Cirrus@Austlit

'Getting Dusty is the much anticipated sequel to Jared Thomas' CBCA longlisted junior fiction Uncle Xbox (2023).

'When Dusty bloodies his bully's nose in a soccer tournament, he finds himself grounded for a week. Feeling this is unfair, Dusty gets upset and it's up to Uncle Xbox to help him understand why his actions have consequences and that he can learn from his mistakes. If this lesson includes catching some nice waves, who is he to argue. From the author of The Game Day series, My Spare Heart, Calypso Summer, and Songs that sound like Blood, Jared Thomas has sensitively captured Dusty's world and childhood challenges, with integrity, humour and heart.' (Publication summary)

(Publication summary)

'Seventeen-year-old Phoebe's life is turned upside down when she moves from the city to the country to live with her dad in this powerful and uplifting story about family breakdowns, facing truths and finding balance.

I mean, Mum didn't drink that much. All of my friends' parents loved their champagne or whatever. Everyone drank in The Village, too. I'd only been there for about a month and there'd already been five wine and food festivals. Mum's drinking wasn't a big deal. Right?

'Phoebe's non-Indigenous mother, a busy event manager, and her father, an Aboriginal man and uni lecturer, have split up and she's moved to sleepy old Willunga with him and his new health-obsessed girlfriend. It's only a few kilometres from Phoebe's old friends and the city, but it feels like another world.

'Her new school is full of hippies, but some of the kids are cool and the local basketball team is tight, and before long Phoebe's fitting in. But as her mum becomes increasingly unreliable, Phoebe's grades begin to suffer, her place on the basketball team is under threat and her worries spiral out of control.

'Phoebe can't tell her friends and is worried her dad will get angry, but pretending everything is fine is breaking her heart. How can she help her mum without tearing her family apart?'  (Publication summary)

'I was born in Port Augusta in 1976 and grew up on the edge of the bush and the salt lake, looking over the Flinders Ranges. ' (Introduction)

'Through hard work and lots of practice, Patty's basketball skills have improved so much he's invited to the East Coast tournament in Sydney. Even though he has to miss out on spending time in his beloved Torres Strait, it's an opportunity too exciting to pass up. But an injury puts it all in jeopardy. Could Patty's dream be over before it's begun? A fantastic and fun basketball series that will entertain young readers, inspire kids to achieve their goals through sport and showcase Patty's pride in his Indigenous heritage.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'There's a new team in town: the Shadows.
And sport-mad Patty Mills has something to prove . . .
Tyson is Patty's arch-rival. And when he gives Patty a hard time about his people, it really hurts. But it makes Patty more determined than ever.
Playing for the Shadows, Patty and his friends have a chance to shine - and show that Indigenous kids can do anything. After a huge improvement, they make the grand final. And the result will come down to the final seconds of the game.' (Synopsis)

'A fantastic and fun basketball series by Australian Olympian and NBA star Patty Mills that will entertain young readers, inspire kids to achieve their goals through sport, and showcase Patty's pride in his Indigenous heritage.' (Synopsis)

'Sport-mad Patty Mills is a star on the footy field, an ace at athletics, a ripper at rugby.
So when he tries out for basketball, it should be a breeze . . .
Patty expects to be a great basketballer straight away, just like his uncle Danny. But he soon discovers there's whole lot more to the game than just shooting hoops.
He's got a lot to learn, on and off the court - and it's going to take plenty of practice.
Will he and his school team be good enough to get into the finals?' (Synopsis)

'Erica wants a dog. So dad brings home a new pet... a baby water buffalo! Shallow the buffalo and her friend Bruno the dog have a lot of fun, get in a lot of trouble and create a lot of havoc. But when the biggest event of the year in the Tiwi Islands comes around—the footy grand final—Shallow REALLY finds herself in the deep end.' (Publication summary)

'Roxy May Redding’s got music in her soul and songs in her blood. She lives in a hot dusty town and is dreaming big. She survives run-ins with the mean girls at high school, sings in her dad’s band and babysits for her wayward aunt. But Roxy wants a new start. When she gets the chance to study music in the big city, she takes it. Roxy’s new life, her new friends and her music collide in a way she could never have imagined. Being a poor student sucks... navigating her way through the pressure of a national music competition has knobs on it... singing for her dinner is soul destroying... but nothing prepares Roxy for her biggest challenge. Her crush on Ana, the local music journo, forces her to steer her way through a complex maze of emotions alien to this small town girl. Family and friends watch closely as Roxy takes a confronting journey to find out who the hell she is.' (Publication summary)

'Calypso Summer is a story told by Calypso, a young Nukunu man, fresh out of high school in Rastafarian guise. After failing to secure employment in sports retail, his dream occupation, Calypso finds work at the Henley Beach Health Food shop where his boss pressures him to gather Aboriginal plants for natural remedies. This leads him to his Nukunu family in Port Augusta and the discovery of a world steeped in cultural knowledge. The support of a sassy, smart, young Ngadjuri girl, with a passion for cricket rivalling his own, helps Calypso to reconsider his Rastafarian façade and understand how to take charge of his future.' (Source: publishers website)

Dallas is angry when he has to visit his family’s land instead of going to the footy. Then he learns just how important his knowledge of country is … (Publishers website)