Cirrus@Austlit

'Maude is the daughter of witches. She spent her childhood running wild with her best friend, Odette, weaving stories of girls who slayed dragons and saved princes. But Maude grew up and lost her magic.

'Then two weeks ago Odette went missing, and everyone believes she is dead. Everyone except Maude. 

'Maude is sure she can find Odette inside the ruins of an abandoned power plant built over an ancient magical forest - a place nobody else seems to remember is there. 

'Soon she discovers that wild magic is both deeply enchanting and terrifying. Can she find her friend - and stop the horrors of corrupted magic from overtaking everyone and everything she loves? ' (Publication summary)

'The squad you love is out of time. Prepare for the thrilling finale in the epic, best-selling Aurora Cycle series about a band of unlikely heroes who just might be the galaxy's last hope for survival.

'Is this the end?

'What happens when you ask a bunch of losers, discipline cases, and misfits to save the galaxy from an ancient evil? The ancient evil wins, of course.

'Wait. . . . Not. So. Fast.

'When we last saw Squad 312, they working together seamlessly (aka, freaking out) as an intergalactic battle raged and an ancient superweapon threatened to obliterate Earth. Everything went horribly wrong, naturally.

'But as it turns out, not all endings are endings, and the team has one last chance to rewrite theirs. Maybe two. It's complicated.

'Cue Zila, Fin, and Scarlett (and MAGELLAN!): making friends, making enemies, and making history? Sure, no problem

'Cue Tyler, Kal, and Auri: uniting with two of the galaxy’s most hated villains? Um, okay. That, too.

'Actually saving the galaxy, though?

'Now that will take a miracle.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'First, the bad news: an ancient evil–you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal–is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.

'Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.

'And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.

'Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.

'When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.

'Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes–and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Nothing's been the same for Beth Teller since she died. Her dad, a detective, is the only one who can see and hear her—and he's drowning in grief. But now they have a mystery to solve together. As it unravels, Beth finds a shocking story lurking beneath the surface of a small town, and a friendship that lasts beyond one life and into another. Told in two unforgettable voices, this gripping novel weaves together themes of grief, colonial history, violence, love and family.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch . . .

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates 
A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem–that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

NOBODY PANIC.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'On an island junkyard beneath a sky that glows with radiation, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap. Seventeen-year-old Eve isn't looking for trouble-she's too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she spent months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, she's on the local gangster's wanted list, and the only thing keeping her grandpa alive is the money she just lost to the bookies. Worst of all, she's discovered she can somehow destroy machines with the power of her mind, and a bunch of puritanical fanatics are building a coffin her size because of it. If she's ever had a worse day, Eve can't remember it.

'The problem is, Eve has had a worse day -- one that lingers in her nightmares and the cybernetic implant where her memories used to be. Her discovery of a handsome android named Ezekiel -- called a "Lifelike" because they resemble humans -- will bring her world crashing down and make her question whether her entire life is a lie.

'With her best friend Lemon Fresh and her robotic sidekick Cricket in tow, Eve will trek across deserts of glass, battle unkillable bots, and infiltrate towering megacities to save the ones she loves ... and learn the truth about the bloody secrets of her past.' (Publication Summary)

'Second-hand bookshops are full of mysteries

'This is a love story.

'It's the story of Howling Books, where readers write letters to strangers, to lovers, to poets, to words.

'It's the story of Henry Jones and Rachel Sweetie. They were best friends once, before Rachel moved to the sea.

'Now, she's back, working at the bookstore, grieving for her brother Cal. She's looking for the future in the books people love, and the words that they leave behind.

'Sometimes you need the poets

'The new novel from the award-winning author of Graffiti Moon.' (Publication summary)

'The exhilarating sequel to the New York Times bestselling and award-winning Illuminae.

'Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

'The saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the space station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of BeiTech’s assault. Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter, Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while they are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed to Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

'When an elite BeiTech team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the crew one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum may be ripped in two before dinner. Soon, Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival. The fate of everyone on the Hypatia - and possibly in the known universe - is in their hands.

'But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

'Featuring guest journal illustrations by bestselling author Marie Lu.' (Publication summary)

'Neryn has made a long journey to perfect her skills as a Caller.

'She has learned the wisdom of water and earth; she has travelled to the remote isles of the west and the forbidding mountains of the north. Now, she must endure Alban's freezing winter to seek the mysterious White Lady, Guardian of the Air.

'For only when Neryn has been trained by all four Guardians will she be ready to play her role in toppling the tyrannical King Keldec.

'The thrilling conclusion to the Shadowfell trilogy from one of Australia's most-loved storytellers.' (Publication summary)

'Lucy is in love with Shadow, a mysterious graffiti artist. Ed thought he was in love with Lucy, until she broke his nose. Dylan loves Daisy, but throwing eggs at her probably wasn't the best way to show it. Jazz and Leo are slowly encircling each other.

'An intense and exhilarating 24 hours in the lives of four teenagers on the verge: of adulthood, of HSC, of finding out just who they are, and who they want to be.' (From the publisher's website.)

'While Modo has spent a quiet winter recovering from his adventure in the dark deeps, talk of ancient Egyptian ruins in the midst of the Australian rainforest has been swirling around London. A temple bulges with riches, but also contains danger: the infamous God Face. No one knows what the God Face is or what it is made of, but it is rumoured to be a powerful weapon; anyone who looks upon it will be driven mad.

Modo’s next assignment? Go to Queensland in Australia and discover the truth behind the God Face. He won’t be alone: Octavia and even Mr. Socrates will be accompanying him, as well as Mrs. Finchley, Modo’s beloved caregiver from childhood days. But hot on their trail is the Clockwork Guild, with a brand-new weapon—mechanical birds, capable of transmitting signals as well as delivering poison.

With an airship battle, an escape from spear-waving natives and an astounding discovery—one that hinges on Modo’s true appearance—the Hunchback Assignments series continues to enthrall readers of all ages!'

Source: Publisher's Blurb

'Charlie Duskin is running. Fleeing from failures and memories and friends who have given up on her. And she's not only running, she's chasing things - like a father who will talk to her, friends who don't think she's as invisible as a piece of cling wrap, and an experience with a boy in which she doesn't look like an idiot.

'But Charlie Duskin is about to have the best summer of her life. She's about to meet a friend who'll change her forever. She's about to fall in love. She just doesn't know it yet.' (Publication summary)

'A thrilling action novel set in the not-too-distant future in which a brilliant young computer hacker fights to prevent the human race from being erased.

'It would take a very special person to crack the computer systems of the White House.
An expert.
A genius.
A devil.

'All of the above, some would say. Someone like Sam Wilson, brilliant teenage computer hacker. But Sam's obsession is about to lead him into a dangerous world. A world of espionage and intrigue; of cybercrime and imminent war. A world where logging on to your computer could mean the difference between life and death.' (Publication summary)

'Tender Morsels is a dark and vivid story, set in two worlds and worrying at the border between them. It is a gloriously told tale of journeys and transformations, penetrating the boundaries between male and female, reality and myth, conscious and unconscious, temporal and spiritual, human and beast.

'Liga lives modestly in her own personal heaven, given to her by natural magic and in exchange for her earthly life. Her two daughters, gentle Branza and curious Urdda, grow up in this harmonious world, protected from the violence and village prejudice that once made their mother's life unendurable.

'But the real world cannot be denied forever, and gradually the borders break down between Liga's refuge and the place from which she escaped. Having known heaven, how will Liga and her daughters survive back in the world where beauty cannot be separated from cruelty? How far can you take your fantasies before they grow dangerous? How fully can you protect your children, and how completely should you?' (Publisher's blurb)

'Crack the code, or tomorrow is history!

Tane and Rebecca aren’t sure what to make of it. A sequence of 1s and 0s, the message looks like nothing more than a random collection of alternating digits. As they work to decode it, and the ones that follow, it slowly it becomes clear—the messages are being sent back in time from Tane and Rebecca’s future! Something there has gone horribly wrong, and it’s up to them to prevent it from happening. 

Tane and Rebecca follow the message’s cryptic instructions, but it’s not long before they begin to suspect that worst—that the very survival of the human race may be at stake...'

Source: Author's blurb.