AustLit

'‘Instinct has kept us alive so far. It’s like a compass in my gut and I tune into the needle often: trust/don’t trust, run/stay. The winter has brought out the animal within all of us and we teeter between predator and prey, trying to find the balance of humanity between the two. I can’t read the needle right now. The warmth of the room is clouding my judgment.’

'Lucy, Fin and Max flee Sydney in the aftermath of a nuclear winter and find comfort and refuge with a small settlement in the southern bushlands. There’s much relief in a warm bed and a full stomach, but soon Lucy begins to question the community’s ideals. Maybe they’re not as safe as they think?' (Publication summary)

'Sam stared at the picture of the boy about to be tipped off the edge of the world: the crushing weight of water about to pummel him. Sam knew that moment exactly, the disbelief that what was about to happen could even be possible. The intake of breath before the flood.

'Sam has always had things going on in his head that no one else understands, even his mum. And now she's dead, it's worse than ever.

'With nothing but his skateboard and a few belongings in a garbage bag, Sam goes to live with the strangers his mum cut ties with seven years ago: Aunty Lorraine and his cousins Shane and Minty.

'Despite the suspicion and hostility emanating from their fibro shack, Sam reverts to his childhood habit of following Minty around and is soon surfing with Minty to cut through the static fuzz in his head. But as the days slowly meld into one another, and ghosts from the past reappear, Sam has to make the ultimate decision ...... will he sink or will he swim.' (Publication summary)

'A compulsively readable novel from the acclaimed author of The Sky So Heavy.

'The worst thing that could happen would be for my life to go back to how it was before Katie died.

'Hannah's world has imploded, all thanks to her older sister Katie. Her mum is depressed, her dad's injured and she has to go to compulsory therapy sessions. Hannah should feel terrible but for the first time in ages, she feels a glimmer of hope and isn't afraid anymore. Is it because the elusive Josh is taking an interest in her? Or does it run deeper than that?

'In a family torn apart by guilt, one girl's struggle to come to terms with years of harassment shows how deep previous scars can run.

'The Protected is an honest and searing portrayal of loss and grief that conveys the repercussions of bullying to the modern-day teenager.' (Publication summary)