Fiction Years 7-9 (2007-)
Subcategory of YABBA
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Notes

  • Honour books are only given from 2022 (inclusive) onwards.

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2024

winner y separately published work icon Scar Town Tristan Bancks , Melbourne : Puffin , 2023 26224703 2023 single work novel young adult

'Twelve-year-old Will Haddon and his twin friends, Dar and Juno, find a safe full of money and human bones in an old house that’s sticking out of a rapidly receding lake amid the worst drought in history. Their mission to identify the body reveals secrets that will rewrite the history of their town and the story of their lives. 

'When Will was five, his dad, a young cop, went missing just days before Old Scarborough was drowned beneath a man-made lake for a hydroelectric scheme. Old Scarborough’s residents were promised new houses, jobs, tourist dollars and a fresh start, but hardly any of it materialised. Neither did Will’s dad. And he’s not the only person to go missing from this bad-luck town.

'Will, Dar and Juno are forced on a dangerous journey to discover the truth in a town that wants the past to stay buried' (Publication summary)   

Year: 2023

winner y separately published work icon Cop and Robber Tristan Bancks , Melbourne : Puffin , 2022 24424825 2022 single work children's fiction children's

'A new nailbiter from the bestselling author of Two Wolves.

'If your mum was a cop and your dad was a crim who needed your help to commit a crime, would you do it to save him? At what cost?

'Nash Hall's dad is a criminal who just can't seem to go straight. He wants Nash to help him commit a robbery. A big one. The trouble is, Nash's mum is a cop. And the robbery is at Nash's school. But Dad owes a lot of money to some very dangerous people and if Nash doesn't help him do the job, it could cost both their lives.'  (Publication summary)

Year: 2022

winner y separately published work icon Always Morris Gleitzman , Melbourne : Penguin , 2021 21861442 2021 single work children's fiction children's

'The much-anticipated final journey in the story of Felix, hero of Morris Gleitzman's multi-award-winning OnceThenNowAfter, Soon and Maybe.

'It's fifteen years since readers were first introduced to Felix in Once and across six celebrated books, our brave young hero has survived many unforgettable and emotional journeys. Now comes the seventh and final part of Felix's story, bringing to a powerful climax a series that countless young readers around the world will remember - Always.' (Publication summary)

Year: 2021

winner y separately published work icon Sick Bay Nova Weetman , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2019 15643916 2019 single work children's fiction children's

'Two very different Grade 6 girls meet in their school sick bay. Meg is a loner. Grieving over the death of her father, and struggling with changes at home, she wears slippers to school and hides out in sick bay to avoid other kids. New girl Riley, is a Type 1 diabetic and already popular. She doesn't want to go to sick bay, but sometimes she has to if she's having a high or a low. As Meg and Riley are forced to spend more and more time together in the cramped sick bay room, they start to uncover each other's secrets and find the courage to be who they really are.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Year: 2020

winner y separately published work icon Detention Tristan Bancks , Sydney : Penguin Random House Australia , 2019 16885223 2019 single work novel young adult

'Sima and her family are pressed to the rough, cold ground among fifty others. They lie next to the tall fence designed to keep them in. The wires are cut one by one.

'When they make their escape, a guard raises the alarm. Shouting, smoke bombs, people tackled to the ground. In the chaos Sima loses her parents.

'Dad told her to run, so she does, hiding in a school and triggering a lockdown. A boy, Dan, finds her hiding in the toilet block.

'What should he do? Help her? Dob her in? She's breaking the law, but is it right to lock kids up? And if he helps, should Sima trust him? Or run?

'THIS MOMENT, THESE DECISIONS, WILL CHANGE THE COURSE OF THEIR LIVES. ' (Publication summary)

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