Cirrus@Austlit

'Penelope Estella Grace Scott, also known as 'Snot', finally thinks her life is back on track: her parents are both happy in new relationships, she has a brother she can talk to, a gorgeous baby sister and is about to go on a whirlwind trip to Japan. When she gets back though, life in Dolphin Shores becomes more complicated than ever - and tempers flare. Will the wish Penny makes on her Japanese doll have a terrible impact on her friends? Penny is growing up fast and learning the hard way that life doesn't always turn out the way you've planned.' (Publication summary)

'An eco-thriller set in the not-too distant future, when the Earth has been ravaged and whales have been exploited. The whales are now looking for revenge. Ellie and Per, unlikely friends, risk everything to try and put this right.' (Publication summary)

'In 1826, the Astrolabe sets sail from France in search of two French ships which disappeared on their vaoyage to the Pacific in 1788....

After months of deprivation, they finally find the answers they have been searching for...on a sinister tropical island.

'Based on the ship's journal of the explorer Captain Jules Dumont d'Urville of the historic Astrolabe, this is the story of Lucien, the ten-year-old cabin boy and their three year adventure, which takes them from France all the way to Australia and back again. ' (Publication summary)

'The Doolally Kid is an action-packed novel full of plot twists, humour and excitement. Billy, once an unpopular boy, is transformed into a talented artist, musician and dancer, not to mention school hero. However, these spookily acquired talents involve Billy in the sinister underworld of urban crime and turn him and Aunt Addie into suspects in a major art theft.' (Publication summary)

'Rhys Morton and Toby Hampshire are in Lorne with Toby's family to compete in the Lorne Easter Surf competition. When items start to disappear near the surf club, a local surfer suspects a young skateboarder, so Rhys and Toby go to the skate park hoping to track down the thief. But who is it? And why would a skater be stealing surfing equipment?' (Publication summary)

'Xanthe's dreams of winning a medal at the National diving championships are in doubt. Will injury stop her competing in Perth? Is her diving career over for good? Diving has been Xanthe's life, but is it time to pursue her singing talents? And will new friends like the young Japanese diver Hiroko and the gorgeous Felix Bartlett threaten Xanthe's relationship with her best friend Julia?

'Packed with diving and singing competition action, No Tears is the story of a young girl's struggle to cope with life's unexpected challenges, to hold on to what truly matters, and to achieve her dreams.' (Publication summary)

'Rodney Rowbottom feels alone. His mother treats him like a baby. His father is too busy managing a huge experimental farm, where scientists conduct research into genetically modified crops, to spend time with his son. At school Rodney is stalked by Ben Houlihan - the local bully - and picked on because of his habit of fading away. But Rodney's spirits improve when he meets Mrs Strangeways and discovers the reason for his fading. She teaches him to disappear and reappear at will, which both thwarts and humiliates Houlihan.

'Rodney's fading is a symptom of his ability to switch between Earth and the parallel universes of futuristic Llandringodd and primitive Llondieval. Both are terrible places. In both of them, Rodney becomes embroiled in adventures from which he may not escape with his life...' (Publisher blurb)

'After fourteen-year-old Ben argues with his family, he goes to their bomb shelter, expecting his family will turn up any day to fetch him. However, his wait turns to weeks and when Ben finally emerges he finds that the world is a very different place. Green bodies litter the road, he finds references to the Last Official Day, and realises that he is alone. Living a hand-to-mouth existence and writing in his diary for company, Ben notices strange markings on the road, on fences and on his house. Someone else is alive! When this group of young survivors contacts him, Ben feels uneasy. Conditions for his entry into the group are defined and several children within the group are guarded in the way they speak to Ben. However, after becoming closer to two group members they decide to escape, as they do not like the direction the leaders are taking. One of Ben’s new friends knows something that could cost him his life and the girl has been selected for a breeding program, as girls are in short supply. Written in the form of concise journal entries, this terrifying thriller by established author June Colbert is a timely warning about where our world is heading.' (Publication summary)