Cirrus@Austlit

'Set in the 90s, a fifteen-year old unnamed Greek boy is completely confused about what is going on as he tries to fend off what we now know as anxiety, panic attacks and depression while surrounded by his Greek family, friends and girls he might or might not have a crush on.

' I don’t get this.

'I’m fifteen! And in Year 10!

'I don’t have anything to worry about.

'I should be thinking about the way Samantha keeps looking at me, nursing that crush she’s had for me since primary school. Or about Gabriella, who’s so cool and seems interested. Or the Boland Fellowship, an award given out for academic excellence that everybody thinks I could win.

'Or maybe I should think about my best friend Ash, the way he’s sullen about his arguing parents sometimes, or how he bounces from one girlfriend to the next, or Riley, who’s becoming a bigger and bigger troublemaker, although we don’t know why.

'This is high school.

'Isn’t it?

'But when I wake up one night, terrified, it starts a journey of trying to find out what’s wrong. I can’t go to Mum and Dad. They wouldn’t understand. So it’s strange doctors, and scurrying around like everything’s okay, while everything’s coming apart.

'I don’t get this.

'But I’m gonna try work it out.' (Publication summary)

'There’s always hope.

'At six, almost seven, Keene can’t understand what’s wrong with Mum. She lies in bed in the spare room, wasting away, even though she’s hooked up to a bag that is meant to make her feel better. Dad describes Mum’s illness like ‘a darkness inside her’. But Keene’s sure something else is responsible.

'He’s sure it’s the shadow that’s killing her.

'So, one stormy day, Keene decides to go on an adventure into the bush with just his Border Collie, Bunch, in tow – an adventure he’s sure will save Mum.

'But even Keene is not prepared for the dangers he faces.

'The Shadow in the Wind is a story of adventure and magical realism as Keene deals with and learns to reconcile events he’s too young to fully understand.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Luke Miggs wants more than small-town life: the grind of chores on the family farm, playing footy, drinks with friends. Like maybe doing something about his crush on Amanda Hunt, a barmaid at the local pub who's smart, funny, and ambitious. Or playing footy in the big league. At eighteen, it can't be too late, can it?

'There's the Curlews, at least, although the team's little more than battlers. If only they could take their footy seriously, like the reigning champions, the Little Reach Scorpions. Under their tyrannical coach, Claude Rankin, the Scorpions have dominated the competition for ten years. It seems nothing will be different this season.

'But when Adam Pride emerges from the night and tells the Curlews he wants to play for them, everything begins to change.

'Song of the Curlew is a story of friendship, bonds, and coming of age, and how the choices of our past can come back to shape our future.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Dreams mean nothing unless you have the courage to pursue them.

'Luke Miggs wants more than what small-town life can offer - the grind of chores on the family farm, playing footy, and drinks with friends. Like maybe doing something about his crush on Amanda Hunt, a barmaid at the local who's smart, funny, and ambitious. Or playing footy in the big league. At eighteen, it can't be too late, can it?

'There's the Ravens, at least, although the team's little more than battlers. If only they could take their footy seriously, like the reigning champions, the Little Reach Scorpions. Under their tyrannical coach, Claude Rankin, the Scorpions have dominated the competition for ten years. It seems nothing will be different this season.

'But when Adam Pride emerges from the night and tells the Ravens he wants to play for them, everything begins to change. Pride is a story of friendship and bonds and coming of age, and how the choices of our past can come back to shape our future.'  (Publication summary)