Cirrus@Austlit

'Tegan Masters is dead. 

'She’s sixteen and she’s dead and she’s standing in the parking lot of the Marybelle Motor Lodge, the single most depressing motel in all of New Jersey and the place where Tegan spent what she remembers as the worst weekend of her life.

'Tegan isn’t particularly happy about this. At all.

'In the front office, she meets Zelda, an annoyingly cute teen angel with a snarky sense of humour and an epic set of wings. According to Zelda, Tegan is in heaven, where every person inhabits an exact replica of their happiest memory.

'But reconciling with her past, might just lead Tegan, and Zelda, to a happily-ever-afterlife ...'  (Publication summary)

'A funny, moving middle-grade novel about change and friendship from the award-winning author of Meet Me at the Moon Tree

'When Sid sets off on her annual summer holiday to the Shipwreck Coast, she's desperate for some familiarity after a year of unwanted change. Two weeks with best friend Lou, who she only gets to see when they go camping every year, is exactly what Sid needs. Mostly, she can't wait to continue their search for the millions of dollars' worth of riches that disappeared in a tragic shipwreck over a hundred years ago.

'But Lou has brought along popular new school friend Hailey, who's more interested in boys than treasure hunting. So while Lou is busy chasing Hailey's approval, Sid is left scrambling to catch up, wondering when everything changed. Can Sid protect her heart from getting shipwrecked too?'  (Publication summary)

'A tender Australian story about searching for the impossible in the places where magic and science meet.

'For Carina Sugden, there is nothing more special than a moon tree - a tree grown from the seeds taken on the 1971 Apollo mission into space. Her father taught her everything she knows about them. But he passed away before they found one together.

'When Mum relocates the family to a small town in the Otway Ranges, Carina becomes determined to find a moon tree on her own. Like a scientist, she methodically searches the forest behind her new house. But after a mysterious encounter with a black cockatoo, Carina realises there's magic in this forest. And if magic really exists, anything is possible, like seeing her dad one last time...

'Meet Me at the Moon Tree is a heart-healing book about believing in magic, in science, and in the power of love.' (Publication summary) 

'Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service meets Cressida Cowell in this funny, quirky middle-grade fantasy about Willa, who must unravel a witchy mystery to save her city, her friends and herself.

'Willa is just an ordinary non-magical girl, living in the Wild - a city squished between two warring witch covens. She spends her days dodging wayward spells - from raining frogs to dancing chickens - all because of the witch war!
No wonder she hates witches.

'But one day she's not ordinary at all. She discovers she does, indeed, have magic and she must choose between the two witch covens or she'll explode! And her attempts to control her magic are interrupted by a rogue witch, who begins nefarious spells against the Ordinary Folk. What does the witch want and what does it have to do with Willa?'  (Publication summary)

'The Boy, the Wolf and the Stars is a sweeping, timeless adventure, an introduction to a brilliant new world with the feel of an instant classic.

'Every night Ulv is cloaked in total Darkness. Twelve hours ruled by the ravenous, clawing Shadow Creatures, beasts made of shadow and evil.Young Bo is charged with a monumental task: freeing the land of its curse by returning the Stars to the sky. He must find three magical keys spread across the land – keys that will unlock the cage holding the wolf who ate the Stars. But there’s another motive, beyond saving Ulv. If Bo releases the Stars, he can make a wish of his own and maybe find the mother who left him behind . . .' (Publication summary)

'When Marlowe gets a heart transplant and a second chance at life, all she wants is to thank her donor’s family. Maybe then she can move on. Maybe then she’ll discover who she is if she’s no longer The Dying Girl.

'But with a little brother who dresses like every day is Halloween, a vegan warrior for a mother and an all-out war with the hot butcher’s apprentice next door, Marlowe’s life is already pretty complicated. And her second chance is about to take an unexpected turn.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Frankie Vega is angry. Just ask the guy whose nose she broke. Or the cop investigating the burglary she witnessed, or her cheating ex-boyfriend or her aunt who's tired of giving second chances...

'When a kid shows up claiming to be Frankie's half brother, it opens the door to a past she doesn't want to remember. And when that kid goes missing, the only person willing to help is a boy with stupidly blue eyes … and secrets of his own.

'Frankie's search for the truth might change her life, or cost her everything.' (Publication summary)

'In the world of Young Adult Literature, the perceived impact of certain texts on the moral, social and psychological development of its readers is a cause for debate. The question ‘what is suitable content for a pre-adult readership’ is one guaranteed to produce conflicting, polarising and impassioned responses. Within the context of this debate, the essay explores a number of key questions. Do publishers have a moral obligation to avoid certain topics or should they be pushing the boundaries of teen fiction further? Is it the role of the publisher to consider the impact of books they publish to a teenage audience? Should the potential impact of a book on its reader be considered ahead of a book’s potential to sell and make money? This article analyses criticism and praise for two ‘controversial’ Australian Young Adult books: Sonya Hartnett’s Sleeping Dogs (1997) and John Marsden’s Dear Miffy (1997). It argues that ‘issues-books’ are necessary to the development of teens, and publishers should continue to push the envelope of teen fiction while ensuring they make a concerted effort to produce quality, sensitive and challenging books for a teen market.'

Source: Abstract.