Cirrus@Austlit

'It was past midnight when Nicola Berry - Earthling Ambassador and leader of the Space Brigade - received an urgent phone call.

'Shimlara from the planet Globagaskar was ringing with terrible news: her mother, father and little brother Squid had been kidnapped!

'They were being held captive on the Planet of Whimsy - the most beautiful planet in the universe - by the scaly inhabitants of Volcanomania and their new President, Mrs Mania.

'Now the members of the Space Brigade have to daringly rescue Shimlara's family, and help the dreamy people of the Planet of Whimsy overcome the evil Volcanomanians.

'Another thrilling adventure in outer space with the intrepid members of the Space Brigade.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Every kid wants to laugh, but Max is the boy who can make it happen.

'As he and his classmates head off on a camping trip, the new boy, Tyson, decides to play some jokes of his own.

'Max is the funny kid ... and now there's a prank war to be won!

'Monsters in the lake, smuggling ducks, dig-your-own toilets, capsizing canoes, absolutely not falling in love and beans that give you the runs are just some of the things in store for Max and his friends in this brand-new adventure.' (Publication summary)

'A 14-year-old boy vanishes on his way home from school. His frantic mother receives a ransom call: pay or else. It's only hours before the deadline, and the police have no leads. Enter Timothy Blake, codename Hangman. Blake is a genius, known for solving impossible cases. He's also a psychopath—the FBI's last resort. But this time Blake might have met his match. The kidnapper is more cunning and ruthless than anyone he's faced before. And Blake has been assigned a new partner, a woman linked to the past he's so desperate to forget.

'Timothy Blake has a secret; one so dark he will do anything to keep it hidden. And he also has a price. Every time he saves a life, he takes one . . . Hangman is a mesmerising dissection of the criminal mind and a bulletproof thriller.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Now Max is the 'Un-Funny Kid', right when he's trying to win the town talent quest!

'Heckling clowns, kidnapped grandpas, giant dogs called Steve, bungled police operations and the greatest stand-up comedy routine of all time are just some of the things in store for Max, Hugo, Abby and Duck on their brand new adventure. Will the real Funny Kid please stand up!' (Publication summary)

'Max is the funny kid ... and he's running for class president.

'Poop scandals, stalker ducks, surprise debates, psycho sports teachers, tell-all interviews and the great library vomit-a-geddon are just some of the things in store for Max and his friends at Redhill Middle School this election season.' (Publication summary)

'John Hughes meets John Green in this irresistible story of first love, broken hearts and the golden seams that put them back together again.

'Henry Page has never been in love. He fancies himself a hopeless romantic, but the slo-mo, heart palpitating, can't-eat-can't-sleep kind of love that he's been hoping for just hasn't been in the cards for him – at least not yet. Instead, he's been happy to focus on his grades, on getting into an Ivy League college and finally becoming editor of his school newspaper. Then Grace Town walks into his first period class on the third Tuesday of senior year and he knows everything's about to change.

'Grace isn't who Henry pictured as his dream girl – she walks with a cane, wears oversized boys' clothes and rarely seems to shower. But when Grace and Henry are both chosen to edit the school paper, he quickly finds himself falling for her. It's obvious there's something broken about Grace, but it seems to make her even more beautiful to Henry and he wants nothing more than to help her put the pieces back together again. And yet, this isn't your average story of boy meets girl. Krystal Sutherland's brilliant debut is equal parts wit and heartbreak, a potent reminder of the bittersweet bliss that is first love.' (Publication summary)

'Born as twins. Raised as enemies.

'One strong Alpha twin and one mutated Omega; the only thing they share is the moment of their death.

'The Omegas live in segregation, cast out by their families as soon as their mutation becomes clear. Forced to live apart, they are ruthlessly oppressed by their Alpha counterparts.

'The Alphas are the elite. Once their weaker twin has been cast aside, they’re free to live in privilege and safety, their Omega twin far from their thoughts.

'Cass and Zach are both perfect on the outside: no missing limbs, no visible Omega mutation. But Cass has a secret: one that Zach will stop at nothing to expose.

'The potential to change the world lies in both their hands. One will have to defeat the other to see their vision of the future come to pass, but if they’re not careful both will die in the struggle for power.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (HarperCollins)

"From the author of Waiting for the Barbarians, another startling and disturbing portrait of today's South Africa, a land and a people beset by violence and siege. Coetzee here tells the story of a handicapped young man who has worked as a municipal gardener in Cape Town. His mother is dying, and she wishes to return to her birthplace out in the veldt. Without the required transit passes, mother and son set out on a journey that will end in death for her and in a new but temporary life on an abandoned farm for him. His respite in isolation and peace does not last long, however; grotesque reality soon returns to trouble this quiet new world. Against the solitude of this private drama, Coetzee paints an eloquent and pained picture of his homeland and of the bureaucrats, doctors, army deserters, and camp guards who reveal the stress and qualms of their existence and who uneasily sense that there is no conclusion to their troubles and no future for their lives." (Source: Libraries Australia)

'Pope Leo XIV battles enemies from within the Vatican and Islamic terrorists determined to assassinate him—the third title in the Vatican Trilogy.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Allen & Unwin, 2017).