AustLit

'Fifteen-year-old navy cadet Tina Babcock is in love. But Tina is very shy, inexperienced and unsure of herself. While on a cadet canoe expedition on remote Koombooloomba Dam in the jungles of Far North Queensland, she and her friends encounter a gang of dangerous poachers.

'Tina's life is in peril because of the secrets she now knows. In a desperate struggle to escape, she must use her navy cadet skills and wits to extricate herself from the gang's clutches. Tina must push herself to the very limits of endurance to give herself a fighting chance of survival... and love.

'Cockatoo is suitable for teenage and adult readers with an enjoyment of adventure-spiced romance.' (Publication summary)

'For twelve-year-old battleship hobbyist, Graham Kirk, opportunities like this don’t come along every day. He jumps at the chance to fulfil his dream of becoming a sailor like his father and enlists as a navy cadet. But he has discovered girls and is torn between doing what’s right and doing what’s forbidden.

'When at a party, Graham overhears a terrorist plot to sink a US navy destroyer as it sails into Cairns harbour. But who should he tell when his superiors don’t trust him? And what role does his new girlfriend, Thelma, have to play? Is she just an innocent anti-war protestor, or has his desire for her blinded him to the awful truth?

'His initiation into the navy cadets comes with some unexpected—and dangerous—complications… and Graham quickly learns that there’s no substitute for self-respect and being true to yourself.' (Publication blurb)