AustLit

'Ready to see a real-life alien? Laugh your head off with the super-popular Funny Kid series!

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

'He's also the kid who's keen to spend the most boring school holidays ever coming up with the greatest prank of all time.

'Max is the funny kid and he's going to prank the world!

'Conspiracy theories, crop circles, alien invasions, a mayor who has lost his marbles and the most Un-fun Fair in the universe are just some of the things in store for Max and his friends in this brand-new Funny Kid adventure.'

Source : publisher's blurb 

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

'Max and Abby hardly ever agree on anything ... until now! They are both desperate to get out of this Friday's swimming carnival.

'Max is the funny kid, and there's a swimming carnival that needs cancelling!

'A sea-monster, the maths olympiad, spotty rashes, good twin vs bad twin and a swimming instructor named Chad are just some of the things in store for Max and his friends in this brand-new Funny Kid adventure.' (Publication summary)

'This novel is about a woman called Martha. She knows there is something wrong with her but she doesn't know what it is. Her husband Patrick thinks she is fine. He says everyone has something, the thing is just to keep going.

'Martha told Patrick before they got married that she didn't want to have children. He said he didn't mind either way because he has loved her since he was fourteen and making her happy is all that matters, although he does not seem able to do it.

'By the time Martha finds out what is wrong, it doesn't really matter anymore. It is too late to get the only thing she has ever wanted. Or maybe it will turn out that you can stop loving someone and start again from nothing - if you can find something else to want.' (Publication summary)

'At the bottom of the world, there is an island. It is a land of rugged wilderness, of ice and snow and blistering heat, of the oldest tress on earth ... They say extinct tigers still roam there. They say other things roam, too.

'When a school group of teenage girls go missing in the remote wilderness of Tasmania's Great Western Tiers, the people of Limestone Creek are immediately on alert. Not long ago, six young girls went missing in the area of those dangerous bluffs, and the legends of 'the Hungry Man' still haunt locals to this day.

'Now, authorities can determine that the teacher, Eliza Ellis, was knocked unconscious, so someone on the mountain was up to foul play. Jordan Murphy, father of missing student Jasmine and the town's local dealer, instantly becomes prime suspect, but Detective Con Badenhorst knows that in a town this size - with corrupt cops, small-town politics, and a teenage YouTube sensation - anyone could be hiding something, and bluffing comes second nature.

'When a body is found, mauled, at the bottom of a cliff, suspicion turns to a wild animal - but that can't explain why she, like all victims past and present, was discovered barefoot, with her shoes found nearby, laces neatly tied.

'What happened up there on the bluffs? Somebody knows... unless the local legends are true...' (Publication summary)

'The bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton, returns with All Our Shimmering Skies - a glorious novel destined to become another Australian classic.

'Darwin, 1942, and as Japanese bombs rain overhead, motherless Molly Hook, the gravedigger’s daughter, turns once again to the sky for guidance. She carries a stone heart inside a duffel bag next to the map that leads to Longcoat Bob, the deep country sorcerer who put a curse on her family. By her side are the most unlikely travelling companions: a razor-tongued actress named Greta and a fallen Japanese fighter pilot named Yukio. ‘Run, Molly, run,’ says the daytime sky. Run to the vine forests. Run to northern Australia’s wild and magical monsoon lands. Run to friendship. Run to love. Run. Because the graverobber’s coming, Molly, and the night-time sky is coming with him. So run, Molly, run.

'All Our Shimmering Skies is a story about gifts that fall from the sky, curses we dig from the earth and the secrets we bury inside ourselves. It is an odyssey of true love and grave danger; of the darkness and the light; of bones and blue skies. A buoyant, beautiful and magical novel abrim with warmth, wit and wonder, a love letter to Australia and the art of looking up.' (Publication summary)

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

'He's not the smartest kid; he's not the fastest kid; he's not the prettiest kid; but he might just be the funniest kid you've ever met.

'Max and his friends take a road trip to Adventure Park to dare each other to ride The Tower of Dying Deathly Doom. But it may be Duck who is the bravest one of all.' (Publication summary)

He's also the one who wants to play Captain Kickbutt in the superhero movie filming in town. He just has to get child-star Spencer Daniels (aka Famous Kid) out of the way first.

'Max is the funny kid ... and Famous Kid needs to go down.

'A bodyguard named The Fridge, the greatest school assembly prank ever, a jewellery store robbery and a real superhero called ThunderButt are just some of the things in store for Max and his friends in this brand-new Funny Kid adventure.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

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

'Only now he's been forced to join the local ice-hockey team, and there's nothing funny about slipping over and getting a frozen bum. Or is there?

'Max is the funny kid ... and this time he's skating on thin ice!

'Epic fails, a wrestling rhinoceros called Roxanne, fake news, locker rooms filled with popcorn and the dreaded return of Mr Armstrong are just some of the things in store for Max and his friends in this brand-new Funny Kid adventure.' (Publication summary)

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

'And it's about time he used his talents for a good cause!

'Max is the funny kid ... and there are endangered animals to save!

'Putting the fun in fundraising, launching a puppy-smuggling operation, fighting the great Redhill canteen war and planning a secret theme park are just some of the things in store for Max and his friends in this brand-new Funny Kid adventure!'  (Publication summary)

'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)

'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)

'Her beauty saved her life - and condemned her.

'Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, in 1942. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival.

'After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to Siberia. But what choice did she have? And where did the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was sent to Auschwitz when still a child?

'In a Siberian prison camp, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she makes an impression on a woman doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing. Cilka begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions.

'Cilka finds endless resources within herself as she daily confronts death and faces terror. And when she nurses a man called Ivan, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Brisbane, 1983: A lost father, a mute brother, a mum in jail, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious crim for a babysitter. It's not as if Eli's life isn't complicated enough already. He's just trying to follow his heart, learning what it takes to be a good man, but life just keeps throwing obstacles in the way - not least of which is Tytus Broz, legendary Brisbane drug dealer.

'But if Eli's life is about to get a whole lot more serious. He's about to fall in love. And, oh yeah, he has to break into Boggo Road Gaol on Christmas Day, to save his mum.'

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)

'The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival - literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught, he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.

'There have been many books about the Holocaust - and there will be many more. What makes this one so memorable is Lale Sokolov's incredible zest for life. He understood exactly what was in store for him and his fellow prisoners, and he was determined to survive - not just to survive but to leave the camp with his dignity and integrity intact, to live his life to the full. Terrible though this story is, it is also a story of hope and of courage. It is also - almost unbelievably - a love story. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale - a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer - it was love at first sight, and he determined not only to survive himself but to ensure that Gita did, too. His story - their story - will make you weep, but you will also find it uplifting. It shows the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.

'Like many survivors, Lale and Gita told few people their story after the war. They eventually made their way to Australia, where they raised a son and had a successful life. But when Gita died, Lale felt he could no longer carry the burden of their past alone. He chose to tell his story. ' (Publication summary)

'What happens when ambition trumps the truth?

'A town reeling in the wake of tragedy

'An arsonist is on the loose in Colmstock, Australia, most recently burning down the town's courthouse and killing a young boy who was trapped inside.

'An aspiring journalist desperate for a story

'The clock is ticking for Rose Blakey. With nothing but rejections from newspapers piling up, her job pulling beers for cops at the local tavern isn't nearly enough to cover rent. Rose needs a story—a big one.

'Little dolls full of secrets

'In the weeks after the courthouse fire, precise porcelain replicas of Colmstock's daughters begin turning up on doorsteps, terrifying parents and testing the limits of the town's already fractured police force.

'Rose may have finally found her story. But as her articles gain traction and the boundaries of her investigation blur, Colmstock is seized by a seething paranoia. Soon, no one is safe from suspicion. And when Rose's attention turns to the mysterious stranger living in the rooms behind the tavern, neighbor turns on neighbor and the darkest side of self-preservation is revealed.' (Publication Summary)

'She'd been enjoying her teenage summer break: working at a fast-food restaurant, crushing on an older boy and shoplifting with her best friend. Mysteriously ominous things began to happen—blood in the bed, periods of blackouts, a feeling of being watched—though Bec remained oblivious of what was to come.

'Eleven years later she is replaced.

'A young woman, desperate after being arrested, claims to be the decade-missing Bec.

'Soon the imposter is living Bec's life. Sleeping in her bed. Hugging her mother and father. Learning her best friends' names. Playing with her twin brothers.

'But Bec's welcoming family and enthusiastic friends are not quite as they seem. As the imposter dodges the detective investigating her case, she begins to delve into the life of the real Bec Winter—and soon realizes that whoever took Bec is still at large, and that she is in imminent danger.' (Source: Goodreads website)

'Stephanie Laurens continues her delectable new historical romance series with In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster, focusing on the first of three Cynster sisters, each on a determined quest to find a hero who’s her match in every way possible. When Eliza is kidnapped from her sister’s engagement ball, the plucky miss refuses to be daunted—and her escape leads her straight into the arms of a most unlikely champion.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In Laurens’s sensational new Cynster historical romance, it’s Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue when feisty Heather Cynster steps out of her safe, dull social circle in search of a dashing hero to wed…and ends up kidnapped, scandalized and whisked out of London, with her only hope for salvation—and love—resting with a notorious rogue lord.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.