makeshift knife. Hope.
Merrick Hilton's done a runner. His folks think he's studying, but the real world has been calling for years and he can't ignore it any longer. A postie bike, a bedroll and a big sky - that's all he needs. But there's no telling how he'll handle roadkill, stolen oranges and unexpected romance, let alone the rough stuff. And in the real world nothing goes entirely as planned. Thankfully Victor - the old bloke Merrick meets on the road - knows a thing or two about broken bike chains. And broken hearts.
Peter King never wanted to go on the school wilderness camp but now, with night closing in, he finds himself lost with school 'mates' he'd rather not be with. Suggested level: intermediate, junior secondary.
Will went to private school, and Julian went to juvie. Will is running from a family secret, and Julian is running from the goat next door. The boys meet pushing trolleys, and they find a common enemy in the Westie hoons who terrorise the carpark. After a few close calls, Will has to nut up and confront his past. But on the way, he learns a few things about what it means to be a friend - and what it means to be family. The Way We Roll a rattling urban bromance made of plastic and stainless steel. Brace yourself.
Ben's nanna is going crazy. At least, that's what the rest of his family think. She's been sharing Ben's room since his grandad went to work overseas. The black stone in the pendant around her neck talks to her, tells her stories from its life. She retells the stories to Ben after dark. Each story has the clarity of a fable and a message about life tucked within its whispered words. Ben's nanna explains that the stone is neither good luck nor bad luck, but an amplifier of the heart-song of the owner. If they were nasty, it drew nasty things into their lives. If they were kind, it showered them with kindness. As she leaves to join her husband overseas, she gives Ben the stone and tells him to watch his thoughts . . .
John Johnson is a bit weird. He falls apart - literally. A sneeze can blast his head off. His hands can run about by themselves. He can pull himself together from assembled bits in the time it takes to make a Vegemite sandwich. But he's never had to pack himself into a suitcase before, or be posted to the US of A to rescue his best friend Crystal. She's been kidnapped by a crime boss with four arms A crazy adventure about friendship, body parts and hamburgers.
'Can you smell gas?' Something's brewing in Mullet Head... Everyone feels better now that Gary Sleep and his dreadlocks have left school and scored a job. Everyone except Gary. Plumber's assistant is a long way from movie stuntman. And Kevin Daly the plumber is not a movie star. A grumpy man-mountain of muscle and hair, Kevin needs an assistant like a gas leak needs a spark. Together, Gary and Kevin could go up in a big way. A tragic-comedy about finding heart in yourself in the face of adversity; finding heart in the work you do and the people you meet, and fixing broken hearts. . . with silicone.
Stuff Happens is an important new series for boys about everyday challenges. Created by Susannah McFarlane, the series editor, the series is written by established authors Tony Wilson, Andrew Daddo, Philip Gwynne, Will Kostakis, Scot Gardner, Justin D'Ath, James Roy, Pat Flynn and Alex McDiarmid. Each book features a different character and follows them as they overcome a particular everyday challenge. It explores those everyday struggles in life that boys can sometimes be reluctant to express: quarrels with mates, a bad day at school, fear of disappointing mum and dad, rejection and not fitting in. Stuff Happens. Real-life stories for boys. Suitable for beginner and newly confident readers....
'Get a life, Fairy.' In the country, where his fifteenth summer has burned the life from the grass, Daniel Fairbrother is searching. Looking for something that will make tomorrow seem worth the effort. Something that will fix the rot in his family tree. He works in the Dutch woman's garden. Eddy's eighty-six. She can read Daniel's mind. She has a tattoo, a history, and can make music with her farts. In a shady corner of Eddy's garden, Daniel finds something growing. . . Hope. But something is burning.