Cirrus@Austlit

'Alytash and Leopold - Tash and Leo - are neighbours who used to be best friends, but aren't anymore, for reasons that Leo doesn't entirely understand. But now it's the last week of Year Six and Tash is standing in Leo's front yard with a misdelivered letter - and a favour to ask.

'It's a request that will set off a chain of events in their little crescent in Noble Park, a suburb that is changing, and fast.

'As they solve an unfolding neighbourhood mystery and help Ms Shepparson, a reclusive neighbour with a tragic past, Tash and Leo each has to confront fault lines in their own recent histories and families.

'They will discover that friendships can grow and change, that bravery takes many forms, and that, most of all - whatever the future holds - friends and family are what matter.' (Publication summary)

'How do you ruin someone's childhood?

'Ellie Marsden was born into the legendary Lovinger acting dynasty. Granddaughter of the infamous Lottie Lovinger, as a child Ellie shared the silver screen with Lottie in her one-and-only role playing the child monster in a cult horror movie. The experience left Ellie deeply traumatised and estranged from people she loved. 

'Now seventeen, Ellie has returned home to Hobart for the first time in years. Lottie is dying and Ellie wants to make peace with her before it's too late. 

'When a chance encounter with a young film buff leads her to a feminist horror film collective, Ellie meets Riya, a girl who she might be able to show her real self to, and last comes to understand her family's legacy.

'A story of love, loss, family and film - a stirring, insightful novel about letting go of anger and learning to forgive without forgetting. And about embracing the things that scare us, in order to be braver.' (Publication summary)

'Sorrento, Victoria - 1999

'Fred's family is a mess. Fred's mother died when she was six and she's been raised by her Pop and adoptive father, Luca, ever since. But now Pop is at the Rye Rehabilitation Centre recovering from a fall; Luca's girlfriend, Anika, has moved in; and Fred's just found out that Anika and Luca are having a baby of their own. More and more it feels like a land-grab for family and Fred is the one being left off the map.

'But even as the world feels like it's spinning out of control, a crisis from the other side of it comes crashing in. When 400 Kosovar-Albanian refugees arrive in the middle of the night to be housed at one of Australia's 'safe havens' on an isolated headland not far from Sorrento, their fate becomes intertwined with the lives of Fred and her family, as she navigates one extraordinary year that will change them all.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'State Library Victoria’s recent decision to retire its Centre for Youth Literature brand has been met with dismay and anger from youth literature advocates. The Library emphasises that its youth programming will not change – so what is being lost?'

'Amid the hand-wringing over who does and doesn’t deserve a platform at the Melbourne Writers Festival, the perennially overlooked teen and genre communities are seemingly being forgotten once again – and are creating alternative festivals of their own.'  (Introduction)

'FanFiction – sometimes abbreviated to FanFic or simply FF – describes writing that is about characters or in settings borrowed from another work of fiction. As the name implies, FanFic is created by fans of an original work.'  (Introduction)

'Danielle Binks explores the rising demand for homegrown board books.'

'Danielle Binks investigates how publishers and authors are using digital marketing and promotional strategies to reach new readers.' (Introduction)

This tale is a contemporary YA story about the last night in a small town for a young girl's big brother, when she covertly tags along to take part in the goodbye revelry with his friends.

(Source: Harper Collins)

'Books are family. Books are community.

'Characters come into our lives, and we're invited to walk beside them. An author welcomes us into the world they've created, a view into their mind's eye.' (Introduction)

'Bestsellers. Award-winners. Superstars. This anthology has them all. With brilliantly entertaining short stories from beloved young adult authors Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson and Danielle Binks, this all-new collection will show the world exactly how much there is to love about Aussie YA.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.