Cirrus@Austlit

'A wonderful coming-of-age queer romance from the multi award-winning author of The Boy from the Mish. Jonah is the new kid in a country town. When he joins the local footy team to be closer to his crush, Harley, it feels like a fresh start – but he still has to navigate new friendships, an unresolved past, and the same body image issues he's always had.

'Footsteps approach behind me. I turn and see an Aboriginal boy arriving at the doorway. He's tall, taller than me. He's got curly hair. His body is fit. His chest is chiselled and bare and he's wearing only football shorts.

'When 17-year-old Jonah arrives in a new town – Patience – with his dad and younger brothers, it feels like a foreign place. A new town means he needs to make new friends - which isn't always easy. Especially when he's wrestling with his body image, and his memories of his mother.

'When he joins the local footy team so he can spend more time with his new crush, Harley, he feels like he's moving closer to something good. But even though he knows what he wants, it doesn't mean he's ready.

'Emotionally compelling, honest and featuring warm and authentically vulnerable characters, I'm Not Really Here is a beautiful novel from an internationally acclaimed bestselling Indigenous author about navigating family and friendships, and finding a way through grief towards love.' (Publication summary)

'The thought comes to me: This is how I die. Dally is going to lose control and crash us into a pole or a house and we will be killed on impact.

'The justice system characterises Jamie Langton as a 'danger to society', but he's just an Aboriginal kid, trying to find his way through adolescence.

'Jamie lives in Dalton's Bay with Aunty Dawn and Uncle Bobby. He spends his downtime hanging out with his mates, Dally and Lenny. Mark Cassidy and his white mates - the Footy Heads - take every opportunity they can to bully Jamie and his friends. On Lenny's last night in town before moving to Sydney, after another episode of racist harassment, Jamie, Dally and Lenny decide to retaliate by vandalising Mark Cassidy's car. And when they discover the keys are in the ignition… Dally changes the plan. Soon they are all in Mark Cassidy's stolen car cruising through town, aiming to take it for a quick spin, then dump it.

'But it's a bad plan. And as a consequence, Jamie ends up in the youth justice system where he must find a way to mend his relationships with himself, his friends, his family and his future.' (Publication summary)

'A heartwarming queer Indigenous Own Voices love story, from a startlingly talented debut author.

'Seventeen-year-old Jackson is living with his family on the Mish (former Aboriginal mission), hanging out with his mates, having problems with his girlfriend, teasing the tourists, and avoiding the racist boys in town. Jackson’s Aunty and cousins are visiting from the city for the summer holidays again. And this time Tomas, a mysterious boy, has come with them. While his mum and Aunty try to finish artwork, Jackson and Tomas grow close. As their friendship evolves, Jackson struggles with the changing shape of their relationship, self-acceptance and identity, and whether he’ll still be accepted by friends, family, and his Aboriginal community.

'Compelling, honest and beautifully written, The Boy from the Mish is a first novel like no other.' (Publication summary)

'Billy Harlen is a typical teenage boy who sees the world differently from other people. He sees people as caterpillars and butterflies. He sees caterpillars that go through life day-by-day, avoiding the spotlight, ignoring their special inner qualities, being a different person to who they really want to be. He sees the butterflies going through life happily, expressing themselves through their beauty and comfortable personalities. Billy sees people without any cares in the world strolling through life as if there is no such thing as a ’problem’. Billy sees their smiles, he hears their laughter and he can read the happiness on their faces. Billy sees the bad things in life more than the good. He comes from a disjointed home, broken down by life’s unexpected occurrences. He is part of a large friendship group of boys but he can’t stand them. He is hopelessly in love with a girl who has him in the friend zone. The only person who understands the real Billy is his brother Roy, but Roy is on the other side of the world.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)